Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned, my questions today are addressed to the Premier, and I want to follow up on my statement and try to give voice to some of the concerns that I’m hearing from my constituents and some of the concerns that I have myself. When we were deliberating the budget, and also this week, between last week and this week, I’m hearing conflicting statements and getting conflicting information about where we’re going in terms of post-devolution final agreement and this consultation. I’d like to ask the Premier if he could elaborate for me and my constituents just what...

Okay, so if we’re out money, is it money that is recoverable? If we are paying interest on it, who are we doing the favour to and can we get the money back from them? Thank you.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I wanted to ask a question here under the health services programs. The funding for projected increased costs for the provision of health care services to non-NWT residents, I just want to totally understand this. This is a lot of money; it’s $4.7 million. This cost is for the provision of health care services to people who don’t live in the NWT. I gather that it is recoverable from the jurisdiction where these people live. I’m struggling to understand how we could underestimate such a large number. Maybe I can get an explanation from the department. Thank you.

So just one last question. I know that my experience has been that we regularly encounter extra costs for people in care, particularly people in care down south but also physician services that we access from down south. The Minister mentioned changing the base budgets in a number of places. Is services for people in care and physician services and so on, hospitals out of the territory, are those the areas where we’re increasing base funding, or maybe can the Minister tell me what departments we are increasing base funding for?

If the Minister could advise how much over that we are. Thank you. What is the total right now of our reserve? We are minus how much? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 44-17(4), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2011-2012, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 44-17(4) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you.

---Carried

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, as several of my colleagues have done before me, I want to highlight the Electoral Boundaries Commission and the consultations that are currently in progress across the NWT.

The Electoral Boundaries Commission is established every eight years to review our NWT electoral boundaries and ridings. The commission considers the populations of our current ridings and determines if all ridings are equitable. It recommends possible changes to the Legislative Assembly, and the Assembly then debates the issue and does or does not make changes to the NWT Elections Act.

The...

Mr. Menicoche, what is the wish of committee?

Thank you, committee. Does committee agree that we have concluded consideration of Tabled Document 50-17(4), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2013-14?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just wanted to provide a bit of an explanation of where I’m coming from with my questions and concerns. I didn’t really go into that fully when I asked questions earlier.

First of all, I’d like to thank Mr. Bromley for bringing up the point that there really is a glacier as part of that road, the Wisconsin Glacier. It is noted in the risk matrix, which the department has recently provided for us. I’d like to also note that the Minister of Finance earlier stated, when he was making some remarks, words to the effect that Members from the south who have everything in the...