Debates of May 29, 2018 (day 31)

Thank you. Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, early childhood and school services, not previously authorized, $1,455,000. Does committee agree?

Agreed.

Thank you. Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, labour development and standards, not previously authorized, $3,172,000. Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask the Minister, "to provide funding for the Canada-NWT Workforce Development Agreement" of $3.1 million, is that money that has lapsed and is put back in the framework, or is it a new supplementary increase? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, my understanding is that this is new money. The $3.142 million is here, and over the next number of years, there will be additional investments as well.

Thank you, Minister. Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, labour development and standards, not previously authorized, $3,172,000. Does committee agree?

Agreed.

Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, total department, not previously authorized, $4,548,000. Does committee agree?

Agreed.

Thank you, committee. Please turn to page 6, Environment and Natural Resources. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. There is a line item here to basically, it looks like, transfer forest management leases from ENR to the Department of Infrastructure. Can I just have a little bit more explanation here? I have read the briefing material that was provided. Are these actually areas that are being harvested for forestry, or is this buildings that are being leased? I just can't figure it out, given the information that we have been provided. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Stewart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It is my understanding this is for buildings, and this is something the government has been doing for some time, trying to consolidate all of our lease payments under Infrastructure so that we can better manage them. These are two leases, one on the Hay River Reserve and one in Fort Smith, that we have leases for that are being moved from ENR's budget into a consolidated budget in Infrastructure. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Environment and Natural Resources, operations expenditures, corporate management, not previously authorized, $37,000. Does committee agree?

Agreed.

Environment and Natural Resources, operations expenditures, forestry management, not previously authorized, negative $600,000. Does committee agree?

Agreed.

Environment and Natural Resources, operations expenditures, total department, not previously authorized, negative $563,000. Does committee agree?

Agreed.

Thank you, committee. On the next page, you will find Executive and Indigenous Affairs. Executive and Indigenous Affairs, operations expenditures, directorate, not previously authorized, $131,000. Does committee agree?

Agreed.

Executive and Indigenous Affairs, operations expenditures, total department, not previously authorized, $131,000. Does committee agree?

Agreed.

Thank you, committee. On to page 8, Finance. Ms. Green.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Earlier today I asked for some clarification about the energy retrofit program for public housing, and I think what I got out of that was a number of units, but I am not clear what it means to retrofit these homes to make them more energy efficient. What is the criteria for the energy efficiency, and which of the homes will be retrofitted? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister McLeod.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, my understanding of the retrofit of homes is to make them a bit more energy efficient. If that means replacing windows and insulation, putting some better heating systems in, that would be -- as far as the number of homes, I apologize. I don't have that level of detail as to what homes they are, and where they are located, but it is to support energy performance upgrades for 128 existing housing units in the Northwest Territories, and the conversion of 43 oil-fired heating systems in Yellowknife to biomass.

Thank you, Minister. Ms. Green.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, my quick math says that there is about $10,000 available per home. I can tell you that, here in Yellowknife, $10,000 would not give you new insulation, doors, and windows. You could pick one, and you might get that, but you certainly wouldn't get all of it. I am just concerned that this is not doing what it says it is going to do, and so any additional detail the Minister can round up would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Thank you. Minister McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think the Member's point spoke very well to the previous Member's point when they were speaking about infrastructure, and the $304,000 for the new kitchen at the park is the cost of doing business in Yellowknife. I take the Member's point, and I will commit to providing more information, and we will check with the NWT Housing Corporation. They should have it broken down. I think that's in addition to all the other investments that they are making in energy retrofits across the Northwest Territories. I will commit to the Member that I will work with the Housing Corporation to provide a bit more detail as to locations, scope of work, and we'll share it with the Member. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Ms. Green.

Thank you to the Minister for that commitment. Nothing further.

Thank you, Ms. Green. Finance, operations expenditures, directorate, not previously authorized, $1,304,000. Does committee agree?

Agreed.

Thank you, Ms. Green. Finance, operations expenditures, total department, not previously authorized, $1,304,000. Does committee agree?

Agreed.

Thank you, committee. Please turn to 9. Health and Social Services, operations expenditures, administrative and support services, not previously authorized, $233,000. Does committee agree?

Agreed.

Health and Social Services, operations expenditures, total department, not previously authorized, $233,000. Does committee agree?

Agreed.

Thank you, committee. Page 10. Industry, Tourism and Investment, operations expenditures, corporate management, not previously authorized, $48,000. Does committee agree?

Agreed.

Industry, Tourism and Investment, operations expenditures, economic diversification and business support, not previously authorized, $7,000. Does committee agree?

Agreed.

Industry, Tourism and Investment, operations expenditures, total department, not previously authorized, $55,000. Does committee agree?

Agreed.

Thank you, committee. Turning to page 11, Infrastructure. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I asked some questions during the briefing about how we reconcile the amount of money that is being requested in the supplementary estimates here for the Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund against what was actually applied for. Even with the information that has been provided since the briefing, I still can't figure this out. The original application that was submitted was first year money was, if I can find it here, was 2017-2018, and I don't know around $2.4 million, and then, 2018-2019, $7 million, and we are being asked to approve $5.5 million. Are we going to get a reconciliation at some point about what this money is actually for, and how it is reconciled against what was applied for, and what our contribution is, and what the federal contribution is, and so on? Thanks, Mr. Chair.