Floyd Roland

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have tried to address some of the operational issues through this policy, and the one reason, for example at Stanton, is because the operating room does shut down each year and for lengthy periods of time. It was felt that this is an appropriate method of ensuring we had nurses to cover that year round when they would come back on. Again, for seasonal or for heavy work schedules in the winter or early spring, are paid out effective as of October 1st is another area. So we do try to put some flexibility in here. But the big matter here is, we have to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When I presented my budget to this Assembly in February I spoke about a need to develop a broad macroeconomic policy for the NWT. Today I want to talk about how we will accomplish this.

We have all heard the statistics about the tremendous economic growth the NWT has experienced; 71 percent growth in gross domestic product since 1999, the highest employment rates in Canada and higher levels of income for workers. Much of this growth has come from investment in the construction of diamond mines and from exports of diamonds, with some growth associated with oil and gas...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, I'll have to say part of it is due to the fact in management of our budget as a government, Regular Members' advice, our own work as we looked at the fiscal environment we operate under and the numbers that have come in. We also end up dealing with some of the adjustments that come after the fact from the federal government on some of our corporate tax revenues, and that also has an impact on those numbers too. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are beginning our plans in the sense of how we would communicate and what sort of support we could build across other jurisdictions. More importantly, before we can do that, we need to know and understand the parameters of our own decisions we go forward on; how large to increase or push for an increase in a northern residents tax deduction. That portion of it. So we have to build our case of what we would like to do and move that forward. So we are coming with a discussion paper to Cabinet to follow up on this, as well as to come up with a plan to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity to provide an update on the government’s fiscal position and outlook.

Later today I will be tabling the public accounts for the 2005-06 fiscal year. I am pleased to report that the government ended the previous fiscal year with an operating surplus of $36 million, $18 million higher than the amount projected in last February’s budget. This is good news as a sufficient operating surplus is critical to the funding of our infrastructure plan.

The current interim territorial formula financing arrangements with Canada are scheduled to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Territorial Power Support Program is aimed at residences, so 700 kilowatt hours per month. I might say, Mr. Speaker, my home in Inuvik with my family, I worked hard at keeping consumption below that because once you get above it you start paying your community rate and that can go up significantly. We do have a commercial portion of it. It is very small and it is application based. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I stated, I am bringing forward a discussion paper to Cabinet/FMB. Once I have given them information and had some discussion as to how we will target this and bring it forward to what level of increase in that northern residents deduction we are looking for, then I would be happy to meet with Members and go over where we have come with this and begin a plan of rolling out from there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the area of the Territorial Power Support Program, that program continues to grow just by the fact of volume of people in their own homes and the subsidy we provide to residents outside of the capital. We have no plans of changing that program. It is set at 700 kilowatt hours at the Yellowknife rate, and then the rate zone is charged per community. That's the best we can do at this point and that program has now crept over the $8 million mark. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have looked at this area in more detail. In fact, I'm bringing forward a discussion paper to the next Cabinet/FMB meeting to look at this issue in a little more detail. We’ve looked at the costing of it. It will cost our government money as well by increasing our portion or share of it. So we are looking at that area, as well as looking at how we would work with other jurisdictions, not only the Territories but other provinces that would fall into that rate zone that we fall into as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Right now within the Government of the Northwest Territories, the existing program we have, through the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, wage subsidies and so on for a private sector, as well as departments, to help fund if they are going to go into the area of hiring more apprentices. Within the Department of Public Works and Services, as I stated earlier, we have struggled in that area. At one time, we provided all of the maintenance, O and M in communities. Since then with hamlets and community governments taking on more and more of that...