Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Chair. At this stage, there's $3 million that's coming from CIRNAC to support phase one of this work. Thank you.

Well, that's a dark note on which to end the evening, Mr. Chair. So we don't the supplementary reserve is a tool by which the budgeting process is meant to look at having some additional funding available for the emergent expenses. You know, more like the contracts that get signed off cycle and for which there may be a contribution component, you know, things that emerge, opportunities that come up where the department might need to, you know, expend funds beyond, you know, the deficit of the MTS for instance. It's really not meant as an emergency fund per se. So I'm conscious of the point...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House Bill 5, Supplementary Appropriation Act, (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 20232024, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes. I'd be Mr. Chair, to be fair, the Member's asking a bit more detail than that and to be clear, so with respect to the benefit to employees, it's part of the collective agreement. We're expected to comply with our obligations under the collective agreement. But as I noted, it's a trend that we're seeing in medical travel and health and social services as well. And so, yes, absolutely, there is work underway between the Department of Health and Social Services and Finance to find a path forward on medical travel generally, the types of appointments, where people are going, the repeat...

It's not reflected in these numbers, which I think or it will be a number that we have to come up with going forward. But, again, this is the information I'm looking at, Mr. Chair, just to be clear, I just am not entirely sure that I'm explaining it very well, and I'd like to just make sure that I have that accurately. But there is a change that's coming on March 1st. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do have some hopefully anticipated hopefully good news that in 20242025, we are expecting we will see in the main estimates an additional four positions coming under this program. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So this is money that is coming in under the requirement or to fulfill the requirements under the AlbertaNorthwest Territories Bilateral Water Management Agreement. It's a cost shared agreement between the two, and it's meant to provide water management support for the Mackenzie River Basin. That's an agreement that was signed back in 2015. It commits both governments to cooperate in terms of the management of water resources, facilitate the monitoring of the water. Obviously, it moves across the border fluidly, and reporting of upstream effects that may occur, if there...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, that's correct.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is the appropriation of the federal dollars. So any time the federal government signs an agreement or provides funding to the Government of the Northwest Territories, we still have to come forward even if we are, you know, open to signing the agreement, we still have to come forward to the Legislative Assembly to actually appropriate that money so that it can then go to the department. I mean, it goes back to the earlier conversation about shortterm debt. Until the money gets appropriated in, you know, we have to come here formally and make an adjustment to the main...

Yes, I believe that's correct. Thank you.