Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes, I did have some correspondence with the Minister about that on this very topic, particularly around the audits. Maybe I could just ask: what exactly is it that the federal government has to change to be able to set the value at a fixed amount or index a fixed amount for the air fares? What exactly do they have to fix? Is it a regulation? Is it a policy? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that, and I look forward to the discussion. Is this the place where I can ask about the Northern Resident Tax Deduction, which I know is a federal income tax area, but is this where I can ask questions around indexing of that deduction? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that commitment. I am the guy who keeps raising it and bugging you about it, so, yes, if we can find a way to do that, that would be great. One of our mandate commitments is that we are going to look at the Heritage Fund Act legislation. Concerns have been raised around making sure that there is a legislatively defined revenue stream into the fund and that there is some greater role for the public in terms of governance. Where are we at with the legislation? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, so I think earlier the Minister committed to talking to standing committee about the issue of revenues. I am hoping that he would agree to have a broader approach to this that could involve the public, as well. A couple of years ago, we did a revenue options paper. Is that something that the Minister is prepared to do again to engage the public on this issue of revenues? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Sorry, just making sure I have got the right section. The NWT Heritage Fund, can someone tell me what the actual balance is in the Heritage Fund, because I cannot find it in the main estimates, and it is not in the business plans. I will make a comment about that in a minute, but I would like to know what the balance is. Thanks.

Well, I understood they could write it off against mining royalties, but they also have an opportunity to write it off against corporate income tax, as well. Is it double accounting? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am just not sure where the Heritage Fund is found in the main estimates. Can someone tell me whether this is the appropriate place or which activity to ask about the Heritage Fund? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Maybe it's time to update the standing committee, then, if there's a three or fiveyear plan for this, given that the revenues may not be what you predicted or they're somehow going to pick up and that there is a plan to expand that. I think it's probably time to update standing committee. Is that something the Minister is committed to doing? Thanks.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I seem to be on a real roll, here, so thanks again to the Minister for the work that he does on this issue. I know that he also participates in federal-provincial-territorial conferences and working groups. I mentioned earlier in my statement about the tendency of our federal government to promote so-called free trade agreements that extend protection for drug manufacturers, sometimes with little corresponding benefits. Can the Minister tell the House what positions our government has put forward in the so-called free trade agreement negotiations with regard to...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I did not quite catch that at the end. The demand that we predicted is not there? Is that what is driving the reduced revenues? Thanks, Mr. Chair.