Mr. Chair, the money will be flowing once the deal is officially signed, sometime in the coming weeks. After that point all the money will flow. Thank you.
Mr. Chair, just so I’m clear, all the money will flow. Is that what I read into that, that all $26.5 million will be in our hands before April 1, 2014?
All the money that we haven’t already been given will flow at that point, yes. Thank you.
Mr. Chair, I guess I just want to get clarification. Will the full amount of $26.5 million be in our corporate coffers or our government coffers from the Government of Canada by April 1, 2014?
That is what is anticipated, yes.
I have no further questions.
Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Directorate, not previously authorized, $9.755 million. Agreed?
Agreed.
Executive, operations, not previously authorized, $4,000. Agreed?
Agreed.
Total department, not previously authorized, $9.759 million. Agreed?
Agreed.
Page 5, Human Resources, operations expenditures, Human Resource Strategy and Policy, not previously authorized, $1,000. Agreed?
Agreed.
Management and recruitment services, not previously authorized, $1,000. Agreed?
Agreed.
Employee services, not previously authorized, $1,000. Agreed?
Agreed.
Regional operations, not previously authorized, $9,000. Agreed?
Agreed.
Labour relations, not previously authorized, $1,000. Agreed?
Agreed.
Total department, not previously authorized, $13,000.
Agreed.
Page 6, Finance, operations expenditures, deputy minister’s office, not previously authorized, $179,000. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to just confirm that under the Housing Corporation we are talking about some additional fuel costs because we went to synthetic natural gas which is the most expensive, as I understand it, of the three gas options, and we had to do that because of the emergency there. I understand that the liquid natural gas is about one-third less expensive, and natural gas itself, again less expensive.
Inuvik has recently chosen the liquid natural gas option so I am anticipating that this is a one-year cost, or at least next year should be less. I would just like to get that confirmed, and at the same time, the Minister has identified earlier that the biomass is a better option yet in the long term. We know that the Housing Corporation is looking at the possibility of biomass, including for the public housing in Inuvik. I am wondering if that is still considered an option that is being examined, and if so, when we might hear on the results of that examination.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The costs are, of course, predicated on the assumption that the liquid natural gas prices are going to stay within the range that we have budgeted for, so yes, we anticipate that there will be less costs compared to synthetic natural gas compared to diesel. Should the day come when natural gas is available locally that is appropriate for use, then yes there could be another lowering of costs.
We are committed to the biomass piece. Seven hundred thousand dollars was voted in this last budget for Housing to do the work to determine and sort out some of the technical and policy and liability issues in having biomass units in public housing. They are doing that work, and I would anticipate that as they come forward in the fall and the coming months with the business plan process, and we look at the budgets and main estimates in March, the Housing Corporation will be in a position to update the Assembly and committees on the results of their work and the $700,000. Thank you.
Thanks for that response from the Minister. I guess my last point is: We have been hearing from this government that they expect natural gas prices to go up considerably, and I understand that there might be some efficiencies, that we might be able to get liquid natural gas from closer source and ameliorate and mitigate that rising cost, but recognizing that the Minister does not have a crystal ball, what is our vulnerability there and what weight does that play in the decisions to go with a fossil fuel versus renewable energy alternative? Thank you.
If the Member will think back, we started on an emergency basis where the running out of natural gas in Inuvik was declared imminent, that there was a need to minimize the load and pressure on the existing gas reserves. That work was done, recognizing that synthetic natural gas was the short-term emergency option. That work was done. In the meantime, the market in the development of liquid natural gas has proceeded in Canada where that type of resource was available. We recognize at the same time, as we move across to the Northwest Territories with our alternative energy, that there is potential for biomass.
The issue with liquid natural gas, of course, is it’s going to be generating the power in Inuvik come October. The biomass piece where the type of technology that’s readily, I believe, available to have that combined heat and power in Inuvik on such short notice. So we are now into sort of the mid-term, mid-range response to the energy situation in Inuvik. We’ve invested some money to do the biomass. That work will be done, it is being done and as we look at the broad change potentially or involvement or inclusion of biomass in Inuvik as we have other communities like Norman Wells or Yellowknife or Fort Smith or Hay River, and especially in public housing, we have some technical issues to work out and liability issues. So that work is all underway, as well, in the longer term.
