Thank you, Mr. Testart. There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Question has been called. Motion is carried.
---Carried
Thank you, committee. Do you agree that we have concluded consideration of Committee Report 3-18(2), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2014-2015 NWT Human Rights Commission Annual Report?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We have concluded the consideration. Next we have agreed to consider Committee Report 4-18(2), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2014-2015 Public Accounts. I will turn to the chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations for any opening comments, Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. On November 1, 2016, the Standing Committee on Government Operations presented its Report on the Review of the 2014-2015 Public Accounts. The Standing Committee on Government Operations made eight recommendations, including recommendations regarding the provision of information as well as the development of plain language materials. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. I will open the floor to general comments. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I am grateful for the work of this committee around the issue of plain language reporting on the public accounts. As a new Member with a lot of education, still I found the public accounts very difficult to understand. That is a view that is shared by the C.D. Howe Institute where they grade all of the public account presentations. I am very much looking forward to plain language reporting on the public accounts, which we can share with our constituents so that they can understand how their money is being spent by us. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Anything further, Mr. Testart?
Yes, Mr. Chair. I thank Ms. Green for her comments. Certainly, this is a very important area of oversight and accountability that is performed by parliamentary committees. The standing committee had an opportunity to meet with public accounts committees from across Canada at this year's annual conference. Much was learned, in particular the amount of work that these committees do to hold government accountable and understand how money is being spent. Of course, we found that our financial documents could have their readability improved in the interest of openness and transparency, which of course, is a priority for this government. The standing committee has made that recommendation.
We look forward to working with the Department of Finance to help move that along. In particular, making it clear where the government's fiscal responsibility policy fits into the public accounts is a very serious priority for the committee. We look forward, again, to continuing that work and creating documents that can be used by both the public and MLAs without the assistance of the Auditor General of Canada. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Government Operations for their work on this report. I am not a member of the committee, but I sat in on the review of the public accounts. That was a very thorough review with the assistance of the staff of the Auditor General's office from Ottawa. I agree with the recommendations that have been brought forward.
I want to thank the committee. This one is a good one as my colleague, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, mentioned. First time going through it, it was difficult to understand a lot of what was there. With the assistance of the Auditor General's staff, our own staff, it became a lot more understandable. I believe these recommendations are meant to improve the presentation of this information and make it much easier for folks that come after us and for the public to understand what is going on. I strongly support these recommendations. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that this Assembly recommends that the Minister of Finance provide the Standing Committee on Government Operations with the interim public accounts by August 31st, in time for standing committee review of the government's business plans. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. There is a motion on the floor. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called.
---Carried
Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this Assembly recommends that the office of the comptroller general in the Department of Finance work with the Auditor General of Canada and GNWT departments, boards, and agencies to complete the interim and final public accounts at the earliest possible date each year and in time to meet statutory reporting deadlines and to seek the necessary extensions where those deadlines cannot be met. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called.
---Carried
Mr. McNeely.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this Assembly recommends that the office of the Comptroller General include in the consolidated public accounts a list of all departments, boards, and agencies in the government reporting entity, their deadlines for the completion of financial statements, and whether or not those deadlines were met. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McNeely. There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called.
---Carried
Mr. McNeely.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this Assembly recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories continue to provide updated timetables or schedules for the environmental assessments of all known potentially contaminated sites for which the GNWT is responsible to be included annually in the public accounts. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McNeely. There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I support this motion. Some of the reasons are outlined in the report itself, but our inventory of contaminated sites continues to grow. In 2014, it was 129. Last year, at March 31st, it was 216 contaminated sites. The liability associated with those sites continues to grow as well. In 2014, it was 32.1 million. Now, it is 68.9 as of March 31, 2015.
These are the reasons why I continue to raise these issues around contaminated sites and the need for us to have a proper system in place to prevent public liabilities and for financial security. I will keep raising these. We need to get this information into the public accounts on a regular basis. It was in a consolidated form for the period that this report covers. It was difficult to get a more detailed list and an inventory, but the recommendation here is to make sure that we have better public disclosure of these liabilities. I strongly support it. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O’Reilly. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called.
---Carried
Mr. Nadli.
Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that this Assembly recommends that, in addition to reporting on a consolidated basis on the performance measures specified in the fiscal responsibility policy, the Government of the Northwest Territories report on a non-consolidated basis on the performance measures related to the policy provisions on infrastructure financing and affordable debt. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called.
---Carried
Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this Assembly recommends that the Minister of Finance work with the Minister responsible for Public Engagement and Transparency to develop plain language materials that report on the public accounts in a manner that is understandable for an interested, non-professional reader. Mahsi, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. This motion makes specific reference to working with the Minister responsible for Public Engagement and Transparency. We know that the Minister is currently engaged in the Open Government Plan, the Comprehensive Review to ATIPP, but I haven't heard if this work towards the public accounts has been included on that list of projects. I'm wondering if the honourable Member for Thebacha could respond to that.
Thank you for that comment, Mr. Testart. We are discussing a committee report. This is not question period. There is no obligation for the Minister to respond. But if the Minister would voluntarily like to respond to that, I will allow him. If not, that's fine. So, Minister Sebert?
I will respond in the fullness of time. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Sebert. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called.
---Carried
Mr. Nakimayak.
