Agreed. Okay. I will now ask the Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, the Honourable Michael Miltenberger, if he would like to make some opening comments on Tabled Document 7-16(6).
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m here to present Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 6, 2010-2011. This document outlines an increase of $300,000 for capital investment expenditures in the 2010-2011 fiscal year for the Department of Transportation completing a 500-foot runway extension at the Fort Good Hope Airport. The net fiscal financial impact is nil as the costs are fully offset by funding from the Fort Good Hope Dene/Metis Lands Limited.
I’m prepared to review the details of the supplementary appropriation document. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Minister Miltenberger, would you like to bring witnesses into the House?
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Is committee agreed?
Agreed.
Agreed. Sergeant-at-Arms, I’d like to get you to please escort the witnesses into the Chamber.
Thank you. Minister Miltenberger, can I please get you to introduce your witnesses for the record.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Margaret Melhorn, deputy minister of Finance; Sandy Kalgutkar, deputy secretary to the Financial Management Board. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. I’ll now open the floor to general comments on Tabled Document 7-16(6), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 6, 2010-2011. Are there any general comments? I see no general comments. Does committee agree that we go to the detail of the tabled document?
Agreed.
Agreed. Alright. Detail begins on page 5. Can I get committee to please go to page 5? Is committee agreed?
Agreed.
Okay. Tabled Document 7-16(6), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 6, 2010-11, Transportation, capital investment expenditures, airports, not previously authorized, $300,000.
Agreed.
Total department, not previously authorized, $300,000.
Agreed.
Is committee agreed that we’ve concluded review of Tabled Document 7-16(6).
Agreed.
Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 7-16(6), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 6, 2010-2011, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 7-16(6) be reported as recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Motion is on the floor. Motion is being distributed. Thank you. The motion has been distributed. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called.
---Carried
Is committee agreed that we move along to Tabled Document 8-16(6), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2011-2012?
Agreed.
I’ll now go to Minister Miltenberger to see if there are any opening remarks on Tabled Document 8-16(6). Minister Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m here to present Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2011-2012. This document outlines an increase of $19.122 million for operation expenditures and an increase of $120.001 million for capital investment expenditures for the 2011-2012 fiscal year. The total supplementary request is $139.123 million.
Major items in this supplementary estimates include:
$138.1 million for the carry-over of funding for infrastructure projects. This funding was approved and lapsed in the 2010-11 fiscal period.
The carry-overs for capital investment expenditures in the supplementary estimates represent about 26 percent of the 2010-11 revised capital budget. This percentage is lower than the previous two fiscal years, which averaged around 33 percent.
Given the size of our capital budget in 2010-11, a record $527 million, I’m pleased to see the new capital planning process, including the fall approval of capital estimates, is continuing to yield positive results.
$1.010 million for investments under the Energy Priorities Investment Plan to install wood pellet boilers at the Yellowknife Airport and Elizabeth Mackenzie School in Behchoko.
$850,000 for the Department of Transportation for the reconstruction of a section of Inuvik Airport taxiway. The net impact on government operations is nil as the reconstruction of the taxiway will be funded by the Department of National Defence.
I’m prepared to review the details on this supplementary appropriation document. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Minister Miltenberger, are the witnesses in the House currently the ones you wish to have in front of us?
Yes, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Since we’re on a different tabled document, I’ll once again get you to introduce your witnesses for the record.
Thank you. Deputy Minister Margaret Melhorn and Sandy Kalgutkar, deputy secretary to the Financial Management Board. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. I’ll probably get you to do that one more time, but we’ll do it later. I’ll now open the floor to general comments. Are there any general comments on Tabled Document 8-16(6)? Okay. I don’t see or have any indication that there are any responses. Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In regard to the Minister’s opening statement, I did raise this issue in committee in regard to the energy priority initiatives. The Yellowknife Airport, a garage was constructed. This is a new facility yet we’re spending some $660,000-odd to put in a wood pellet boiler. I’m wondering why it is that this was not part of the design and construction of that facility and why wasn’t that built in when we constructed this new facility. It is new. I think we spent quite a few million dollars on it. I’m just wondering why it is that we’re making this major expenditure after the fact on a brand new facility. I’d like to know, for the public record, why that wasn’t part of the expenditures when we constructed the new facility.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Kalgutkar.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The potential for a wood pellet boiler was part of the original design of the building. When the building neared completion, the original contractor that was supposed to design and install the boiler was no longer available, so they had to put in a propane system. Now that Public Works has developed some expertise into that type of facility, they are now proposing to install the boiler and will use the propane system as a backup.
