Wendy Bisaro

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.

So the Minister is then telling me that the $158 million in revenues, on page 5-9, that includes or that indicates our tax revenues including the $30 million drop in tax revenues that we have been advised. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s a pretty hard act to follow, but I will do what I can.

I want to follow up on some of the questions from Mr. Dolynny earlier. My questions are addressed to the Minister of Finance. We have had a great deal of numbers put in front of us as Members recently. We have the numbers in the budget, we have statements from the Minister in the budget address and many of us over here are somewhat confused about where this government is going in terms of the budget and reductions and so on.

The budget address by the Minister of Finance mentioned the loss of some $30 million in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are addressed to the Premier, as I mentioned earlier. I want to follow up on my Member’s statement.

I mentioned in my Member’s statement of the 15 recommendations that are in the committee report from the Standing Committee on Government Operations on Bill 24. There are recommendations for almost every member of Cabinet; therefore, I chose the Premier because he is responsible for all of them.

I would like to first ask the Premier whether or not the government is considering, or whether they are actually in the process of considering or acting on an Executive...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My comments are in no particular order and I would like to thank the Minister and his staff for being here.

The department, in my mind, has a huge responsibility. They’ve got a huge section of our total territorial budget. By and large, I think the department is doing a pretty good job. Certainly there are wishes from Members for the department to do more but, you know, when push comes to shove, we kind of all would like to have more.

That said, there are some priorities which I feel are priorities to me and also to some other Members on this side of the House that aren’t...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s pretty hard to make that short. So, those revenues have increased significantly from ‘13-14, so I am really quite surprised that the numbers in this budget, the numbers that were verified, I guess, by the Finance Minister in December or January, that we were able to put those numbers into the budget and print it and include the reduction in this year’s figures.

So I’ll ask him again, the $158 million in corporate and personal tax revenue for ‘14-15 are based on the estimates from the federal government we got in December or January. Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister for the clarification. So I have to then ask the Minister, he has advised us that we are expecting a $30 million drop in our tax revenues and that we got those numbers from the federal government in late December or early January, I’m not sure, but recently. So we have recently been advised that we are losing $30 million in tax revenue. What fiscal year are we losing that $30 million? Thank you.

Thanks to the Premier for that answer. I do know that those recommendations, that the government is not required to respond to those, but all those recommendations are integral to the issues we discuss here every day and to the issues that our standing committees discuss, the things that we hear from our residents, so I am very appreciative that the Premier indicates that we do have some action that is happening. I am also appreciative that I now know the lead Minister who is looking into these 15 recommendations.

There is really not much else for me to ask, Mr. Speaker, but simply to ask, when...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last sitting the House passed Bill 24, An Act to Amend the Liquor Act, on the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Government Operations, and the report from that committee had 15 recommendations, which I would like to speak to today.

During the four public hearings for Bill 24, the people’s voice was heard loud and clear and a large part of what committee members heard was a cry for help. Many of the expressed concerns were well beyond the scope of the bill. As a result, the committee felt that their report must include recommendations, which went beyond the...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Committee would like to consider Tabled Document 22-17(5), 2014-2015 Main Estimates, and we’d like to continue with the Department of Health and Social Services.