Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Member is requesting a recorded vote. All those in favour, please stand.
Mr. Dolynny, Ms. Bisaro, Mr. Nadli, Mr. Hawkins, Mr. Menicoche, Mr. Moses, Mr. Bromley, Mr. Nadli, Mr. Bouchard.
All those opposed, please stand. All those abstaining, please stand.
Mr. Blake, Mr. Beaulieu, Mr. Abernethy, Mr. Miltenberger, Mr. McLeod – Yellowknife South, Mr. Lafferty, Mr. McLeod – Inuvik Twin Lakes.
All those in favour, nine; all those opposed, none; abstentions, seven. The motion is carried.
---Carried
Before, I rushed into motions. I’m going back to item 16 of the orders of the day, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Thursday, March 14, 2013, I will move that Bill 5, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2012-2013, be read for the first time.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 18, first reading of bills. Item 19, second reading of bills. Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Tabled Document 43-17(4)… Thank you. It’s so busy up here it’s hard to keep all my papers sometimes.
---Applause
You know it. Bill 1, Tlicho Statutes Amendment Act; Bill 2, Act to Amend the Territorial Parks Act; Committee Report 1-17(4), Report on the Review of the 2011-2012 Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission Annual Report; Tabled Document 43-17(4), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2011-2012; Tabled Document 44-17(4), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2011-2012; Tabled Document 45-17(4), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2012-2013; Tabled Document 51-17(4), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2013-2014, with Mr. Dolynny in the chair.
I’d like to call Committee of the Whole to order. The bills and other matters have been read into the House already today so we won’t need to repeat them. What is the wish of the committee? Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. The committee wishes to review Tabled Document 43-17(4), Tabled Document 44-17(4), Tabled Document 45-17(4) and Tabled Document 51-17(4).
Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Great. We’ll commence after a short break.
---SHORT RECESS
Welcome back, committee. Committee, we’re dealing with Tabled Document 43-17(4), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2011-2012. We’ll be moving to Minister Miltenberger for opening comments.
I am here to present Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2011-2012. This document outlines an increase of $6.810 million for capital investment expenditures in the 2011-2012 fiscal year for the Department of Transportation to provide appropriation authority to record the year-end valuation adjustment on the long-term debt associated with the Deh Cho Bridge Project.
I am prepared to review the details of the supplementary estimates document.
Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Do you have witnesses you’d like to bring into the Chamber?
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Sergeant-at-Arms, if you can escort our witnesses in, please. Thank you.
Minister Miltenberger, if you can introduce your witnesses to the House, please.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I with me the deputy minister, Mike Aumond, and the deputy secretary to the FMB, Sandy Kalgutkar.
Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Mr. Kalgutkar, Mr. Aumond, welcome back to the House. General comments?
Detail.
We’ll go into detail. Committee, we are dealing on page 5 of the supplementary appropriation, infrastructure expenditures. Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’m just wondering if I can get a little bit more detail from the Minister on what this expenditure is for again.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. For that we’ll to Mr. Kalgutkar.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Every year the GNWT has to record the value of the outstanding debt at its real value versus its nominal value, so what this adjustment does is gives us an expenditure appropriate authority to do that.
Thank you, Mr. Kalgutkar. Committee, again, page 5, Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2011-2012. Transportation, capital investment expenditures, highways, not previously authorized, $6.810 million. Mr. Bromley.
Sorry, Mr. Chair. I’m just not quite there yet. We are re-evaluating things and so is this a transfer. No. This is a net cost. No, it’s not a net cost either. Maybe if I could ask for a little more explanation. I know there’s a straightforward explanation. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. For that we’ll go to Mr. Kalgutkar.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Every year, as the Member knows, the bonds are real return bonds, so every year at year-end we have to record the bonds at their real value, and what this appropriation is for is it gives the government the appropriation authority to record that adjustment.
That’s ringing bells now. Have the values of the bonds gone up or down?
As of March 31st the outstanding principal of the bond is around $182 million.
I understand we’re approving $6.8 million. Is that recognizing the value of the bonds have dropped that much?
I stand corrected. The value of the bonds as of March 31, 2013, are about $180 million, and that appropriation authority recognizes that adjustment.
Thank you, Mr. Kalgutkar. Committee, again, we’re on page 5, the supplementary appropriation. Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2011-2012. Transportation, capital investment expenditures, highways, not previously authorized, $6.810 million. Total department, not previously authorized, $6.810 million.
Agreed.
Okay. Does committee agree that we have concluded consideration of Tabled Document 43-17(4), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2011-2012?
Agreed.
We’ll go to Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 43-17(4), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2011-2012, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 43-17(4) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
---Carried
Committee, if you like to, we can continue with Tabled Document 44-17(4). Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. We will now go to Minister Miltenberger for opening comments.
Mr. Chairman, I am here to present Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2011-2012. This document provides an increase of $591,000 for operations expenditures for departmental over-expenditures in the 2011-12 fiscal year.
During the 2011-12 year-end process to finalize the GNWT financial statements, adjustments were made to departmental expenditures to ensure the statements were prepared in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles. The 2011-12 year-end process identified a number of adjustments that resulted in departments exceeding their appropriation authority.
Section 36(4) of the Financial Administration Act provides the Minister of Finance authority to submit a supplementary appropriation bill to the Legislative Assembly to finance any departmental over-expenditures resulting from the year-end process.
Appropriation authority is therefore being sought for the following two adjustments:
$247,000 for Education, Culture and Employment for over-expenditures as a result of an accounting change in amortization expense; and
$344,000 for Transportation to record expenses originally recorded as work performed on behalf of others as operational expenses.
I am prepared to review the details of the supplementary estimates document. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
