Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, back again beside me on my left is deputy minister Bill MacKay, and on my right deputy secretary to the financial management board Mr. Terence Courtoreille.

So the total amount requested in this supplementary appropriation is $2.34 million for shortfalls here in terms of the staffing. It's yes, the projected that's the amount that we're requiring at this time. But the total anticipated cost for agency nurses this fiscal is $5.5 million. Thank you.

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...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I'm happy to commit and take that back to my colleague. The details of the agreement itself and whether or not it involves site C or the extent to which it does, I don't have that detail and I don't know that my team here does either. But I expect that the Minister responsible would probably be happy to follow up, and we can add that in our followup letters. Thank you.

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.

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.

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