Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 55, Mental Health Act, be read for the first time.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. Bill 55 has had first reading.
---Carried
Mr. Miltenberger.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that Bill 57, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2014-2015, be read for the first time.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. Bill 57 has had first reading.
---Carried
Mr. Miltenberger.
I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, that Bill 58, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2015-2016, be read for the first time.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. Bill 58 has had first reading.
---Carried
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that Bill 57, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2014-2015, be read for the second time.
This bill makes supplementary appropriations for operations expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2014-15 fiscal year.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. Bill 57 has had second reading.
---Carried
Mr. Miltenberger.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, that Bill 58, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2015-2016, be read for the second time.
This bill makes supplementary appropriations for infrastructure expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2015-16 fiscal year.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. Bill 58 has had second reading.
---Carried
Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Tabled Document 248-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2015-2016; Bill 37, Financial Administration Act; and Committee Report 15-17(5), Report on the Review of Bill 37: Financial Administration Act, with Mr. Dolynny in the chair.
Good afternoon, committee. I would like to call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We would like to consider Tabled Document 248-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2015-2016; Bill 37 and Committee Report 15-17(5).
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Does committee agreed?
Agreed.
Okay, committee. We will commence after a short break.
---SHORT RECESS
I would like to call Committee of the Whole back to order. We have agreed to consider Tabled Document 248-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2015-2016. I would like to turn it over to the Minister responsible, honourable Minister Miltenberger, to make opening comments. Minister Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am here to present Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures) No. 1, 2015-2016. This document proposes an increase of $11.3 million in operations expenditures for the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
The more significant items included in the proposed supplementary estimates are:
a total of $4.6 million for the Department of Transportation associated with runway service improvements at the Yellowknife and Inuvik airports, of which $1.6 million is offset by a lapse in the prior year;
$2.4 million associated with various departments to provide devolution transition funding for the continued transition of authority of Territorial lands, water and resources, of which this full amount is offset by lapses in the prior year;
$1.5 million associated with the Population Growth Strategy which includes:
$1.3 million for enhancements to the NWT Student Financial Assistance Program, and
$215,000 to support the GNWT Immigration Program.
I am prepared to review the details of the supplementary estimates document.
Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Minister, do you have witnesses you’d like to bring into the House?
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber.
Minister Miltenberger, if you’d be kind enough to introduce your witnesses to the House, please.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have with me the deputy minister of Finance, Mike Aumond; and Sandy Kalgutkar, our deputy secretary to the FMB. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Mr. Aumond, Mr. Kalgutkar, welcome back to the House. Good to see you. Committee, I’ll now open the floor to general comments on Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures) No. 1. General comments. Does committee want to proceed to detail?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We’ll proceed with detail. Committee, I’ll get you to turn to page 3 of the Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2015-2016. Expenditures on behalf of Members, Legislative Assembly, operations, not previously authorized, $8,000. Total department, not previously authorized, $8,000. Any questions?
Agreed.
Agreed, thank you. Page 4, committee, Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, operational expenditures, intergovernmental relations, not previously authorized, $50,000. Total department, not previously authorized, $50,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Page 5, Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, education and culture, not previously authorized, negative $84,000; income security… Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Throughout this document we have quite a few items that have to deal with the adjustment to the Collective Agreement. Can the Minister maybe give me a little more explanation why these numbers weren’t available during our regular process of budgeting? I guess it’s spent throughout the document. So, if the Minister could just explain to us why this is a supplementary estimate as opposed to the regular budget process.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Minister Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. These numbers are calculated as of April 1st, and some of it, as we’ve noted, some have gone up and some have gone down depending on the communities in the region. Thank you.
Thank you. I guess, would we have not negotiated these allowances in the process, or would we not have known that number or estimates based on April 1st when we went into budget?
