Wendy Bisaro

Mr. Chair, I move that we report progress.

---Carried

The last concern for today is the lack of financial assistance for emerging NGOs, those NGOs who are developing valuable civil society and volunteer bases. These new guys on the block do not currently receive GNWT funds and so they do not qualify for any of the dollars in the NGO Stabilization Fund. A separate fund is needed to assist these emerging NGOs as they get started and find their feet.

The NGO Stabilization Fund has been a welcome addition to the financial assistance given by the GNWT to NGOs providing important services for NWT residents on behalf of this government. It’s an...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories monitor its loans receivable and develop targets and measures to improve collections, with a view to reducing the allowance for doubtful accounts to less than 30 percent.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would just like to say that the committee was pleased to see that the Finance department had produced the public accounts earlier than in the previous year. We would like to, as a committee, conclude the review of the public accounts as soon as possible after the audit is finished and so this allows us, within our rules, to hold a public hearing prior to having the document tabled in the Assembly. It will allow committee to speed up the review of the public accounts. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Since we have time and I believe staff have the motions ready for us, we would like to consider Committee Report 4-17(4).

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories expedite work on bringing municipalities under access to information and protection of privacy legislation, and that a phased approach to implementation be considered in order to take into account the needs and resources of smaller communities, while improving access to information and protection of privacy in larger population centres, and that the government table its review report and discussion paper in the fall sitting. If these are not available, the government should table a...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories expedite work on the new Health Information Act with a view to introducing a bill as soon as possible; and further, that if the government is not able to introduce this bill in the fall sitting, the standing committee recommends that the government table a detailed progress report in that sitting, identifying a timeline and any additional resources required so that a bill may be introduced within the 2013-14 fiscal year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Nadli.

The Financial Administration Act Section 74 states that, “unless the Legislative Assembly otherwise fixes a date, the public accounts for the fiscal year must be laid before the Legislative Assembly on or before December 31st following the end of the fiscal year or, if the Legislative Assembly is not then in session, not later than 15 days after the commencement of the next session of the Legislative Assembly.”

The present committee reviewed the practice of previous governments and Legislative Assembly committees with regard to the public accounts...

I guess I can’t agree with the Minister’s assessment of that. Giving an organization money in one year and then pulling it in the next year because we funded you for that project, now we’re only going to fund a new project, in my mind, is destabilizing, not stabilizing.

We have a $1.6 billion budget within this government, and a twofold increase doubling the value of the NGO Stabilization Fund amounts to a 0.02 percent increase to our expenditures bottom line.

I’d like to ask the Premier if he could provide a rationale for the rejection by the Cabinet, by the Minister, his rejection of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are addressed to the Minister of Executive and the Premier. For the Standing Committee on Government Operations, we’ve heard from many Members today, and the NGO Stabilization Fund has been a priority for that committee, and the committee has corresponded with the Minister over the last year several times about the NGO Stabilization Fund. We’ve provided input and we’ve been dismayed to be told by the Minister that a review of the fund found no reason to make any changes to the criteria. Unfortunately, that view is supported by the Social Envelope Committee...