Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's probably an excellent question to raise during the business planning process when you'd have the Department of Justice in front of you there defending their decisions in terms of their annual appropriations and annual business plans. And I'll certainly convey to the Minister that that may be a question that they should be anticipating. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, we are looking at total projected expenditures for the year will be at just over $121 million. And that's anticipated expenditures. So in terms of the base budget, that comes in at around just 21.7, just over $21.7 million. In August, you may recall there was a request for a supplementary appropriation at $75 million. So that leaves with the projected expenditures of 121, that leaves the projected shortfall of 24.3, which brings us here. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, let me put that one over to the deputy minister, please.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the original agreement came into effect in August of 2018 under which there was expected $31.2 million over the course of four years. There was a brief extension of that agreement which took us into 20232024, and that's being reflected here. I can say that the Department of Infrastructure is currently engaged with Environment and Climate Change Canada towards determining what the next form of funding might look like. And to my latest estimate, or my latest information up to today or up to a couple of days ago anyways, was that we had not yet finalized an agreement for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm able to say that as of December 31st, 2023, we had 517 vacancies across the total GNWT. So that's approximately 8.6 or so of all of the funded positions, which is a total of just over 6,000. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I did want to respond because I can appreciate the frustration of seeing sups come back. Four sups in a budget cycle actually is pretty standard. And what I was going to suggest is perhaps I can and if it's of interest to the public we could certainly table it, but we could give the budget cycle showing roughly when the sups happen. You know, there's department cutoffs of when they have to put those requests in but then to get the four in is actually very common. This would be the cutoff time for the fourth one prior to the end of the fiscal year. So, again...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, I will just need a moment here to see well, one of the sources for the increases, Mr. Chair, is an increase to the foster care rates that's being implemented. There's also actually, I think that's probably it. That's probably it, Mr. Chair. If I'm incorrect, I will oh, and then, of course, there's an increased number of placements as well, which is then driving that further given the increase to the rates. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, if he would like longer periods of notice in advance of documents, I guess we'll have to find a longer period of time as much as is available. It wasn't much time that we had to turn around coming up with a fiscal strategy in order to have it to Members and then to the public in advance of the priority setting, which seemed like a responsible way of going about things. But I will certainly endeavour to make sure that there's a longer period of time that the Member has these documents before they're made public. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, that I mean I have, you know, good news and bad news. The good news is departments will now have their funding as of April 1st for at least a portion of the year to go about their business. And certainly to the extent that a department may find that it is that's providing a program or a service that they can't otherwise contract out or can't otherwise, you know, see another path forward on, they may well be able to find that funding. They will now have funding as of April 1st. Without the interim estimates, they don't have an appropriation as of April 1st...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the carbon tax changes and the removal of the home heating fuel element, that was certainly, at least from all of the media that I was hearing, was a fairly clear and strong public outcry.

With respect to the fiscal strategy, Mr. Speaker, and its being shared, it is being shared confidentially. There's a lot of documents that get shared confidentially between Members and Cabinet, and then after that period of time it does get shared out publicly depending and Members can or cannot respond or can or cannot provide their comments on these documents that get...