Debates of October 20, 2004 (day 24)

Agreed.

Go into the preamble, Bill 14.

Agreed.

The bill as a whole.

Agreed.

Does the committee agree that Bill 14 is ready for third reading, as amended?

Agreed.

Bill 14 is now ready for third reading.

Agreed.

At this time I’d like to thank Mr. Voytilla for coming in. Thank you. Now we’re going on to Bill 13. Does the Minister have any opening comments? Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Supplementary Appropriation No. 2 requests authority for additional appropriations of $11.201 million for operations expenditures and $5.450 million for capital investment expenditures.

Major items included in this request for operations expenditures are as follows:

$4.7 million for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development for additional fire suppression costs incurred due to severe forest fire conditions in 2004.

$2.5 million for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment for emergency repairs to Samuel Hearne Senior Secondary School in Inuvik due to the collapse of the front foyer roof and fire in the gymnasium and industrial arts wing.

$1.8 million for the Department of Health and Social Services for additional utilities and maintenance costs at the Inuvik Hospital.

The net operations funding request is within the 2004-2005 supplementary reserve.

The major item included in this request for capital investment expenditures is $3.4 million for the Department of Transportation for renovations required for the installation of an explosive detection system and increased utilization of the air terminal building. Two million dollars of the total amount requested will be funded by the Canadian Air Transport Security Agency and the balance through new airport revenues.

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

What is the wish of the committee? General comments. At this time we shall defer the preamble and the schedule and go on to the detail on page 5.

Agreed.

At this time I’d like to ask the Minister if he has any witnesses to appear in Committee of the Whole. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, I do.

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

Thank you. At this time we can proceed. I would like to welcome back Mr. Voytilla. Thank you. Going to details now. Page 5.

Agreed.

Department of Executive, operations expenditures, executive offices, special warrants, $217,000.

Agreed.

Executive offices, special warrants, $217,000.

Agreed.

Executive, operations expenditures, executive offices, not previously authorized, $64,000.

Agreed.

Department of Executive, operations expenditures, total executive offices, special warrants, $217,000.

Agreed.

Total executive offices, not previously authorized, $64,000.

Agreed.

Go on to page 6, Financial Management Board Secretariat, budgeting and evaluation, special warrants, $226,000.

Agreed.

Going once.

Agreed.

Budgeting and evaluation, special warrants. Thank you. Financial Management Board Secretariat, budgeting and evaluation, special warrants, total Financial Management Board Secretariat, special warrants, $226,000.

Agreed.

Financial Management Board Secretariat, budgeting and evaluation, total department, special warrants.

Agreed.

Thank you. Total department, special warrants, $443,000.

Agreed.

Total department, not previously authorized, $64,000.

Agreed.

Page 7, Department of Finance, operations expenditures, treasury, not previously authorized, $305,000. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On this topic I would like to know more detail about what caused this increase in the premium first. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is not an increase in the actual premiums. This is a shift between the Department of Health and Social Services over to the Department of Finance. We found in a case where Health and Social Services was doing some of its own insuring we felt that there was a savings by transferring it over and this is the amount that we feel…It’s actually health boards, I believe, were insuring some of their own items. So we’ve pulled them into our total government insurance program, by that saving some numbers. But there is an added cost to their side of the equation and that’s where we see the increase of $305,000. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Ms. Lee.

Thank you. The Minister mentioned that the government has folded in the insurance costs for health boards and I’m assuming that coverage covers the health centres and public buildings that health boards run. I’m just wondering, how does the government take care of the school insurance. Is the government at all responsible for educational boards’ insurance?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, just for the record as well, the committee will see where the savings part of this is in under the Department of Health and Social Services later on in this document. On the board side of it, the insurance part is the liability insurance. That’s the portion that was folded in. I believe that we do in fact insure the education boards, except for Yellowknife No. 1 and No. 2, I believe. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Ms. Lee.

Thank you. I appreciate that because I know that the Members have talked about the rising incidents of violence and vandalism, and there are lots of schools in Yellowknife that are subject to all sorts of incidents of nuisance or violence or vandalism. There are lots of windows being kicked in, or where there are youth roaming around and stuff. I have had the occasion to talk to the school boards about the increasing costs and I know there is some concern about not only extra insurance premiums you have to pay for the extra cost of covering those damages, but also preventive measures they could take like putting in extra lights or extra infrastructure around the school buildings to prevent and decrease incidents of vandalism around the school. I know that this is a very current issue and I guess I’m just wondering. My question first of all would be why is it that the GNWT does not cover the school boards No. 1 and No. 2? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Roland.