Debates of October 25, 2004 (day 27)

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Airport special warrants $3.4 million. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Then the suggestion or the information that is provided in the supplementary bill that $6.6 million will come from airport user fees, is just a suggestion or an option, or are we locked into that?

Thank you, Mr. Braden.

That’s okay; we get each other's mail all the time. It’s okay, Madam Chair.

Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, it’s a clear statement of what the government's intent is, is that it would come in some manner or form from a cost recovery from the users of the airport. Whether that be through landing fees, through lease payments, through airport improvement fees, that itself hasn’t been finalized. But what Cabinet said when they considered this was we don’t have enough money to pay for this unless you can find a way to raise the money. So the Minister has been tasked with looking at different ways to perhaps raise that money. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Braden.

I don’t know how much more we can get out of this, or at least I can get out of the discussion this afternoon in the absence of some of this analysis and the options that the department might put forward on where this extra money is going to come from, but, you know, Madam Chair, it puts committee in a bit of a spot here to approve, to be asked to approve only 30 percent, 35 percent of a multimillion dollar deal leaving a whole bunch of it floating. The North depends to an extraordinary degree on air transport, and what Mr. Ramsay, Ms. Lee and I have been working this debate this afternoon, every other MLA has constituents that are going to say at some point, “excuse me? Another how much to fly through Yellowknife? Gosh, it was expensive enough to fly through here and pick up your supply of donuts to take home, and now there is going to be an extra fee." Okay, I’m just kidding here. This is a serious matter. Madam Chair, whenever we do something through this government that increases the cost of living or the cost of doing business up here, we must look at it extremely carefully.

Just say no.

Saying no sounds like an easy way about it, but we cannot easily accept this and roll along. I also have some real concerns about the design/build approach, we’re not very good at it, we lost control of the North Slave Correctional Centre through this stage. We have a hospital in Inuvik that is costing an extra $1.8 million more over two years to run the utilities for than anybody could suggest. We’re not very good at these big projects, and I must say that I don’t have a lot of confidence in starting something like this and believing that we are going to get away with $11.2 when we haven’t got our planning this far down the pipe. I guess it doesn’t leave me much choice, Madam Chair, other than to nay this item when you ask committee for its approval. Where it goes from there, I can only hope that the Ministers are going to live up to their commitments to provide the information, to get a communication plan out there, bring as many stakeholders as possible in. I know there will be acceptance to some degree, while it is our responsibility to have a secure airport and a secure system across Canada, but our ability to plan falls really quite short given what we have in front of us today, Madam Chair. I don’t have a question. Unless there is something that the Minister would like to respond to, that concludes my debate on this item. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Does Committee want to give Mr. Dent a chance to respond to that? Agreed. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would just like to reiterate that what we are talking about here is the expenditure and not the cost recovery in this supplementary. I’m sure the Minister is prepared to and the government is prepared to listen to advice of the committee on cost recovery. As I said, if it were to be an airport improvement fee it would have to come forward as legislation. The government cannot institute an airport improvement fee without it coming back to this House for approval. So there will be an opportunity for debate if that would be the method that the government would choose. I just wanted to make sure that that was clearly understood, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Braden.

Thank you. That will do.

Transportation, capital investment expenditures, airports, special warrants, $3.4 million.

Agreed.

Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that we report progress.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The motion is in order, it is not debatable. All those in favour of the motion? All those opposed to the motion? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Bill 13, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2, 2004-2005, and would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Do we have a seconder? The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee. The motion is in order.

Question.

All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Orders of the day for Tuesday, October 26th, at 1:30 p.m.:

Prayer

Ministers' Statements

Members' Statements

Returns to Oral Questions

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Oral Questions

Written Questions

Returns to Written Questions

Replies to Opening Address

Petitions

Reports of Standing and Special Committees

Reports of Committees on the Review of Bills

Tabling of Documents

Notices of Motion

Notices of Motion for First Reading of Bills

Motions

First Reading of Bills

Second Reading of Bills

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

- 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

- Minister's Statement 68-15(3), NWT Housing

Corporation: From the Ground Up, Celebrating 30

Years

- Bill 13, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2,

2004-2005

Report of Committee of the Whole

Third Reading of Bills

Orders of the Day

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until Tuesday, October 26, 2004, at 1:30 p.m.

---ADJOURNMENT

The House adjourned at 5:58 p.m.