Given that we are likely to be in a cash deficit for most of the year, it will cost us a bit of interest but be more than offset by the savings that we get in 2016-17.
Just one last question. The statement was that this would accelerate the delivery of the first two aircraft. Am I correct, we are going to get two aircraft a little sooner than the original schedule laid out? Will that have any impact on the aircraft following the delivery of the two? Is that schedule impacted? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Kalgutkar.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Member is correct; we are advancing the engine and the airframe portion of the first two aircraft, so they should be ready a bit earlier. The remaining aircraft remain on the current schedule. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Kalgutkar. Next I have Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just continuing questions where Ms. Bisaro left off, so we have an accelerated delivery of two of the 802 Fire Boss air tankers en route. I look here and there is some carry forward or offset for an air tanker base workshop/storage in Hay River. We have another air tanker base dispatch standby facility in Norman Wells, which seems to be lapsed money. So, with the anticipated early delivery of these two air tankers, where will these tankers be predominantly located, and again, are we also having multiple air tanker base facilities throughout the Northwest Territories? Is that the intention here? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The current infrastructure will continue to be used. The aircraft will be split initially between Smith and Yellowknife on a start-up basis, then they will be moved across the North on a required basis, wherever that may be. We have other supplementary bases in Hay River, Norman Wells, Simpson and Inuvik, among other places. So we will continue to use the infrastructure that we have to support the current aircraft which, over time, will be surplused. Thank you.
I appreciate the Minister’s response to that. Just as a confirmation, because we are looking at an accelerated delivery of these 802 air tankers, will we have the facility in place to deal with that early delivery? Thank you.
Yes, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Committee, we are on Environment and Natural Resources, capital investment expenditures, forest management, not previously authorized, $2.246 million.
Agreed.
Water resources, not previously authorized, $180,000.
Agreed.
Wildlife, not previously authorized, $185,000.
Agreed.
Total department, not previously authorized, $2.640 million.
Agreed.
Department of Finance, capital investment expenditures, office of the chief information officer, not previously authorized, $592,000.
Agreed.
Office of the comptroller general, not previously authorized, $100,000.
Agreed.
Total department, not previously authorized, $692,000.
Agreed.
Department of Health and Social Services, capital investment expenditures, administrative and supportive services, not previously authorized, $33.139 million. Ms. Bisaro.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I have a couple of questions here. The first one has to do with the amount of money for the H.H. Williams Hospital in Hay River. I see that this is a carry-over amount of some $200,000. I thought that we had advanced money for this project, so I’m wondering why we still have a carry-over at this point. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Kalgutkar.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As Members know, it’s a large, multi-year project, and we did advance the work the previous fiscal year, and this is this work to complete the project and bring it into service later this summer. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Kalgutkar. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks, Mr. Kalgutkar. Can I get a sense, then, of whether or not we are on schedule, behind schedule, ahead of schedule in terms of the opening date? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The project is on schedule, as far as I understand. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. I’ll go to Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. They’re planning to start moving into that building late summer or fall. It’s on schedule.
Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Ms. Bisaro.
Thanks, Mr. Chair, and thanks to the Ministers for that info. The other item here that I have questions about is the health centre in Norman Wells. It’s a large amount of money, almost $15 million. It suggests that that project wasn’t even started. Could I get an explanation as to why we are carrying over such a large amount?
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There were discussions and negotiations with the contractor that extended farther than was anticipated, which precluded us from taking advantage of the previous season. Hence, it’s all been sorted out and everything is operational now, but hence the requirement for the carry-over. Thank you.
Thanks. Just one last question. So, is this carry-over going to have an impact on the intended opening date for this facility? Thank you.
No, we are still going to hit the schedule as laid out. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Next on the list I have Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’d like to talk about the line entry for the $4.687 million that was lapsed under the title or descriptor called medical equipment - various. If I can get an explanation as to what that is. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Kalgutkar.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That was some diagnostic imaging equipment that the department had planned to purchase during the fiscal year. They had some delays in starting the RFP process and are now requesting that funding be carried over into this fiscal year to enable the department to purchase that equipment. Some of the equipment that they’re purchasing is a mobile radiographic unit for the Stanton Hospital, for the Inuvik Hospital and for the Hay River Health Centre; general-purpose radiographic unit for the Stanton Hospital, the Hay River Health Centre and the Fort Smith Health Centre; CT scanner for Stanton and the portable radiographic unit for some of the various health care facilities within the Territories. If you add this carry-over to the current existing budget that the department has of $3.25 million, it should provide them with the funding needed to complete their medical equipment plan for this fiscal year. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Kalgutkar. Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess to the question, does any of this carry-over or lapsed funding… Is there anything attributable to the electronic system, which we’ve heard has had significant project challenges in the last year or so? Does that have anything to attribute to this number? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Deputy Minister Aumond.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. No, not that I’m aware of.
Thank you, deputy minister. Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you. With that, I’ll go a couple lines down and I will speak to the line that is indeed called electronic medical records, EMR various, for $2.496 million. Again to my earlier question, we knew that there have been a number of project challenges, changes of the vendor system that I believe was acquired by Telehealth, delays with contract negotiations and vendor negotiations.
So, to the question, this has been something that I’ve been tracking for a number of budget cycles here in terms of the total dollars spent, total dollars lapsed, and if you start adding up the numbers, it is actually quite confusing. Some of these monies were federal monies that we had at the beginning and some of them were lapsed over multiple years.
I guess to the question, this $2.496 million that has lapsed, is this the final completion stage of the so-called original budget of the EMR process? Thank you.
