Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A question to the Chairman of the Financial Management Board, Secretariat. Would the Chairman of the Financial Management Board please provide:
a list of all subsidies provided by the GNWT; and
for each subsidy, the amount spent, by community, for the most recent fiscal year available?
Thank you.
I wish to table the following document, entitled Northern Voices, Northern Waters: Towards a Water Resources Management Strategy for the NWT.
Document 66-16(2), Northern Voices, Northern Waters: Towards a Water Resources Management Strategy for the NWT, tabled.
Pursuant to section 32.1(2) of the Financial Administration Act, I wish to table the following document, entitled Interactivity Transfers Exceeding $250,000 for the Period April 1, 2007, to March 31, 2008.
Document 67-16(2), Interactivity Transfers Exceeding $250,000 for the Period April 1, 2007, to March 31, 2008, tabled.
I have three items I would like to table.
The first item is entitled parliamentary information research on the Provincial and Territorial Funding Programs for Autism Therapy paperwork.
The second item is entitled A System of Care for Children with Autism, expert panel report. It’s from Alberta Children’s Services, September 2002.
The third item is entitled Resources Available for Children with Disabilities.
Document 68-16(2), Provincial and Territorial Funding Programs for Autism Therapy, tabled.
Document 69-16(2), A System of Care for Children with Autism, tabled.
Document 70-16(2), Department of Health and Social Services: Resources Available for Children with Disabilities, tabled.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins.
I wish to table a report by the Languages Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, entitled Speaking of Health: Official Languages as Part of Quality Health Care in the Northwest Territories, January, 2008.
Document 71–16(2), Speaking of Health: Official Languages as Part of Quality Health Care in the Northwest Territories, January, 2008, tabled.
I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Bill 18 has had first reading.
Motion carried; Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009, read a first time.
I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill makes supplementary appropriations for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2008–2009 fiscal year.
Bill 18 has had second reading and is referred to Committee of the Whole.
Motion carried; Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009, read a second time and referred to Committee of the Whole.
Item 19, second reading of bills. Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Bill 5, Bill 6, Bill 12, Committee Report 2-16(2), Committee Report 3-16(2), Minister’s Statement 62-16(2), Bill 18, with Mr. Krutko in the Chair.
I’d like to call the Committee of the Whole to order. There are some items to deal with in Committee of the Whole today. We have Bill 5, 6, 12 and 18; Committee Report 2 and 3; Minister’s Statement 62-16(2).
What’s the wish of the committee? Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The committee today wishes to deal with Bill 18, Bill 12, Bill 5, Bill 6, Committee Report 2, Committee Report 3, in that order. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Okay, committee agreed?
Agreed.
Okay, with that, we’ll begin after a short break with Bill 18.
The Committee of the Whole took a short recess.
I’d like to call the Committee of the Whole back to order. As we agreed prior to the break, we’ll begin with Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009.
So with that, at this time, I’d like to ask the Minister responsible for the bill to make opening comments. The Minister of Finance, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009, requests authority for additional appropriations of $50.317 million for operations expenditures and $106.345 million for capital investment expenditures in the 2008–2009 fiscal year.
To clarify the contents of the bill, the $48.4 million of operation expenditure appropriations includes $15.6 million offset by federal revenues and $32 million for contribution funding for the continuation of community infrastructure projects not completed in the 2007–2008 fiscal period. Funding for these projects was approved and lapsed in 2007–2008.
The $106.1 million for capital investment expenditures includes $11.1 million offset by federal revenues and $95 million in capital carry-overs from the 2007–2008 fiscal period. Major items included in this request for operations expenditures, other than carry-overs, include items that are part of the Building Canada Plan, $11.8 million for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs for additional contribution funding to community governments for community infrastructure, and $3 million for the Department of Transportation to advance the Yellowknife bypass road.
This is the second year in which the Government of the Northwest Territories has requested a significant amount of carry-over funding from the previous year. I’m confident the changes being implemented to the capital planning process will help lower future requests.
The bill includes changes discussed with Members in response to committee motions during the departmental reviews of the Main Estimates.
That concludes my opening remarks, and I’m prepared to answer questions Members may have.
I’d like to ask the Minister if he’ll be bringing any witnesses. Mr. Roland.
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Does the committee agree that the Minister brings in his witnesses?
