Daryl Dolynny

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. We’ll turn our attention over to Minister Ramsay to reply to Mr. Yakeleya, Mr. Hawkins and Ms. Bisaro. Minister Ramsay.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to welcome the Minister and the Housing Corporation executives here today. The hard part about going near the end of general comments is that a lot of the good things have been said by members on the committee and also responded to by the Minister. But I would like to mention a few things in my opening comments that I think may have not been addressed, or at least echo some of the comments, and I’ve already heard some of the responses so I don’t expect the Minister to reply accordingly.

As mentioned by Member Moses, faced with a very scathing Auditor General...

Thank you. Page 405, finance and infrastructure services, operations expenditure summary. Any questions?

Thank you, Mr. Stewart. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you. As, again, we agreed upon earlier, we are going to do three Members here with general comments and we’ll ask the Minister to do three Members at a time, so are you finished with your general comments?

Mr. Speaker, of course managing our assets better will result in a healthier balance sheet. This is a given. We know that there are about 400 mortgages still being held by the Housing Corporation and this has not always been a smoothly run area. Collection rates were around 30 percent back in 2012 with arrears totaling about $16 million, then came the Revised Mortgage Balance Program to deal with that.

Can the Minister inform the House today, what is the current status of this Revised Mortgage Balance Program and what is our current rate of collection and how are we dealing with this balance of...

Page 400, community housing services, grants, contributions and transfers. Any questions?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department has attempted numerous times to investigate opportunities to improve management efficiencies at the Yellowknife Airport. However, during this administration there have been no real investment opportunities pursued, resulting in limited impact on the economic benefits for Yellowknife and Northerners.

Can the Minister inform the House how much emphasis the Department of Transportation is placing on making governance at the Yellowknife Airport Authority a priority?

What we’ve heard from the Minister today is very encouraging, but the disposal of assets on airport lands is about as confusing as it comes. There are blurred lines of confusion on the role of the department and that of its Minister.

That said, can the Minister share with Members what changes may be forthcoming that could clarify the level of authority and responsibility of both the department and the Minister with respect to such asset disposal?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Late in December 2014, the Department of Transportation issued a notice regarding the proposed amendments to the Deh Cho Bridge Regulations. These regulations established a legal administrative framework for the tolling system of the Deh Cho Bridge, and with any amendments, they must first undergo a public review.

Registered owners of northbound commercial vehicles over 4,500 kilograms crossing the Deh Cho Bridge are required to pay a toll. Thankfully, private vehicles are not required to pay this toll.

The Minister and department know exactly where I’m going with this...