Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to thank the Minister for the information on the THSSI funding which is about to expire and on the new funding which we are about to get but we don’t know what we’re going to use it for. I was going to ask what the department intended to use if for, but I can appreciate that without the detail. But I am somewhat confused.

Before I go there, if the Minister could provide committee with the information that he listed off about the numbers and so on that THSSI is used for. I don’t know if we have that or not, but it would be helpful if we had that listed, whatever he...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a few comments I would like to make. I’d like to, first of all, thank Mr. Bromley and Mr. Nadli for bringing this motion forward and bringing this issue into the public and for us to debate it.

I was also able to attend the hearings in front of the federal standing committee when they were here and it was a fascinating day. We heard from all sides and I was particularly impressed with the Aboriginal governments, who were extremely passionate about their position and about the impact the loss of the regional boards would have on them.

I think that one of the things...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask some questions of the Minister of Finance today. I’d like to try to make some sense of the budget numbers that we’ve been given. I’d like to try to make some sense of the answers the Minister gave me and Mr. Dolynny yesterday. I’m hearing mixed messages. I’m trying desperately to understand what the Minister is telling me.

I would like to refer the Minister again to page 5-9 of the budget, the revenue summary under the Department of Finance specifically to the personal income and the corporate income tax numbers. It’s about $158 million estimated for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, like some of my colleagues, I want to address something mentioned in the Finance Minister’s budget address, and that’s the government’s plan to attract and retain 2,000 new residents to and in the NWT over the next five years.

Youth are a very important segment of our NWT society. I hear that said all the time in this Assembly. When we’re looking for skilled workers for the GNWT, who better to serve our residents than those who have grown up here and know the issues and the culture?

The GNWT has had varying degrees of success in attracting and retaining our youth...

I can save them for later, Mr. Chair, but I’m trying to find the revenue and apparently there is none.

Page 8-37 shows $11 million going out. I presume we get money from the feds. Where is that recorded? Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister for clarifying that. I am very glad to hear that the money has been added to the base for outside placements. That’s something that has been needed for quite a long time.

My last question here on this revenue page is: When the details of the federal funding are known, would the Minister commit to share that information with committee and have a conversation with committee about how the federal money is being used?

Thank you, Madam Chair. We would like to continue with Tabled Document 22-17(5), the Main Estimates for 2014-15, with the Department of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Finance. The revenue summary in the 2014-15 Main Estimates, Department of Finance, page 5-9, lists personal income tax at $104.8 million and corporate income tax at $53.1 million. The 2014-15 budget address stated these revenues will be about $30 million lower than forecasted.

Please advise, in dollars, how much personal income tax and corporate income tax revenues are expected in fiscal year 2014-15, including the anticipated loss of $30 million.

Please advise the total expected revenues, in dollars, for the fiscal year 2014-15.

Please...

I’ve mentioned but a few of the tactics that we should be putting in place if we’re serious about keeping Northerners in the North.

The Finance Minister has said that the government is working on some things already to accomplish the 2,000 in five years goal. The Minister has today been given a number of suggestions by me and others which can be incorporated into whatever plan the government has. Members need to hear just what that plan is and we need to hear it sooner rather than later. I look forward to critiquing that plan, hopefully in the near future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.