Agreed.
Agreed. Sergeant-at-Arms, could you escort the witnesses in?
Mr. Minister, for the record, could you introduce your witnesses?
Mr. Chairman, to my right is the secretary to the Financial Management Board, Ms. Kathleen LeClair, and to my left is Mr. Charles Tolley, manager of budget development.
Thank you, Mr. Minister. Welcome, witnesses. Are there any general comments in regard to the bill?
Maybe we can begin on page 1, which we’ll defer. We’ll also defer the Schedule, to begin on page 5 of the bill.
Page 5, Municipal and Community Affairs, Operations Expenditures, Community Operations, not previously authorized: $5.344 million.
Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009, Municipal and Community Affairs, Operations Expenditures, Community Operations, not previously authorized: $5.344 million, approved.
Regional Operations, not previously authorized: $28.843 million.
Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009, Municipal and Community Affairs, Operations Expenditures, Regional Operations, not previously authorized: $28.843 million, approved.
Total Department, not previously authorized: $34.187 million.
Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009, Municipal and Community Affairs, Operations Expenditures, Total Department, not previously authorized: $34.187 million, approved.
Moving on to page 6. Justice, Operations Expenditure, Service to Government, not previously authorized: $161,000.
Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009, Justice, Operations Expenditures, Services to Government, not previously authorized: $161,000, approved.
Courts, not previously authorized, $833,000.
Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009, Justice, Operations Expenditures, Courts, not previously authorized: $833,000, approved.
Community Justice and Corrections, not previously authorized, $613,000.
Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009, Justice, Operations Expenditures, Community Justice and Corrections, not previously authorized: $613,000, approved.
Total Department, not previously authorized: $1.607 million.
Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009, Justice, Operations Expenditures, Total Department, not previously authorized: $1.607 million, approved.
Moving on to page 7. Education, Culture and Employment, Operations Expenditure, Education and Culture, not previously authorized: $9.878 million.
Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009, Education, Culture and Employment, Operations Expenditures, Education and Culture, not previously authorized: $9.878 million, approved.
Income Security, not previously authorized: $200,000.
Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009, Education, Culture and Employment, Operations Expenditures, Income Security, not previously authorized: $200,000, approved.
Total Department, not previously authorized: $10.078 million.
Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009, Education, Culture and Employment, Total Department, not previously authorized: $10.078 million, approved.
Moving on to page 8. Transportation, Operations Expenditure, Corporate Services. Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. In reviewing this supplementary appropriation, I have no problem, given most of the money is coming from the feds or is carried over from the previous year. However, at the beginning of the budget process we were told that the supplementary appropriation available was changed from $25 million to $10 million, as $15 million was transferred to the departments so they wouldn’t have to come back for supps on a regular basis.
In the case of this department, $555,000 minus the $33,000 — $518,000, is being asked for out of that $10 million supplementary appropriation fund that we do have. I was under the impression that the $10 million was basically to be used for emergency cases: things that were not or could not be planned, things that were not foreseen, things that came out of the blue. In the case of the money that’s being asked for here, I’m under the impression that this is something that the departments should have been able to identify and should have been able to plan for and that should be taken out of a portion of that $15 million that was already transferred to them.
Now, I understand the reality that transferring that $15 million to the authorities or the departments wasn’t done until yesterday. At the same time, this is clearly something that we’re going to have a hard time approving if it comes forward in the future, given that it is something that should have been planned and should have been captured within the department as part of that $15 million that was transferred to them.
I was wondering if I could just get the Minister of Finance to talk a little bit about that supp fund and the fact that it was transferred to the authorities and how this relates to that. To me, this is clearly something that should have been able to be planned.
Minister of FMBS, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Is the Member referring to the Department of Transportation?
Sorry. We’re on page 8. Transportation, Operations Expenditure, Corporate Services: $518,000, not previously authorized.
Mr. Abernethy, is your question on page 8?
Page 9.
We’re not quite there yet. Okay, we’re on page 8. Transportation, Operations Expenditures, Corporate Services, not previously authorized: $518,000.
Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009, Transportation, Operations Expenditures, Corporate Services, not previously authorized: $518,000, approved.
Highways, not previously authorized: $3 million.
Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2008–2009, Transportation, Operations Expenditures, Highways, not previously authorized: $3 million, approved.
