Okay. Next we have page 159, office of the chief information officer, active positions, information item. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to know if any of these positions are dedicated to network security and ensuring our data is secure from the outside. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Heffernan.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, we have three active positions, two of which are currently filled. One of our roles is around overseeing information security and cyber security for the entire government, not just for networks. Networks are a portion of it, which is dealt with through the Technology Service Centre, but our office sort of oversees from a strategy policy and a best practice perspective, defining those best practices and then having the Technology Service Centre implement those for network security and having departments implement those for application and information security.
Thank you, Mr. Heffernan. Any further questions, Mr. Testart?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I heard that there is one vacancy planned. Is it expected that vacancy will be filled in, let’s say, this fiscal year? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Heffernan.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, the current position is vacant, but we’re about to enter into a staffing action and we expect it will be filled this fiscal. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Heffernan. Any further questions, Mr. Testart?
Nothing further, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Committee, any further questions to page 159? Are we agreed?
Agreed.
Thank you. That brings us to page 157, office of the chief information officer, operations expenditure summary, activity total, $2,413,000. Are we agreed?
Agreed.
Thank you. That brings us to page 161, office of the comptroller general, operations expenditure summary, activity total, $65,982,000. We’ll defer this and move on to page 162, grants, contributions and transfers. Any questions? Agreed?
Agreed.
Thank you. That brings us to page 163, active positions, information item. Any questions? Agreed?
Agreed.
Okay, thank you. That brings us back to page 161, office of the comptroller general, operations expenditure summary, activity total, $65,982,000. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. This page here has medical travel, and we talked about some of the challenges we faced through medical travel with Health and Social Services. Can the Minister commit to looking at how we can ensure that, when people are on duty travel and appointments are there, they don’t have to come back, so that we can try to save some money and that? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister McLeod.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. I’ll commit to the Member that we will look at that, because I take his point that, if they’re in a location and they have to fly home and come back, then there’s an extra expense to the government. I will commit to looking into that and see if there are any opportunities for us to make some changes to that. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Any further questions, Mr. Thompson?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the Minister for that. I’m quite happy. It’s a potential for saving money, so at the end of the day, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. No further questions for me on this page.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. I’ll take that as a comment. Next we have Mr. McNeely.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Looking at the financial shared services and then the third sub-entry here, other program costs, can the Minister just elaborate a little bit what that expense is in a little bit more detail? I notice $1-million reduction in there as well. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McNeely. Mr. Kalgutkar.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That other program cost under financial and employee shared services is due to the fact that we are undertaking some amalgamations in that area. We are hoping to get some cost savings. There will be some reductions, hopefully, implemented in that section. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Kalgutkar. Mr. McNeely.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Then my other question is further up on the Deh Cho Bridge. If I remember the numbers of yesterday, it seemed like the total revenue is a little bit lower than the interest here. Are we making any money? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McNeely. Mr. Kalgutkar.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. With the Member’s permission, can you repeat the question? I didn’t quite get it. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Kalgutkar. Mr. McNeely.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I noticed on yesterday’s DOT summary or statements or information here or the review, the tolls were a little bit less than this interest allowance here of 8.1 for the last couple of year. I am just wondering if we are making any money if our toll revenues are less than what the interest is. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you Mr. McNeely. Mr. Kalgutkar.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. When the government took over the debt associated with the Deh Cho Bridge from the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation, the toll revenues were in some ways delinked from the bridge payment because it was no longer treated like a P3 project. The toll revenues that are collected by the Department of Transportation go into our general revenues as any other revenues now. The payment on the Deh Cho Bridge debt, because they are real return bonds, they do inflate, are increased by inflation. That is why you see a bit of a top up from 2014-15 actuals. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Kalgutkar. Next we have Mr. O’Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am just looking at the environmental liabilities line here. Back in 2014-15, it was $25 million and change. The remaining numbers are $2 million. Can someone explain to me what is happening there? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O’Reilly. Mr. Kalgutkar.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. If Members recall, in 2014-15, because of the change in accounting rules, the government had to change the way it was accounting for its environmental liabilities. In 2014-15, the government had to take a one-time charge of about $24 million related to that accounting change that was mandated by the public sector accounting board. That is why you see that big difference. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Kalgutkar. Mr. O’Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. That is helpful in explaining why there is this large amount in 2014-15. Then for 2015-16, 2016-17, Finance is contributing $2 million towards this Environmental Liability Fund. Is that what is happening, Mr. Chair? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. O’Reilly. Mr. Kalgutkar.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes. The Member is correct. Starting with the 2015-16 main estimates, I believe, the Department of Finance got a base adjustment of $2 million to continue to monitor and undertake some assessments on both current sites and potential other sites. That $2 million was approved by the Assembly to help us do that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Kalgutkar. Mr. O’Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. That is helpful. I notice in the notes over on page 160 that it talks about an Environmental Liability Fund. Further down, there is a Liquor Revolving Fund. There is a report on that. It is $26 million. Should there be a page for this Environmental Liability Fund so that we could understand what our liabilities are? How we are paying them off, so to speak, by paying money to remediate sites? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O’Reilly. Mr. Kalgutkar.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. When the government did seek authority for that one-time adjustment to book those liabilities back in 2014-2015, I believe we did make a commitment, at that time, going forward to develop a continuity schedule, if you will, to provide and include that schedule in our public accounts, to give the Members and the general public a summary of how that fund is working. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Kalgutkar. Mr. O’Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. It appears in the public accounts, but is it possible that in the future mains, that there could be a section in here on this Environmental Liabilities Fund, just as there is for the Liquor Revolving Fund? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
