Debates of June 7, 2006 (day 7)

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I have a motion. Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2006-2007, that the schedule to Bill 2 be amended:

a)

decreased by $320,000 the supplementary appropriation amount set out in part 2 item 16 Public Works and Services, by striking out "$8.207 million" and substituting "$7.887 million" in the column entitled "Appropriation by Item"

b) decreased by $320,000 the amount set out in part 2 as the total supplementary appropriation for capital investment expenditures, by striking out "$45,411 million" and substituting "$45.091 million" and

c) decreased by $320,000 the amount set out at the end of the schedule as the total supplementary appropriation, by striking out "$114.657 million" and substituting "$114.337 million".

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

There's a motion on the floor. The motion is in order.

Question.

Question has been asked to the motion. Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

To the schedule, as amended.

Agreed.

Bill 2, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2006-2007, clause 1.

Agreed.

Clause 2.

Agreed.

Clause 3.

Agreed.

Clause 4.

Agreed.

Clause 5.

Agreed.

Clause 6.

Agreed.

Clause 7.

Agreed.

To the preamble.

Agreed.

Bill as a whole.

Agreed.

Bill as a whole, as amended.

Agreed.

Does committee agree that Bill 2 is ready for third reading, as amended?

Agreed.

Bill 2 is now ready for third reading, as amended. Thank you. I'd like to thank the honourable Minister and also the witness. Thank you, Members. I'd like to recognize Mr. Menicoche.

Can we conclude in five, 10 minutes?

Can I have order, please? Mr. Menicoche.

Okay, we're going to consider Committee Report 4-15(5).

Thank you. Committee will now consider Committee Report 4. Thank you. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. With respect to priorities and objectives of the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight Progress Report on Priorities and Objectives, we read most of them into the public record. Just as chair, the most important thing for us is to continue our deliberations of pre-budget consultations and we really look forward to planning a fall session and getting out to the five regions. It means different communities; it means 10 communities that we're going to get out there and listen to people and talk about their priorities and their needs, as we represent them in this House with our Accountability and Oversight committee.

Many of the priorities that we stated when we became elected gets confirmed and reaffirmed often with our visits to the communities in the pre-budget consultations. I just want to remind the public that all of us Members here continue to do that, is to maintain and gradually use the strength of the people to continue to hold government accountable when they're deliberating regional balances in capital projects, when they're considering new priorities and new initiatives, is to bear in mind all the segments of our population as very, very important. We also look forward to progressing on a lot of our committee priorities. Continually watching and the progress of the HR consolidation is good to hear an update by the Minister for the public. Even though it's our public service that's being impacted, it also impacts all the people that we do serve. You know, out of the 4,200 employees, we serve the rest of the North and how our HR responds has a big effect on all the people throughout the North, and that's something that we continue to press and represent our people for.

As well as housing. Housing is a huge issue for any Regular MLA, even for Members on the opposite side of the House, even though they're Ministers, they're MLAs as well, and their needs and their ridings I'm sure has a lot to do with housing and how we address those. We'll get lots of feedback, I'm sure, when we travel out in the fall time because this is the first year we're implementing the full effect of the rent scales, as well as some of the new strategies and the Affordable Housing Program. As well, because many of the Members in this House are not quite convinced of the Novel housing project, I'm sure that when we get out into the communities people will want to know what it is. Initially, people thought they were rundown trailers from the first image that the newspapers put, and that's what they think we're getting.

But it's more information and getting out there and if that's not what they really want, then committee will support that as well.

That's just some of the things that committee is looking at doing, and more open…We'd like to strive for more and more open public briefings with Ministers, and we would like to continue to work towards that. I believe you had one in the past year and we thought, as a committee, that worked well. We'd like to see more of that. But at the same time, as privileged as Members of the Legislative Assembly, we don't want to take away our ability to get in-camera information from the departments and from the different ministries as well. At the same time, our public does have to know what we're doing and what we're talking about in our committee systems.

With that, Mr. Chair, that's my comments with respect to Committee Report 4-15(5). Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. General comments, Committee Report 4-15(5). I don't see any further comments, therefore, does the committee agree that Committee Report 4-15(5) is completed?

Agreed.

I see there's no further business in Committee of the Whole, so I will stand and report progress.