Floyd Roland

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank the Member for that question because it will help clarify the terminology being used. It would be the Yellowknife rate that would be worked with, not the base rate, as the Member has clarified, that exists now in the rates that are adjusted and established by the PUB. It would be the Yellowknife rate and adjustments from that. That’s the policy decision that we’re following. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, that’s not the formula we use. In fact, within FMBS, we go through a zero-base exercise. It’s quite a process and we’ve made a new binder to bring forward just on that aspect alone. The difference that we see here is that it’s difficult to compare actual dollars to main estimate, but we’ve also added responsibilities in this year going forward. We know we will require more travel and that’s why we’ve kept it at the same amount, but there are additional responsibilities and there’s going to be an additional requirement to travel, especially if we continue...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Member is right; as we initially met, I referenced the fact that we were waiting on waivers to be signed. As has it, with lawyers involved from a number of different parties, that hasn’t gone as smoothly as we would have liked it to. But they will be executed today. Once those are executed, then the receiver can once again go out there and seek other interested parties or return contacts that other interested parties have made. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It’s not in conjunction, but that information will be very useful as we go forward. Mr. Braden has touched on an area that is something we are beginning to look at overall. The subsidy programs and what we have available, there are quite a number of them, as he stated, that better coordination would definitely be an asset to those who access the program and for ourselves as accounting and for identifying the kind of support we give residents of the Northwest Territories. But the work that’s ongoing right now within FMBS around the Territorial Power Support Program is...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, a comparison of the 2003 actuals to main estimates is one that’s difficult. For example, if we went back a little further than that to the 2003-04 mains, at that time we would have seen an identified travel budget in the area of $194,000. So the actual mains, as they were built at that time, we were estimating travel to be in the area of $194,000. Actual dollars used at that time were $64,000. From that point on we’re going from mains to mains, 2003-04 mains to 2004-05 mains. We’ve budgeted a lower amount in 2003-04, recognizing that there was going...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the funding that we required to cover the rest of the loss that was identified was found from other program areas within FMBS where we had lapses. We would have turned that money back over to the consolidated revenue fund, but, realizing this loss was there, we then applied that money to the loss instead of turning it back over to the general revenue fund. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, as the program exists today, elders who own their own homes and are paying the power bill do qualify for a subsidy; the same subsidy that’s available to all residents in the territory. For a rebate of that nature, if the committee felt strong enough for the government overall to look at establishing something like that, we would look at it. But under the review that is happening, it’s around the existing structure, the rates, what’s driving those rates, and the cost to go up and look at that side of the equation. We have other programs out there. As the...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, as we mentioned earlier in the year on educational awareness on some of the activities, the Liquor Licensing Board is where this would fall under now. The Liquor Commission doesn’t have a very big education role in a sense of what happens. It is something we could look at and look at how some of these things should flow. As we go forward, should we be as a government overall, or should it be within the Liquor Commission and start reviewing that as to how do we further educate or provide information out there? But the roles right now are very limited in...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, what I have laid out in my opening remarks is the transfer of liability coverage from the health board authorities to the government policy. That is a change that would see an overall savings for the boards. In the other matter of insurance and liability for non-government organizations, for the most part our policy doesn’t include non-government organizations. There may be a couple of exceptions, but I am aware…For example, the example that Ms. Lee has used in the area of shelters; the government funds, through it’s contribution agreements to non...

Thank you, Madam Chair. There are a number of areas that we do work with in conjunction with other departments; for example, Health and Social Services, in some of the awareness areas, as well, in general. For example, the liquor stores that are operational do labelling on the bags, as well in the Northwest Territories we have bottles that are labelled to make people aware that consuming alcohol, especially while pregnant, is not a good thing. So we do that bit of work.

The other area of education and training, as the Member touched on, is in the area with the Liquor Licensing Board which is...