Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table a document from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, “Projected Funded Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) Based on September 2013 Enrolment Data.” Thank you.

I don’t think I heard an answer to my question, so I guess school boards are looking forward to reductions in 2015-16 and they aren’t going to get anything back for at least another two or three years.

The Premier referenced surpluses and he referenced the need for particularly the two boards in Yellowknife to use up their surpluses. There are other boards with surpluses. I’d like to ask the Premier if the need to use up surplus to deal with the funding shortfall because of the reductions that are happening, is the need to use up surpluses the same for every education authority or is he looking...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that we report progress.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Premier and I want to follow up on some questions that my colleague Mr. Dolynny asked earlier following up on the statement of the Premier today. I want to, at the outset, indicate that I am very pleased and was pleased to hear the statement from the Premier. It is good news. But one of the things Mr. Dolynny asked had to do with funding and the funding ongoing. The Premier indicated in one of his answers that there were funding reductions for education authorities in this fiscal year, 2014-15, that there would be reductions in...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 154-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2014-2015, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 154-17(5) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you.

AANDC has agreed, as well, to change the project time frame from perpetuity to 100 years and to investigate and report on long-term funding options. The acceptance of the AANDC Minister for the recommendations in the MVEIRB report confirm the public wishes and they signified a major change from the proposed remediation plan for Giant. That acceptance was due in no small part to the work of Kevin O’Reilly.

One Yellowknifer has commented, “Kevin really deserves widespread and heartfelt recognition for achieving the deal on Giant. It wouldn’t have happened without his initiative and tireless work...

Okay. I had to think about that. We’ve passed the ’15-16 infrastructure budget. So I guess it’s just anybody looking at it from the outside would have a difficult time following these numbers. I guess it would help, I don’t know if it’s allowed, but I guess it would certainly help if that explanation was included in the text that we have on this page. It would certainly make it easier to understand.

My other question has to do with the transfer, and there are a couple of them in this budget, the transfer of federal buildings to us from devolution and we’re accounting for these. I’d like to know...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Aumond left off where one of the questions that I wanted to go with regard to the $20 million that we’re borrowing. I heard him say that we will need $15 million in this budget year and then $5 million is expected after March 31, 2015. If the question’s been asked and I missed it, I’m sorry. But why are we being asked to approve $20 million in the 2014-15 budget year, which ends March 31, 2015, when $5 million of that is going to be used in the 2015-16 budget year? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I had two minutes left. I just wanted to say that I appreciate the government’s intent, but somebody dropped the ball and I appreciate that the Minister has suggested that yes, maybe they did. I do appreciate also that there are times when decisions need to be made quickly, but I still believe that there is still an opportunity, even when a decision is made quickly, to let Regular Members know what that decision has been.

As to his question about my questions, yes, I will raise them later on. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We would like to consider Tabled Document 155-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2014-2015; and, time permitting, Tabled Document 154-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2014-2015; and, time permitting, Tabled Document 115-17(5), Northwest Territories Capital Estimates 2015-2016, with the Department of Transportation. Thank you.