I move that consideration of Tabled Document 98-16(5), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2009-2010, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 98-16(5) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill.
A motion is on the floor. To the motion.
Question.
Question is being called.
---Carried
With that, I’d like to thank the Minister. If you can, you could maybe just remain at the table to make your comments for the next item, which is Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 5. Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m here to present Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 5, 2009-2010. This document outlines a decrease of $15 million for operations expenditures and a corresponding increase of $15 million for capital investment expenditures in the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
There is only one item in the supplementary estimates, a $15 million transfer between infrastructure contributions and capital investment expenditures for the Department of Transportation to account for the Deh Cho Bridge as a GNWT asset. There is no financial impact on government operations as the transaction is a reallocation of previously approved funding.
I’m prepared to review the details of the supplementary appropriation document.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. I will now open the floor for general comments in regard to the supplementary appropriation. Detail?
Agreed.
We’ll turn to page 5, Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 5, Transportation, operations expenditures, highways, not previously authorized, negative $15 million.
Agreed.
Total department, not previously authorized, negative $15 million.
Agreed.
Page 6, Transportation, capital investment expenditures, highways, not previously authorized, $15 million.
Agreed.
Total department, not previously authorized, $15 million.
Agreed.
Does committee agree that we have concluded consideration of Tabled Document 99-16(5)? Mrs. Groenewegen.
I move that consideration of Tabled Document 99-16(5), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 5, 2009-2010, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 99-16(5) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill.
A motion is on the floor. To the motion.
Question.
Question is being called.
---Carried
As we agreed, the next item we’ll be dealing with is Tabled Document 100-16(5), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2010-2011. Mr. Miltenberger, do you have any opening comments?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m here to present Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2010-2011. This document outlines an increase of $17.471 million in operations expenditures for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.
The supplementary estimates include the necessary transfer of the appropriations from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to the NWT Housing Corporation as a contribution from the Department of Finance for the Public Housing Rental Subsidy Program and its associated administrative costs.
The other major items in the supplementary estimates include:
$7.5 million for the Department of Health and Social Services to fund initiatives and programs under the federal government’s Territorial Health System Sustainability Initiative;
a $4.1 million special warrant approved June 29, 2010, for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to fund increased costs incurred during the 2010 forest fire season;
$3.6 million for the Department of Health and Social Services to fund the 2009-2010 medical travel costs incurred by the Stanton Territorial Health Authority;
$622,000 for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to fund the emergency response plan to combat the anthrax outbreak this summer.
I’m prepared to review the details of this supplementary appropriations document.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Any general comments regarding the supplementary appropriations? Detail?
Agreed.
Turn to page 3, Executive, operations expenditures, Ministers’ offices, not previously authorized, $150,000. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m just wondering a little detail on this. Basically my question is why the frequency of twice a year. Are all communities going to be done twice a year? Typically I would think these things would be done once a year or every three years. I’m looking for some justification for the twice a year. Perhaps that’s in how complete the surveys are done each year.
Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is going to give us the baseline information to hopefully track a positive impact of the changes that are coming with the Electrical Rate Review and the changes to the rates, especially in the thermal communities. In particular the interest, of course, is to track things like food basket costs. The plan is to use the schedule laid out and see if that will deal with the adequacy.
That helps the explanation. So will there be feedback, then, to retailers of goods and services that indicates the government’s perspectives based on those price surveys?
Yes, the intent is to have the basis of good blue-chip information where we can take a look community by community at the impacts and be able to share concerns and information with the communities and the businesses in the communities so that we can see what’s happening both with the costs and other impacts that may be there.
We’re on page 3, Executive, operations expenditures, Ministers’ offices, not previously authorized, $150,000.
Agreed.
Executive, operations expenditures, not previously authorized, $75,000.
Agreed.
Total department, not previously authorized, $225,000.
Agreed.
Page 4, Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, operations expenditures, intergovernmental relations, not previously authorized, $65,000.
Agreed.
Total department, not previously authorized, $65,000.
Agreed.
Finance, operations expenditures, deputy minister’s office, not previously authorized, $34.214 million. Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I guess it’s kind of ironic, I was talking about this yesterday and the decision to transfer the Social Housing Program over to ECE three years ago or four years ago resulted in them needing to hire I think it was 11 or 12 new staff positions at ECE. This is coming before Members of this House requesting the establishment of five new positions for the administration of the program with the Housing Corporation. That’s exactly where it belongs. It was with the Housing Corporation. But there’s been no corresponding human resource plan on the 11 positions and the $1.2 million that ECE has been spending the last three years on the administration of this program. I find it almost hard to imagine that without that HR plan why we would, in good conscience, approve five more positions at the Housing Corporation when the government hasn’t even shown us what they’re doing with the 11 that were hired in the first place. So I would like to get a response to that.
Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is part of the adjustment to follow up on the commitment made in this House to return the resources and the public housing rental scale operations and authority back to the Housing Corporation. This is part of the cost. In the ensuing years, of course, there’s been other forced growth pressures that have resulted in what is before this House today. Thank you.
The money that would appear here for the establishment of those five positions, if you divide that by five it’s about $43,000, $44,000. I’m just wondering why it’s not more money if you’re establishing five positions. It should be much more than...probably twice as much as what appears here. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, the positions that are laid out here are to address some of the costs of the transfer and also recognizing, as I indicated, that in the prior three years there has been some other forced growth pressures that resulted in the need for some continued resources with Education. Thank you.
When we were going through that housing initiative and putting 500 new units on the ground in communities around the Northwest Territories, land tenure was a big issue at the Housing Corporation and additional positions were needed to allow the construction of those new units in communities and a number of employees were added. I’m just wondering, maybe we need to see an HR plan now for the Housing Corporation as well, because those positions were there. I know some of them were term positions but… How is the Housing Corporation going to utilize the people that are there already with these new positions? Are they going to migrate people into these positions or are these going to be brand new positions, Mr. Chairman? Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, the intent is to contain our costs, and the questions and suggestions that the Member has, or recommendations, would relate to the business planning process. The Member’s suggestions for an HR plan that will clearly delineate the resources that are now going to be in place to take over the public housing rental scale are all very legitimate comments and suggestions that would be best debated as we look at the main estimates and the business planning process. Thank you.
To my knowledge, I sat through the business planning process that we just had, and I know the main estimates will come before the House in February, but to my recollection, we didn’t have a discussion on establishing these five new positions, but I might be mistaken. Maybe if I could get that clarified by the Minister. Was that part of the discussions during our deliberations of the Housing Corporation’s business plans? Because I don’t recall seeing the five new positions for the administration of the PHRS in those plans. I might be mistaken. My memory might be failing me, but I don’t recall that. Thank you.
We’ll confirm the particulars as it accounts for the 11 positions, the five new ones. I think there is some ongoing discussion here as to whether we were, in fact, transferring some positions and Education is keeping some as opposed to adding new ones. I’ll commit to the Member and to the Chair that we’ll have that information before the committee by Monday.
