Michael Miltenberger

This is the first increase to base funding for electricity since 2006-2007.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Sandy Kalgutkar, deputy secretary to the FMB; and Charles Tolley, director of budgeting.

I am also here to present Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 5, 2010-2011. This document outlines a net increase of $800,000 for capital investment expenditures in the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

There are two items in the supplementary estimates:

A negative supplementary appropriation of $150,000 which represents the transfer of capital investment expenditures funding to operations expenditures funding for the maintenance costs associated with the NWT Laboratory Information System.

$950,000 for the reconstruction of a section of the Inuvik Airport taxiway. The net impact on...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am here to present Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2010-2011. This document outlines a net increase of $8.437 million in operations expenditures for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

The major items in the supplementary estimates include:

$4.370 million for the Department of Health and Social Services to fund the cost of insured services to non-NWT residents, which will be fully offset by recoveries from other jurisdictions for services for their residents.

$1.766 million for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to fund the projected...

I will commend the Member for taking full advantage of the niche opportunity that appeared as I am as well a personal recipient of some of the bags that he’s put out as Member for Yellowknife Centre. I think he’s to be commended for that. We know just on the plastic bags alone, that we’ve eliminated millions and millions and millions of bags from the environment and replaced them with reusable bags that have a much greater life expectancy and are reusable. I think it’s a very good step and I know the Member fully supports that.

Thank you. I would suggest it’s had a marginal and probably positive impact on the overall broad cost of living in the Northwest Territories. This is entirely a voluntary fee. People do not have to use plastic bags or buy bags at the store. As well, we also know that we are extending the life of our landfills, which has a significant cost for all of us who are dealing with Municipal and Community Affairs. You look at the cost of maintaining landfills and putting new ones in place, it is significantly less burden on the environment, as the Member himself pointed out in his comments, where you...

Mr. Chairman, this particular item I believe it says it is in relation to the Housing Corporation, not the Power Corporation.

Mr. Chairman, there are two main reasons these numbers are built on the 2009 tax year when we were in the midst of the significant economic downturn. The Member is correct; they have an ability to reach back three years, as well, when they are doing their taxes to work out the most advantageous arrangement to themselves. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’ll speak to the borrowing limits and I’ll get Ms. Melhorn to speak to the shared services piece.

Our position in regard to the borrowing limit has been clear and consistent. We’re involved in a government-to-government negotiation and discussion with the federal Finance department. There’s been a review of the three territories’ borrowing limits. This is an issue of specific concern to us so we’ve been very proactive in dealing with the federal government. We’ve had meetings just before Christmas when we were in Kananaskis, a chance to talk to the Minister of Finance...

Yes, Mr. Chairman.