We don’t want to forget, as well, that we’re also looking at wind power at Storm Hills as a site where there is a potential capacity of four to six megawatts. So there are a lot of energy options on the books with Inuvik; we just have to stage and sequence them in a way that makes sure that the community has a safe, secure supply of energy. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Minister. Deputy minister’s office, not previously authorized, $179,000.
Agreed.
Office of the comptroller general, not previously authorized, $560,000. Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’d like to just spend a second here on the $667,000 entry on this line and it reads, “To provide funding for operational expenditures related to new office spaces for financial shared services in Norman Wells, Hay River, Fort Smith, Fort Simpson and Yellowknife.” If I can get a little bit more explanation as to what is the scope of that amount within that framework description. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Aumond.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The $667,000 that the Member is referring to is costs for the Department of Finance for setting up offices in Norman Wells, Hay River, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith and Yellowknife, and it’s costs for moving, furniture, costs for bringing in phone services and wiring of the offices. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Aumond. Mr. Dolynny.
I guess, for just an explanation, what are these new offices, which weren’t on the so-called operations plan last time we did this, supposedly going to be providing in terms of service?
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. These offices will provide a location in those communities listed for the site of the financial shared services where, as we’ve laid out to committee and we got committee support to bring these services together, so that we could hopefully be more coordinated and effective as a government. On the financial management side and the very many services that had previously been dispersed out among various departments, now we’ve taken a step starting with Inuvik and moving on to these other communities to integrate those services. I’ll ask, Mr. Chairman, your indulgence if the deputy minister has any further detail he’d wish to provide.
Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Aumond.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess further to what the Minister has commented on, this will be where we will gather all the transactional, routine transactions of the government, allow them to take place in what we feel will be a more efficient manner, and leaving the departments to undertake the broader financial management of their operations and relieving them of those duties and responsibilities. Also providing, I guess, a more coordinated approach and opportunities, particularly in the regions for more career pathing around the finance sector for those who are interested, and bringing a more solid base at the regional level to providing these services. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Aumond. Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again, I appreciate the explanation. I’m trying to bridge what we passed just last week in another supplementary infrastructure appropriation, which is about three-quarters of a million dollars for tenant improvements and office space. Now, I’m trying to combine this with this new component, all under the guise of financial shared services, so now we’re looking at… In my mind, if I add the two together, now we’re at $1.3 million of, I call it, unforeseen, or sometimes it’s always put to us here at committee as a one-time capital cost or one-time cost here.
With that in mind, these one-time costs, as we move and prepare for the next budget cycle, are we going to see more of these in the financial shared services, or with this appropriation we are going to be at our quota in terms of making sure that we’re up to speed and have the full model implemented?
I would expect that perhaps you may see in the future perhaps some tenant improvements as we look to consolidate operations in Yellowknife, once the office space in Yellowknife gets figured out. As Members may recall, the original plan for the implementation of financial shared services was over a two-year period. Once we became more certain around devolution, we took the view that it was advantageous of us to try to get ahead of that curve and accelerate the implementation of the financial shared services, which is why you’re seeing these types of requests coming through the supplementary appropriation manner rather than through the normal business planning.
I’m satisfied with the explanations. No further questions.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have some questions, as well, on this particular expenditure, the financial shared services. Mr. Dolynny has mentioned two numbers, but there’s one more number under Public Works and Services a little further on in this document. It adds up to close to $2 million. I think it’s $1.9 million, give or take. I appreciate that these are one-time costs, and I appreciate that we are doing this for the better. This is going to presumably make our financial services somewhat better. But it is a large amount of money.
I guess I would like to know from the Minister, and again, I have to say, I appreciate the fact that we have approved this going forward with the financial shared services, but the kind of bottom line question is: What are we getting for this $2 million? If I could get an explanation of the benefits of spending this money to establish our financial shared services together.
