Thank you, committee. Please turn to page 7, Infrastructure. Comments, questions. $374,000 to provide funding for the Slave Geological Province Corridor project. Seeing nothing, I will call the activity or call this page. 2018-2019 Supplementary Estimates, (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, Infrastructure, corporate management, not previously authorized, $374,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Infrastructure, total department, not previously authorized, $374,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Does committee agree that this concludes consideration of Tabled Document 381-18(3), Supplementary Estimates, (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2018-2019?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Could I just have one minute to clear something up before I make the motion? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Beaulieu, are you requesting a recess?
No, Mr. Chair, a few seconds to clear something up.
We will just pause for a couple of seconds here. Mr. Beaulieu.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to request a very quick recess to have the motions reprinted. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. There appears to be some paperwork that we need to deal with, so we will call a brief recess, no more than 10 minutes. Thank you.
---SHORT RECESS
Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 381-18(3), Supplementary Estimates, (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2018-2019 be now concluded and that Tabled Document 381-18(3) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in the formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. The motion is in order. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Committee, we have agreed to next consider Tabled Document 382-18(3), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2018-2019. I will turn to the Minister of Finance for opening remarks. Minister McLeod.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I am here to present Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2018-2019. This document provides for an increase of $16.7 million to the 2018-2019 operating budget.
The major items included in these supplementary estimates are:
$4.5 million for increased costs related to the Income Assistance Program;
$3.3 million for costs associated with operationalizing the new Stanton Territorial Hospital;
$2 million for insured hospital services provided to individuals who are not residents of the Northwest Territories. These expenditures will be fully offset by recoveries from other jurisdictions;
$1.4 million for repairs required to the runway at the Inuvik Airport;
$1.1 million for Grant-in-Lieu of Property Taxes Program payments to municipal taxation authorities as per the Grants-in-Lieu of Property Taxes Policy;
$1 million to support the combined day shelter and sobering program in Yellowknife;
$745,000 for demolition and site cleanup resulting from the October 2, 2018 fire that destroyed the Rockhill Apartments;
$705,000 to support the Taltson Hydro Expansion Project. This expenditure will be fully offset by revenue from CrownIndigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada;
$646,000 for increased payments required for the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority Pension Plan; and
$501,000 for supplementary health programs for a projected budget shortfall for Extended Health Benefits and Metis Health Benefits.
That concludes my opening remarks, Mr. Chair. I would be happy to answer questions that the Members might have. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Committee, the first voteable item is found on page 4, Department of Education, Culture and Employment. However, if there are general comments, I will open the floor to general comments. Seeing none, we will proceed to the detail on page 4. Comments or questions? Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. There is about a 5-percent increase in the funding allocated to income security. I am wondering if this is money because there are more clients or if this is money because of the change in the benefits. Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The increase is due to there being more clients, plus I believe that there were some inflationary rates that were applied to this as well. The number of income support clients has gone up, as well. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Given the fact that the number of income assistance cases has been going up steadily, I am wondering if the budget will now take into account a certain amount of forced growth, or maybe it already does, for income support. Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you. Forced growth, I believe, is taken into account, and the number that I have is $1.7 million in forced growth in 2019-2020. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Nothing further from Ms. Green. Anything further? Seeing nothing, I will call this page. Supplementary estimates (operations expenditures), No. 4, 2018-2019, Education, Culture and Employment, income security, not previously authorized, $4,455,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Education, Culture and Employment, total department, not previously authorized, $4,455,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Page 5, Health and Social Services. Comments or questions? Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. The first item here is about operationalizing the new Stanton Territorial Hospital. Can someone explain to me what that is all about? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Kalgutkar.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Because of the larger size of the new hospital and the loss in resources that were allowed to be shared in the smaller facility, moving to a bigger facility, the new hospital does need additional resources to operate. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. Can someone tell me what the current staff level is, then, for the old hospital, and how many new employees are required to operate the new hospital? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Through you, I would like to go to Minister Abernethy to respond to that. Thank you.
Thank you. Would Minister Abernethy care to respond? Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I actually don't remember off the top of my head what the total staff complement of Stanton existing is, but I can say that we are adding $2.667 million to operationalize Stanton, which is basically 42.5 new positions. The budget increase, as Mr. Kalgutkar said, is based on the projected cost of delivering existing services in the new space. There will be increased costs due to the increased size and the physical layout of the building, upgraded technology and equipment, changing work processes, and the delivery of facility management services through the PC.
This isn't unusual. When we moved forward with opening the regional health centre in Fort Smith, we had to add some additional positions due to size and change in facility. The same is true if you go back in time to Inuvik, and even in Norman Wells, when we added the new facility with new functions there, we had to come for some additional positions. These are necessary in order to ensure delivery in a safe, effective manner within the new facility. I can provide the Members with a list of the positions at any time. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. Can anybody tell me what the current staff level is at the hospital and how many new positions are being added as a result of this funding? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister McLeod.
Thank you. The current staff complement, by my understanding, is 411 staff members in there, and I think, through the process, we are adding an additional 44. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I don't object in principle to this, but I know that I have had at least two tours of the new hospital where I have been told that the new facility would be run with the exact same number of employees as the old one. Can someone explain to me why I was told that on at least two occasions, and then we have this supplementary appropriation in front of us now for an increase of about 10 percent in terms of the staffing at the hospital? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again, through you, I would like to defer to Minister Abernethy. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would certainly like to know who told the Member that. I have always been very consistent. I have never said that we are not adding new positions; I have always said that we are not adding new programs. When I have been asked in other situations, I have said that there will definitely be some growth in positions, but we did not add any new programs.
The facility is quite a bit larger than it used to be. We have made it more effective, more efficient, but there are additional complications as a result of the additional floors and the additional space between. We need to make sure that the sightlines are appropriate to ensure safe patient care.
I would be happy to sit down with the Member to figure out who told him that there would be no new positions, but that is not consistent with the messaging that I have given. I have always been consistent that there are no new programs. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
