Debates of October 20, 2004 (day 24)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled Agricultural Products Marketing Act 2003-2004 Annual Report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 13, tabling of documents. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Mr. Speaker, I decline tabling of documents.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Friday, October 22, 2004, I will move the following motion:

Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that the following persons be approved by the Legislative Assembly as sole adjudicators: Mr. Robert Clark, Mr. Robert Halifax and Mr. Dave Jones, QC. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, October 22, 2004, I will move the following motion:

I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that the following persons be recommended to the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories for appointment as members of the Human Rights Adjudication Panel for the terms indicated:

Jamie Posynick, chair, for four years;

Ms. Shannon Gullberg, member, for three years; and,

Ms. Joan Mercredi, member, for three years.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, October 22, 2004, I will move the following motion:

Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Sahtu, that the government direct the Northwest Territories Power Corporation to submit a one rate zone proposal as part of its next general rate application to the Public Utilities Board so that public consideration and discussion of this issue can take place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 15, Tlicho Community Services Agency Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. The motion is in order. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 16, Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. The motion is in order. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

I will call the committee to order. Presently we have Minister’s Statement 48-15(3), Sessional Statement; Minister’s Statement 49-15(3), Fiscal Update; Minister’s Statement 54-15(3), Progress Report on Health and Social Services in the NWT; Bill 13, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2, 2004-2005; and, Bill 14, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 2003-2004. What is the wish of the committee? Mr. Menicoche.

Mr. Chairman, we wish to consider Bill 14, Bill 13 and Minister’s Statement 54-15(3) in that order.

Does committee agree? At this time, I would like to take a 15-minute break.

---SHORT RECESS

Good afternoon. Welcome back after the short break. Before we took our break, Committee of the Whole agreed to deal with Bill 14, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 2003-2004. Before we move on, can I just give a little process that we will follow just to refresh everybody here if that’s okay with committee?

Agreed.

To assist members in dealing with Bill 13 and Bill 14, supplementary appropriation acts, I would like to outline the procedures that will be followed. You will find bills 13 and 14 and the detailed booklets of the supplementary estimates in your grey legislation binder by your desk. We will go to the Minister of Finance first for his opening comments on Bill 14. This will be followed by general comments on the bill by members. Once general comments are concluded, then the committee will determine if they are agreed to go to the detail of the bill. The Minister will be asked if he wishes to bring in witnesses. The committee will be asked if they concur to bring in the witnesses. The process for the detailed review of the supplementary estimates includes detail, page-by-page review of the document, which is behind the bill in your binders. Once the committee has concluded the detailed review, the committee will go to the bill for the clause-by-clause approval process. At the conclusion of the clause-by-clause consideration the bill will be reported and the same process will follow for Bill 13. That’s the process that will be followed. Is that agreed?

Agreed.

Thank you. I now would like to recognize the Minister, Floyd Roland, for his opening remarks on Bill 13.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Supplementary Appropriation No. 4 requests authority for additional appropriations of $2.478 million for operations expenditures for departmental over-expenditures.

The request is being made to comply with the authorization process for over-expenditures of appropriations occurring in the 2003-2004 fiscal year, as provided for in the Financial Administration Act. Details of the over-expenditures are as follows:

$231,000 for the Department of the Executive, Financial Management Board Secretariat, that represents the over-expenditure caused by accruing a $3 million loss allowance on the loan guarantee agreement with Sirius Diamonds NWT Ltd.

$2.2 million for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment that represents the over-expenditure caused by accruing a $9.5 million potential liability associated with current litigation being brought forward against the governments of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut for previous abuse in the school system.

Mr. Chairman, I am prepared to review the details of the supplementary appropriation document with committee. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. At this time is it the committee’s wish that the Minister bring in his witness or witnesses?

Agreed.

Mr. Roland, would you like to bring in your witnesses?

Yes.

Would the Sergeant-at-Arms please escort the witnesses in please? Thank you.

Thank you. At this time, Mr. Minister, you can introduce your witness please. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I have with me today Mr. Lew Voytilla, secretary to the Financial Management Board. Thank you.

Thank you. Committee, general comments? Detail?

Agreed.

Thank you. At this point in time we will defer the clauses, but we will go with the schedule and go to page 5 on detail. Is that okay with committee?

Agreed.

Page 5, is that agreeable?

Agreed.

Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We are not able to find page 5, some people on this side. Is that the page that says budget and evaluation, is that page 5?

Yes.

Okay, so it’s page 5 of the schedule.

Page 5 of the 2003-2004 Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4 on the detail booklet. Ms. Lee.

Thank you on that. There is $231,000 for the loan guarantees associated with the default on the loan guarantee agreement with Sirius. Could I just get the Minister to state again why the government had to incur this $231,000 in expenditures?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Can we get back in order here? Maybe I will just read out what we have, what we are going to deal with here, and then we will go to the questions.

Okay, the Department of the Executive, operations expenditures, Financial Management Board Secretariat, budget and evaluations, not previously authorized, $231,000. To Ms. Lee’s question to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, when this file had come forward and we realized that we had to account for this, we had built the $3 million amount that would be the potential loss, but that went over our appropriation amount by the amount given of $231,000. Thank you.

Thank you. Ms. Lee.

I’m sorry; I still don’t understand why we had to pay out $2.69 million.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It wasn’t a matter of actually paying out. We had accounted for the potential loss and loss in this situation, but we did not have the amount that was required for the total that was called on at that point. Maybe for more detail I’ll have Mr. Voytilla give a going over of this. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Voytilla.