Thank you, Mr. Minister. We’ll open the floor up now for general comments. Or actually, no, Mr. Minister, did you want to bring in some witnesses?
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Minister, and we’ll ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to escort the witnesses in. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Mr. Sergeant-at-Arms. Thank you, Mr. Minister, and if I could just maybe have you introduce your staff for the record.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have with me Margaret Melhorn, deputy minister of Finance; and Mr. Jamie Koe, acting director of policy and planning. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Minister, and welcome, Ms. Melhorn and Mr. Koe, to our proceedings. We’ll open the floor up to general comments on the Department of Finance main estimates. Any general comments? Mr. Yakeleya.
Mr. Chair, I wanted to ask the Minister in regard to his comments on page 2 of 2. He mentioned something about releasing a public discussion paper on establishment of an NWT Heritage Fund. Does the Minister have a date as to when this is going to be released to the public for discussion and what type of plan he has to have a discussion with the public on this? Is it going to be through various forums?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The intention is to table the document either this Friday or coming Monday, March 1st. Thank you.
So the Minister is going to table a document on March the 1st and then this triggers a process where there’s going to be public discussion now in the Northwest Territories as to the establishment of an NWT Heritage Fund. Is it six months of discussion with the public or is it going to be something like the other discussion papers we’ve had regarding utility companies? So I guess I wanted to see as to when does the Minister see this discussion on the establishment of the Heritage Fund being concluded or to move to another phase?
The intention is to have a consultation and feedback period until April 30th. The intention, as I indicated in the budget address, assuming that there will be constructive feedback and consensus of this Legislature, that we’d have a bill before this House for their consideration and passage in the life of this Assembly. Thank you.
Mr. Chair, I’d like to say that’s good news and I hope we see the bill sooner than later. I wanted to ask the Minister about the uncertainty of some of the initiatives that are happening in the North regarding infrastructure on projects. Does that, from a Minister’s point of view, the department’s point of view, throw some type of wrench into our financial fiscal outlook or framework in terms of what you’ve presented us here? Is it possible that you could be presenting something totally different in two or three months down the road in terms of what you have before us here? Thank you.
As a matter of course and practice we are always reviewing our fiscal situation and the Members are aware of some of the challenges that are out there. We’ve had our discussions and we’ve laid out some of the potential scenarios and we’re going to continue to do that. I’m confident that regardless of what challenges arise before us, that we’ll be able to make the right collective decisions to make sure that we maintain the level of service that our constituents now have. Thank you.
Thank you. I, too, also want to let the Minister know that I want to ensure that we have good sound footing in the finances in terms of challenges that we have to acknowledge and to deal with, but at the same time I want to ensure that what’s before us here, this is probably the best-case scenario of all the assessments of our finances with a number of sunsets. You know, we heard from the Department of Health and Social Services in terms of their sunsets of some of the programs that the federal government is not going to fund anymore and at the same time we’re going to provide some pretty valuable health services and that has to come from somewhere. So for us to keep on going, it would mean that we have to do business in a different way than we’re used to. So more of a comment to the Finance Minister, Mr. Chair.
I appreciate the Member’s comment as it pertains to sunsets or potential sunsets and any action or response from the federal government in terms of continuing on some of the health programs. We’re going to be, of course, monitoring that. We’re not going to know that until the federal budget comes out in early March. We’re already doing some initial planning, as the Members are aware, to try to accommodate the worst-case scenario, which would be that the sunset holds and there is no further funding. However, we will keep the Members apprised as often as we have to going forward with the various challenges that are before us. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Yakeleya.
No, thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Are there any further general comments on the Department of Finance? Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to say that I appreciate the two overarching strategic priorities of fiscal sustainability and modern management, both of which I think we’re failing in and I think it’s very appropriate to give much more attention to. I think we’re sort of working on the grace of God, really, and financially skirting our debt wall and we’re very vulnerable there. I will be interested in more details on that. The modern management, as well, I am wondering if that includes in the modernization of the Financial Administration Act an improvement of the sole-source contracting procedures that is causing a lot of grief.
Also, I believe we had talked about reviewing the Petroleum Products Tax Act and I don’t see that. Oh, I see here, it’s mentioned here as modernizing Petroleum Products Tax Act. I am happy to see that. I would be happy in any of the Minister’s perspectives on what modernizing that act means. Certainly, I know we are out of date with a number of things. For example, we are missing natural gas. We don’t tax natural gas used for power generation and that’s a big hole.
Finally, again, I may have missed it. I was out of the House for a minute there, but I’m wondering where we’re at with carbon pricing. I know the public has been mentioning that more and more and I think it would be good to get some good research and preparatory work going if we are going to do something during the life of this Assembly.
So I will just keep it brief at that, but I just wanted to mention those things. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The policies regarding sole-source contracts are set out in policy and the Premier has already indicated there’s a willingness to review those if there are any discussions required or amendments required. The Petroleum Products Act will be a much needed modernization and will have to link into some of the things we are doing, for example, with tax shifting, with the work we intend to do with revisiting and updating our Greenhouse Gas Strategy to make sure that going forward we have an act that reflects the current thinking and demands and pressures of the 21st Century. The same goes for the issue of carbon pricing, was we look at our tax mix, as we look at our Greenhouse Gas strategy, that discussion and debate has to be entered into. That may take some time given the sensitive nature of the reaction that tends to provoke in just about every quarter when it’s portrayed as a tax. Some of the things that are happening south of us with the politics both in the United States and Canada, that may impact on where we’re going as a country with carbon pricing.
Those are all issues that there is work to be done on over the next coming months remaining in this 16th Assembly. Thank you.
Thanks, committee. We’re on the Department of Finance, general comments. Are there any other general comments? Does committee agree to go to detail?
Agreed.
The department starts on page 5-7, operations expenditure summary. If I could just ask if we could defer this until the end.
Agreed.
We’ll move on to page 5-8, Finance, department summary, information item, infrastructure investment summary.
Agreed.
Page 5-9, Finance, department summary, information item, revenue summary. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m just wondering if we are expecting income from the plastic bag or retail bag program, if that would go into the general revenues.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We anticipate that with the institution of the levy, that there’s going to be a significant drop-off in the use of plastic bags, but any funds that are collected will go into the Environment Fund with ENR and will be put towards other good work that needs to be done.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Bromley. We’re on page 5-8, Finance, department summary, information item, infrastructure investment summary.
Agreed.
Page 5-9, Finance, department summary, information item, revenue summary.
Agreed.
Page 5-10, Finance, department summary, information item, active positions summary.
Agreed.
Page 5-13, Finance, activity summary, deputy minister’s office, operations expenditure summary, $41.921 million.
Agreed.
Page 5-14, Finance, activity summary, deputy minister’s office, grants and contributions, contributions, $37.122 million.
Agreed.
Page 5-15, Finance, activity summary, information item, deputy minister’s office, active positions.
Agreed.
Page 5-17, Finance, activity summary, fiscal policy, operations expenditure summary, $1.267 million.
Agreed.
Page 5-18, Finance, activity summary, information item, fiscal policy, active positions.
Agreed.
Page 5-21, Finance, activity summary, budget, treasury and debt management, operations expenditure summary, $9.815 million.
Agreed.
