Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just couldn’t let this section go by without asking about the Business Development Investment Corporation. I recognize that we have the Investment Corporation and they are to support economic objectives of the GNWT, to help the development of northern businesses and so on, but I read the description of activities under the department itself and it seems to me that we are duplicating investment services. We have investment services through the department and we have investment services through the BDIC.

I’ve talked to the Minister about this before, and I guess I would...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have a question with regards to the two contributions at the top of this page, tourism industry contribution and Tourism 2015. They sound remarkably similar. I just wonder if I can get an explanation of the difference between the two. Thank you.

Thanks for the clarification. My other question has to do with the investment income interest earned on the NWT Opportunities Fund and it reflects in ’13-14 budget year a revised estimate of $7-plus million. My recollection is that that was the value of the fund. So is this, in fact, interest, $7 million in interest or is that simply how we’ve recorded it? Is the NWT Opportunities Fund now finished, is it empty, is it done and closed? A status update on the fund would be helpful and why have we recorded $7 million in interest? Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister for that. My other question has to do with, I have two other questions here, but my first of the other questions has to do with the regulatory revenues and the minerals oil and gas royalties.

The $120 million, as I understand it, is the estimated amount of resources revenues that we’re going to be getting in the ’14-15 budget year, but that’s the total amount, that’s not the net amount. So I’d like to know why we are recording the total amount in this budget. I don’t believe there’s a corresponding expense of the 50 percent of this net fiscal benefit that we’re going to...

Thanks to the deputy minister. So, we are looking to save about $7 million in passive restraint and we are going to “go in the hole” for the other, say, $25 million, is that right? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Committee wishes to continue with Tabled Document 22-17(5), with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment and, time permitting and the Members willing, the Department of Finance. Thank you.

Yes, I got that, so thank you for that information.

The next question that I have with this loss of revenue, I have yet to understand, in all the discussions that we’ve had so far, what we’re going to do to our budget, how we’re going to mitigate this loss of revenue. We’ve got a budget before us but we are expecting less revenue, so we’re already in the hole. What are we doing in this budget to mitigate for that loss of revenue? Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister and I didn’t think we had one, so I’m glad that that’s confirmed.

The Minister mentioned a program that exists, I believe it’s the federal government that provides money to communities so that they can get AEDs and put them into their public places and their public buildings.

I’d like to know from the Minister if he’s aware of any program within the GNWT that would provide money to organizations, to communities, to basically organizations and communities if they wish to buy an AED and install it in their space. Thank you.

I’m trying to do some quick math in my head and I’m struggling again, I guess. So, if we are…and my quick math tells me that we’re losing about $20 million in personal income tax that we expect to get for ’13-14. If that’s the case, I don’t understand why Finance is estimating $104 million or $105 million for ’14-15. If we are so far down in ’13-14 and we’ve got these numbers from the federal government on, basically, kind of actuals, why are we not estimating revenues that are closer to this year’s actuals? Why are we going up some $15 million? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to address my questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services and I’d like to follow up on my statement. AEDs have a fairly low profile in the NWT. Certainly when my office was doing some research, it was pretty obvious. Some organizations have taken actions and others have not. For instance, we do not have an AED here at the Legislative Assembly.

So I’d like to ask the Minister, first off, whether not the Department of Health and Social Services or the GNWT, if he knows that, has any policy regarding the placement of AEDs within the territory...