The Member for Thebacha. The Member for Yellowknife South. The Member for Hay River North. The Member for Hay River South. The Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. The Member for Nunakput.
Colleagues, all those in favour, 7. Opposed, 1. Abstentions 6. Motion has carried.
I now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wishes of committee? Member for Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 340-20(1), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures) No. 1, 2025-2026; and time permitting, Mr. Chair, Tabled Document 341-20(1), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Agree. Thank you to the Member. Committee, we have agreed to consider Tabled Document 341-20(1), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Does the Minister of Finance have any opening remarks?
Thank you, Mr. Chair, I do.
Mr. Chair, I am here to present Tabled Document 341-20(1), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. This document proposes a total appropriation increase of $47.15 million, $38.5 million of which will be offset by revenues from the Government of Canada and various provincial governments.
Notable items supported by federal funding include:
$20.6 million to support health and social services cost share agreements, including $9.2 million for First Nations and Inuit Home and Community Care and $8 million for Northern Wellness;
$8.1 million to provide funding for various Environment and Climate Change cost share agreements including $2.3 million for the 2 Billion Trees program and $1.3 million each for the Deh Cho Protected Areas and Section 11 conservation agreements;
$2.6 million to support activities under the Canada-Northwest Territories national School Food Program Agreement;
$2.2 million in support of the Canada-Northwest Territories Early Learning and Childcare Agreement and One-Year Merged action plan; and,
$1.8 million to support access to legal aid services.
Additionally, I am proposing the following supplementary expenditures:
$2.4 million to provide funding for contributions under the School Funding Framework;
$1.8 million to address transitional housing and shelter services in Yellowknife;
$1.8 million to continue work related to the Hay River Harbour Restoration; and,
$1.8 million to provide a contribution to the Physical Activity, Sport and Recreation Fund.
These Supplementary Estimates also propose an increase of $130 million to the authorized short-term borrowing limit established under the Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures) 2025-2026.
These Supplementary Estimates will ensure the Government of the Northwest Territories is in compliance with the Financial Administration Act by reflecting the borrowing limit for debt less than 365 days for the 2025-2026 fiscal year at $880 million. The request is the result of significant increases within the proposed Supplementary Estimates and the limited contingencies allowed for within the Appropriation Act.
That concludes my opening remarks. We are prepared to answer questions that committee may have.
Thank you, Minister. Does the Minister of Finance wish to bring witnesses into the chamber?
Yes, please, Mr. Chair.
Committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Sergeant-at-arms, could you please escort the witnesses into the chamber.
Would the Minister please introduce her witnesses.
Happy to do so, Mr. Chair. On my left, Bill MacKay, deputy minister of finance. And on my right, Mandi Bolstad, the deputy secretary to the financial management board.
Thank you. I will now open the floor for general comments. Seeing none, does the committee agree to proceed to the detail contained in the tabled documents?
Agreed.
Thank you. Committee, we will begin on page number 3, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, early learning, not previously authorized, $2,392,000. Are there any questions? Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a question under education about the funding to support the delivery of the practical nurse program at Aurora College. That's the next section. We're just on the first -- one section at a time. Okay, I'll wait. Thank you for that.
Seeing no further questions, Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Legislative Assembly, operations expenditures, early learning, not previously authorized, $2,392,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, education, not previously authorized, $5,507,000. Are there any questions? MLA for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll take the opportunity, I wanted to ask for the $528,000 that is to be allocated to Aurora College to support the delivery of the practical nurse program, my understanding -- and I could be mistaken on this -- but that the nurse practitioner program at the college was suspended in 2016. It was more formally cut in 2019. But then just recently, in the fall of 2024, formally reinstated.
Can the Minister or the witnesses explain why this amount is coming forward as a supplementary appropriation? Does it have to do with additional money that's required to get this program back up and running again, or is it for next fiscal year looking ahead? Maybe the Minister can give some context as to why this amount of money at this time is needed for the program at Aurora College. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Member of Yellowknife North. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I can't speak to what may or may not have been going on back in 2016. But, Mr. Chair, this is an appropriation that is meant to move -- there was -- sorry, there was some funding that sunset previously in health and social services, and then we are now looking to fund this out of ECE and to step in where the funding was previously sunset to now go from what was a federally funded program in health to a GNWT funded program through ECE. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Any further questions? Seeing none, thank you.
We'll carry on with Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, languages and culture, not previously authorized, $222,000 -- excuse me, $5,507,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, languages and culture, not previously authorized, $222,000. Are there any questions?
Seeing no further questions. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, languages and culture, not previously authorized, $222,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Sorry, Members, I will make that correction.
Operations expenditures, education, not previously authorized, $5,507,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Education, Culture and Employment, operations and expenditures, total department, not previously authorized, $8,121,000. Are there any questions?
Seeing no further questions. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, total department not previously authorized, $8,121,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Committee, we will turn to page number 4 for the Department of Environment and Climate Change, page 4.
Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Environment and Climate Change, operations expenditures, environmental management, monitoring and climate change, not previously authorized, $2,563,000. Are there any questions?
So no further questions. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Environment and Climate Change, operations expenditures, environmental management, monitoring and climate change, not previously authorized, $2,563,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Environment and Climate Change, operations expenditures, policy and strategic planning, not previously authorized, $1,877,000. Are there any questions?
Seeing no further questions, Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Environment and Climate Change, operations expenditures, policy and strategic planning, not previously authorized, $1,877,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Environment and Climate Change, operations expenditures, wildfire and forest management, not previously authorized, $4,446,000. Are there any questions? To the Member of Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I was just wondering the section 11, cost-shared funding, can you give us a better explanation of that. It's not self-explanatory. Not you yourself but the Minister, sorry. Thank you.
Thank you to the Member. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. This refers to section 11 of the federal Species at Risk Act, and this funding is going to support entering into the implementation of a conservation agreement with any government in Canada, organization, or benefit to support a species of risk. This funding will help ensure that we as the GNWT are fulfilling obligations under a two-year conservation agreement, and the project proposed here is titled the Conservation of Boreal Caribou in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. To the Member, Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's it for me for.
Thank you to the Member. Any further questions on this item?
Seeing no further questions, Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Environment and Climate Change, operations expenditures, wildfire and forest management, not previously authorized, $4,446,000. Does the committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Environment and Climate Change, operations expenditures, total department not previously authorized, $8,886,000. Are there any questions?
Seeing none, Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Environment and Climate Change, operations expenditures, total department, not previously authorized, $8,886,000. Does the committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Can we turn to page number 5 of the Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs.
Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs, operations expenditures, gender equity, not previously authorized, $685,000. Are there any questions?
Seeing none, further, Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs, operations expenditures, gender equity, not previously authorized, $685,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs, operations expenditures, governance and service integration, not previously authorized, $1,903,000. Are there any questions? To the Member of Frame Lake, go ahead.
