Daryl Dolynny

Thank you, Madam Chair. Again, to the motion, I’m hoping that we can get some information before the end of next session here and before the next round of public accounts. Again, for the record, I do want to thank my colleagues. It was a good journey, preparing for today and with the motions. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. As I mentioned in my earlier comments today here, the Fiscal Responsibility Policy is very specific in how it deals with surplus, and clearly, this government has had surplus in years past, in some cases we’ve had substantial surplus, and that surplus has to follow within their own policy called the Fiscal Responsibility Policy, which states 50 percent of that is put into operation surpluses for infrastructure and 50 percent, roughly, goes back to short-term and long-term borrowing. I’m just kind of summarizing it in basic terms.

The concern committee had is we don’t...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Well, it should be no surprise to the Cabinet and the Members in this room my continued journey on putting a lens on what I refer to as one of the largest loopholes in our taxation collection, I think, in modern history that we deal with in the Northwest Territories.

This loophole, this self-reporting loophole is exactly what it is. It’s a loophole. This self-reporting aspect is rarely monitored by government. We don’t have enough investigators to do the audits, and clearly, when audits are done, miraculously, money is found. This motion clearly sets the stage and the...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think Ms. Bisaro summed it up quite well. Again, there is a fiduciary obligation on behalf of all of our stakeholders to report their financial statements to public accounts and to this government, and as Ms. Bisaro mentioned, the Housing Corporation… Actually, there were four that did not meet the criteria, and I wanted to make sure that that was clear. We had Aurora College that required an extension. We also had NWT Business Development Investment Corporation that also needed an extension date, and we had Northwest Territories Hydro Corporation who also required an...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank Mr. Yakeleya for bringing this motion forward. First of all, I want to deal with the elephant in this room and that is why is a big city MLA concerned about a small community issue. This is important to me and it’s simple. This motion is an issue of equality, it’s an issue of accountability and it’s also an issue of class management. I will try to address these three ideologies in support of Mr. Yakeleya’s motion.

First of all, equality. Why are we allowing certain communities to be considered a tier 2 or second class to what is considered norm in...

Mr. Speaker, this is news to me. I have not uncovered those changes.

The issue of companies dealing with market saturation or market economy is all too real in many jurisdictions of our territory, yet the negotiated and sole-source contract policy makes no mention of such.

Can the Minister of Finance indicate by what policy this government judges when a market is oversaturated with competing Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal businesses and still grants a negotiated or sole-source contract? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, like many residents, am concerned with this government’s antiquated negotiated and sole-source contracting policy and how the taxpayers are forced to be holding the bag of its mismanagement. The recently tabled response to my question on GNWT contracts over $5,000 does raise awareness of this concern. My questions today are for the Minister of Finance.

Can the Minister comment why taxpayers were forced to pick up the tab of $34 million in the GNWT contract change orders in 2012-2013? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think Member Moses summarized it quite eloquently. I just need a few points to add to this motion.

What we’re referring to in this motion is hopefully setting up more of a target base approach for loans receivable. If we look at the history of this government, we were collecting literally at one point in time I call it 70-cent dollars, and that number has dwindled from 2011 to 2013 to about 60-cent dollars on our doubtful loans. This is a bit problematic. Losing 10 cents on the dollar really, in essence, will be significant in the long run.

Good accounting principles...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have a motion. I move that, in future, the public accounts include a detailed explanation of how the Government of the Northwest Territories has performed for that fiscal year in relation to the Fiscal Responsibility Policy.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I do have a motion. I move that the Department of Finance undertake the necessary audits and investigations required to ensure that revenues from self-reporting taxes are fully maximized and that the department report back to the Standing Committee on Government Operations with respect to its findings by August 31, 2014.