Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Madam Chair. Obviously, the important questions to understand, and I guess the one thing I would point to is that this did go to tender. As far as being the appropriate machinery for purpose, and as being a competitive price for purpose, I would simply point to the tendering process and place faith in that for the purposes of this current appropriation. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am here to present the Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2019-2020.

The Supplementary Estimates document proposes an increase of $1.3 million comprised of the following items:

$418,000 for an enclosed cab snow blower for the Fort Smith airport that is fully funded by the Government of Canada's Airports Capital Assistance Program;

$400,000 to initiate work under the Surface Structures Adaptation for Climate Resilience project agreement at the Mike Zubko airport in Inuvik. This project is 75 percent funded by the Government of Canada's Disaster...

Thank you, Madam Chair. There is a lot to unpack in the Member's comment. I am not in a position, in the context of a supplementary appropriation that is involving the scoping of the Northwest Territories project, to commit to what may or may not be happening on the Nunavut side, other than to assure, again, that this is envisioned as being a partnership with Nunavut. It is indeed something that is of an Arctic nature and putting Canada as a country into being more of an actual Arctic country in terms of actually exploring and connecting all of our Arctic regions. I am confident that there...

Madam Chair, I appreciate the Member's candid remarks. I can only assure the House, broadly speaking, that this is a project that is of tremendous significance to the Northwest Territories. It is, as I understand it, supported over in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut. It is being done under a business case and with a cost benefit analysis. It is multi-departmental. It will involve ENR, and it will involve Lands, so I am sure that there will be plenty of opportunity, whether through this project or through the other work of the other departments, to review the impacts on the caribou as it goes...

Madam Chair, as I've said, I am confident there has been a cost benefit analysis and a business case provided. What I will do first is to identify what was shared with the last committee, ensure that the current composition of the committees have that information available to them, and certainly, if what was shared before was unsatisfactory, then we'll have to go back and confirm so that the committee can be assured of the analysis of the cost benefits, of the very positive cost benefits, of the Slave Geologic Province to the Northwest Territories.

Madam Chair, as I've just said and I'll say it again, as soon as I can confirm whether or not the cost estimates are confidential, then, if they're not, I will be more than happy to bring them to the House.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The total cost, year over year, I can give the cost. In terms of 2019-2020, the total cost is $200,000; then, going forward, it reaches $40 million over the course of the four-year plan. I assume that that was the timeline that the Member is asking. I'm prepared to go into other detail if he's looking for other numbers.

Madam Chair, I don't have any particular specific reply, other than to reassure that, certainly over the next four years, this is a joint contribution and that the Government of the Northwest Territories continues to contribute and support these protected areas.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is a four-year, four-fiscal-term agreement, so it will be running until 2023. I'm sorry; I'm having trouble hearing the Member, so I think I may have missed some of his question. I will put my earpiece on. I apologize if I didn't hear all of it.

Thank you, Madam Chair. With me this afternoon, I have Jamie Koe, deputy secretary to the Financial Management Board, and Terence Courtoreille, the director of the Management Board Secretariat.