Again, there are a lot of other needy projects out there, especially in the communities where you have high operational costs in the isolated communities. I’m wondering when this government is going to make an effort to make these type of investments in the more high-cost communities and bring down the cost of living in our communities, than continue to make these kind of capital expenditures. Especially in the capital and for a brand new piece of infrastructure to be built and then to put this into the mix without even allowing other communities the same opportunity to consider those dollars to be spent in high-cost communities.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The initiative that is before us is one that is going to generate some significant savings. The payback is 4.7 years. The money that is saved will be put into a fund that will allow us to in fact, in addition to the money that may be voted by this Legislature, have a fund that will allow us to continue to do these type of retrofits that will see a number of benefits, a source of energy that’s cheaper, less greenhouse gasses, and funding reinvested to help look at similar type of retrofits across the North. We are moving across the North to deal with a whole host of alternative energy initiatives like this one. The intention and plan, I think we’re demonstrating that as we are moving across the North to try to put these type of initiatives into place.
Maybe the Minister can tell us exactly when he is going to get around to the higher-cost communities. It’s great to say let’s do this all with the capital in the South Slave region. When are we going to see these capital investments in our high-cost, smaller, isolated communities?
We are looking at, for example, some of the smaller communities possibly in the Deh Cho or Nahendeh for a pilot project for use of biomass for heat; hopefully, if the technology evolves, for electricity. We are working with communities to see about the viability of doing local wood chipping or wood pellets so that we can support some type of biomass initiative. We’ve used solar in a whole host of different places. In Ulukhaktok we’re doing all sorts of energy retrofits. In Fort McPherson we’re doing work in the Chief Julius School, at the health centre, in residences. As an example, some of the things that we are doing with this type of retrofit, trying to realize energy efficiencies and savings.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Krutko, anything further? Mr. Krutko.
Just a clarification. I think we’re having some problems here identifying which document we’re operating off of. Maybe if we can just get clarification of exactly which document we’re talking about here. We have the Supplementary Operations Expenditures, No. 1. We have the Supplementary Infrastructure Expenditures, No. 1. I think either the covering page is wrong or misplaced. Could we get clarification of which document we’re dealing with?
Thank you. We are definitely doing Tabled Document 8-16(6), which is Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2011-2012. The problem is there was a copying error. So the content of Tabled Document 8-16 is actually within 9-16 and the content for 9-16 is actually in 8-16. We are definitely looking at infrastructure. So for the detail, look within your other document there. Just for the record, we’re still doing general comments on the opening comments. Mr. Krutko, did you have any further questions? Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just wanted to make a few comments. It’s obviously quite alarming that we’re carrying over $138 million for infrastructure projects. Although the Minister states representing 26 percent of the 2010-2011 revised capital plan, that’s a lower percentage than in previous fiscal years, which averaged around 33 percent. More alarming for me is the amount of capital projects within the Department of Transportation that have been carried over. That’s around $72 million.
I’d like to ask the Minister if there are historical numbers of percentage of carry-overs by department. I think having that many projects carried over is troubling. If you look through the detail, there’s every excuse under the sun why some of these projects haven’t been concluded. In the backdrop to everything is a bridge that we’re trying to get constructed across the Mackenzie River. Has that project taken away the department’s staff and attention to getting some of these other capital projects concluded? I think that’s a legitimate concern and a legitimate question that I’d like to have answered.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will refer that question to Minister Michael McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Minister Michael McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Our capital budget for last year was at an historic high of $292 million. We are planning to carry or requesting to carry $72 million of that amount over.
We successfully delivered $220 million worth of projects last year. Of the $72 million which is a carry-over, $25 million of it is for the Deh Cho Bridge. So that would actually, if you removed that portion it, would be around $46 million that we’re carrying over.
There is no connection between the Deh Cho Bridge and the amount DOT is carrying over. The Deh Cho Bridge has consumed time due to the audits that we’ve had with the Auditor General and the Levelton Report, but it’s been restricted to a number of staff. All projects had adequate sufficient management as required. We do not include anywhere in our details that any project has been delayed as a result of the Deh Cho Bridge Project.
I know and I appreciate all the work that the department’s done on moving along the capital plan, especially over the last two years when we’ve had funding from the federal government come in which has enabled us to get a number of infrastructure projects, especially in the area of Transportation, off the ground. I know it has been a big number.
Again, reading through the information that was given to committee, there are a lot of reasons why all these projects weren’t concluded. I just wanted to make sure, and I had to ask the question that I asked, that these projects are getting done and it’s not because of the department’s preoccupation with anything else. There’s going to be every effort to get these projects concluded.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. I didn’t really hear a question, more of a comment, so I’ll go to the next person on my list. Mr. Bromley.
