Michael Miltenberger

It was not an oversight, but I will let Mr. Aumond lay out the plan as we’ve dealt with this particular issue.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Member has raised a number of pertinent issues, pertinent for the review of the budget. The main budget is the development of the business plans. No Minister is ready or available to respond to requests or increase the programs or addition of positions, new capital items. The intent here today was to give us the bare amount of money we need as a government to operate for three months so that we can in fact have that fulsome discussion about the budget through the committee process, and not be in a position here where individual Members are asking for commitments on...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This borrowing limit is, in effect, an operational line of credit. It’s up $75 million. We have a very specific need in this particular instance. As the Member has noted, it hasn’t been touched since 1995. The government has grown significantly as has our budget. The short-term borrowing cycles in and out, literally tens of millions of dollars a week moving in and out of government coffers and bank accounts as we manage the complex business of government.

I want to as well speak briefly that there are no hiring freezes. If folks are saying there’s no money, then it...

Thank you, Madam Chair. That work is continuing as well, I believe.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am here to present Bill 1, An Act to Amend the Borrowing Authorization Act. The purpose of this act is to increase the short-term authority to borrow provided in Section 1(2) of the act from $175 million to $275 million.

The amendment is being proposed in order to provide the short-term borrowing authority needed to make a $65 million corporate income repayment on March 31, 2012. On April 1, 2012, the GNWT will once again be within the current limit when the GNWT receives the first Territorial Formula Financing payment for 2012-13.

The proposed amendment also...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have with me from the Department of Finance Mr. Mike Aumond and Mr. Sandy Kalgutkar.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just quickly, in regard to the ENR fire budgets, as has been pointed out by Ms. Bisaro a number of times, we know from history that the fire budget will be almost fully expended by July regardless of what happens, and we’ll be coming back for supplementary appropriation. That’s a different discussion. But we do have some long-term contracts, fixed-wing and rotary, with Buffalo Airways, with Discovery, with some of the other aviation outfits. Hence the request.

With regard to the devolution question and the federal contribution, I’ll ask Mr. Kalgutkar if he can provide...

In our dealings with Mr. Patterson we have come to the clear recognition, as the Member has commented about this, we need to respond as a government. We have polled the departments around the table. We have been acting on that collective advice and recommendations based on all of the aspects, not just ENR’s or not just ITI’s or not just Finance’s.

What I will commit to the Member is I will ask and we will do one more, another review and I will bring the parties around the table, keeping in mind the passionate plea from the Member to be as proactive and supportive as possible. I will commit and...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’ll speak to the ENR and then I’ll turn over the nurse practitioner question to Mr. Beaulieu.

My response to the Member for Sahtu will be very similar to the one I just gave to the Member for Frame Lake regarding the front end. We bring the fire crews on; we bring all the aircraft on. It’s a very time-specific, seasonally oriented situation. It’s definitely, if not demand driven, it’s driven by the weather and very many factors. Dryness, rain, lightning, those type of things. It’s an emergency essential service in many cases. We need to be fully operational April 1st...

I have considerable concern about talking about the details of a file and specific figures and all the issues related to that in this forum. I’m very happy to talk to the Member about this. The Member and I have had numerous discussions about this. I recognize the concern about Mr. Patterson, but I am not in the position, I don’t believe, as Minister, to discuss details of individual files. Thank you.