Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have laid out the fiscal framework going forward to Members. The Stanton Hospital is going to be done over time. We recognize there is planning work to be done. There’s money being budgeted, increasing amounts, over the coming years that will allow us to manage this project.

As we go forward, other projects will fall off and be completed. So we have looked at all the numbers, we looked at all these factors, and we are of the opinion – and we’ve laid it out before this House and before committee – that we can manage these projects with careful investments, some very...

Mr. Chairman, if my memory serves me correctly, in the last government we worked extensively in trying to do community energy plans with all of the communities working with Arctic Energy Alliance. We subsequently put in these Pathfinders.

If I just may offer one final comment… And yes, our door is open to have those further discussions.

I speak of wood chips with a caution in my voice because in Fort Smith the Metis local started out putting in a facility to heat about four of their big buildings right by Roaring Rapids and a number of other buildings. They started out with wood chips in mind...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think there is a shared concern about the growth of government. We’ve squeezed government back from the days of annual 6 percent plus growth down to 2, down to next year we’re going to be aiming to 1.5 percent.

As you’ve heard around the table already, there is a concern and demand that we spend more money on program areas at the same time as we try to manage our money. We agree that the size of the public service is very large. As we try to control our growth going forward, one of the things that we are looking at is controlling position growth, unless it’s tied to a...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate the Member’s comments. As we get into the detail with those program areas that I know the Member has referenced on-the-land programs and some of the other work that has to be done, we will be able to have those discussions when the Ministers come to the table.

I appreciate his support for the Mackenzie Valley fibre optic line as well as, of course, the work that we are trying to do on the Inuvik-Tuk highway. Part of our commitment to try to spread the wealth around the Northwest Territories as much as possible, and these are, I think, in the long run, very...

We agree that we have infrastructure challenges, which is why we have taken the planning steps that we have in terms of two years of fiscal discipline so we can, in fact, put more money into infrastructure. We have a $3 billion infrastructure deficit. We’ve identified and we’re starting to put some very serious money into Stanton and we’ve acknowledged that it needs a midlife retrofit. It was built at a time when the population was a lot lower. That’s going to be a $200 million to $300 million project and we’re on the road to taking care of that. We’re building long-term care facilities. In...

The deputy reminded me that we’ve already shared those principles in the rationale for the decentralization with committee, but we’d be happy to share it again. No, none of the existing incumbents will be moving. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have with me Mike Aumond, deputy minister of Finance; and Sandy Kalgutkar, deputy secretary to FMB. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We would, of course, share that list with the Members and if they need a briefing on rationale, we could do that as well. I must confess, I didn’t quite catch the question on the BIP office. Is the Member asking what their thought was about being decentralized? I didn’t quite understand that. If I could get clarification, please.

As a government over the years, going back at least three Assemblies with the State of Emergency report, Stay the Course report, and the work that’s been done on addictions, initially it was linked with mental health, the investments we’ve made in staffing and putting in alcohol and drug workers, addiction workers, mental health workers, community health workers, in review of that process and the debate over facilities, very clearly we are spending a significant amount of money. We are looking at the recommendations of this blue chip panel with great interest, and we will see what they say and...

Mr. Chair, the Member’s impassioned commentary on decentralization stands on its own merit. It needs no response from me. Being from Fort Smith, it resonates, I think, very clearly with most of the folks that are from outside of Yellowknife.

The comment about spending smarter, if I could just speak to the budget dialogue again, I think that’s one of the themes that the people tell us as well. They don’t have all the answers, but they tell us to be efficient, avoid duplication, spend it smarter. The people who are charged with doing that, of course, are us. So that’s the discussion that we have...