Debates of March 30, 2004 (day 11)

That is all. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Labour relations and compensation services, special warrants, $233,000.

Agreed.

Not previously authorized, $100,000.

Agreed.

Government accounting, not previously authorized, $554,000.

Agreed.

Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With this additional half a million dollars, what does this bring the total cost of the power subsidy program to for this fiscal year? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We are estimating for 2004-05, $7.694 million.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am just trying to do the math quickly here. It looks like about 15 percent. Are we adding about 15 percent to the previous estimate?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the previous estimate was approximately $7.2 million, so we are probably more in the area of around eight percent of an increase. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Braden.

Alright, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Obviously I am here and Mr. Voytilla is there doing the math. The rate at which this subsidy is increasing has been a concern of mine for some time, and I think in the course of the budget that we just passed we asked the government to come back with ways to help stabilize, look at options to how we can stabilize the cost of this program. It is a good program, but we need to be careful how we manage it. I won’t dwell on that anymore, we will be dealing with that hopefully in the very near future.

I would like to ask for the coming year are we anticipating that the cost of this program is going to be more or less stable? Are we looking at 7.7 for the coming fiscal year, or was this a spike or a blip in the forecast? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the draft main estimates that we have just dealt with identifies approximately $8.1 million as the total figure we are counting on. The bulk of those increases that we have been dealing with are based on the rate increases that have come across the board. So we are hoping now that we have come across those and those increases have now been put in the system to be fairly stable. Again, there are a number of factors that would come into play depending on the number of customers that would come in, new customers coming to it and the usage of power. The majority of the bulk of the increase we have seen recently is a direct result of rate increases. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That is fine, that is all. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Government accounting, not previously authorized, $554,000.

Agreed.

Budgeting and evaluation, not previously authorized, $134,000.

Agreed.

Total for Financial Management Board Secretariat, special warrants, $233,000.

Agreed.

Not previously authorized, $788,000.

Agreed.

Total department, special warrants, $513,000.

Agreed.

Not previously authorized, $798,000.

Agreed.

Page 8, Municipal and Community Affairs, operations expenditures, lands administration, not previously authorized, $1.462 million.

Agreed.

Total department, $1.462 million.

Agreed.

Page 9, Public Works and Services, operations expenditures, asset management, not previously authorized, $62,000.

Agreed.

Total department, $62,000.

Agreed.

Page 10, Health and Social Services, operations expenditures, program delivery support, special warrants, $11,000.

Agreed.

Health services programs, special warrants, $1.395 million.

Agreed.

Not previously authorized, $1.598 million. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a question for clarification. We know that the Minister of Health came and told us that his staff would conduct the immunization campaign, but in the federal budget speech there was some money allocated for the immunization program. I know I asked this question to the Minister of Finance before, but I am not clear as to whether or not we are benefiting from that money, and whether this is just an exercise of moving the money around or is it actually money coming out of the GNWT budget, is it real money? If that is the case, then what has happened with the federal money? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, there are some real impacts here in the North as a result of the federal budget, but that is for 2004-05 and doesn’t offset the amount that was expended here. There is some money in the federal budget, and I think it is around the $400,000 figure, but I could be corrected on that. It is not a lot of money, but there are some real dollars coming north for that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Ms. Lee.