Thanks to the Minister. Yes, we’re a banker for lots of organizations and that’s what gets us into trouble. However, I want to just comment as well. This large expense and along with the others that are being asked for in this supplementary appropriation are putting a fairly big strain, I believe, on our reserve fund, our supplementary reserve, which is about $10 million. If this appropriation goes through, it’s $5.2 million and it will reduce our reserve fund to slightly less than $4.8 million. We’re only two months into this fiscal year. We have 10 months of a fiscal year to go with a...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I note the amount under this particular item is $4.2 million and it is intended for a line of credit for the Taltson Hydro Expansion Project. In total, this supplementary appropriation request is some $11 million and this is a very significant portion of that total amount of money. I am concerned with what we’re being asked to approve here in total.

Yesterday the Minister advised me that we have a cap of 3 percent increase on our operations expenditures in any one year, but the total amount of $11 million affects a 0.8 percent increase to our operations expenditures for...

Thank you. I’m getting more and more confused all the time. So it now sounds like we have a strategy that’s going to apply to the city of Yellowknife, which may be useful outside the city of Yellowknife for the rest of the Territories, but we have something else which is going to determine stuff outside Yellowknife. I really don’t understand the answer.

The Minister mentioned an interdepartmental homelessness committee, which sounds rather like the committee doesn’t have a home, but I believe they work on the issue of homelessness. I’d like to know from the Minister what their function is and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement talked about women in Yellowknife who are working on behalf of NWT women and homelessness, and I’d like to ask some questions of the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services about the government’s homelessness framework. I’ve been trying for some months, actually more than 12, to try and get some information on the updating of the homelessness framework, but I was recently advised that no update is in the works. So I’d like to ask the Minister if he can advise when this homelessness framework will be reviewed, revised and updated so that it is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to use my Member’s statement to speak about two accomplished Yellowknife women. Arlene Hache and Lyda Fuller are both well-known non-government organization leaders at the Centre for Northern Families and at the YWCA. Both of these women work diligently and tirelessly on behalf of all NWT women and families who are in need. These talented ladies have just demonstrated their skills and commitment at a national conference: the first ever Canadian Forum on Housing and Safe Communities for Women. They were presenters at several sessions.

A few years ago both the...

Thanks very much for the explanation. That’s all I have.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, May 13, 2011, I will move the following motion: now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that this Assembly formally revokes the appointment of the Honourable Sandy Lee as a Member of the Executive Council. Thank you.

I guess I need to ask the Minister a written question, perhaps, to show me exactly how we reach 3 percent when we started something just under 3 percent and ask for millions and millions of dollars. I wonder why we don’t go over the 3 percent cap.

I’d like to ask the Minister as well, he talked about finding critical investments, sorry, financing critical investments by finding partners in the private sector to assist us with certain large projects. It’s well known that our last effort with private partners was rather controversial and it’s unfortunately still ongoing. I’d like to know from the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Finance. I would like to thank the Minister at the outset for the fiscal and economic update that he provided us today, but I have a few questions with regard to some of the statements in his statement.

Initially, my first question goes to the announcement that BHP Billiton made recently that they plan to invest, along with partners, some $323 million in the NWT in the Ekati Diamond Mine as they go to expanding one of their pipes. I think that’s great news. Initially, I thought that was wonderful, we’re spending an...

I almost got it all in. We as MLAs would be well advised to listen to what our residents were telling us.