Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a couple more questions for the Minister of Finance. Sometimes reviewing business plans feels like we're squishing round pegs into square holes; the actions don't quite fit our priorities. Why do business plans have existing government actions that have tenuous connections to our priorities of this House? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I suppose that may be a matter of interpretation in the sense that departments certainly are very well aware of the priorities of this Assembly. It is incumbent on, obviously, Ministers as being politically accountable, deputy ministers as being operationally accountable to deliver on the priorities. So to the extent that the business plans do not align with the priorities, that really should come forward.
Every main estimates, that's why we put them with the main estimates. It gives a good opportunity for Members here in this House to critique the main estimates, critique the business plans alongside them. Both here and also in the committee process that we have.
So Mr. Speaker, if there's specific examples that we want to raise, again, happy to deal with it. I'm sure colleagues will do it on their behalf because we do want the business plan process to be effective. Anecdotally, we've heard that putting them together, the business plans and mains have been better. Doing a four-year business plan has been better. It is easier to understand and more clear direction. So happy to continue that process improvement. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Oral questions. Members from the Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate --
-- Let's try this again. Great Slave, thank you.
I just assume you mean me, Mr. Speaker. Thank you so much.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister's answer, and I do have more questions on this topic.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Finance does oversee the process, and there certainly are occasions where there'll be discussion back and forth, particularly at an operational level, to ensure that the quality of everything that's being brought forward meets the standards that we were expecting them to meet, that when it comes to the financial management board, the financial management board becomes satisfied as information that we require. And also, Mr. Speaker, the financial management board has the benefit of an entity known as the management board secretariat.
These are analysts that work specifically for the financial management board to help provide analysis of business plans, and frankly, it's an opportunity to point out if a submission or business plan does not meet that standard. And that can then influence the decisions of the financial management board. So those are processes that are baked in, and we utilize them.
Again, I think this is a valuable opportunity. It's not always well known to the public what we do. I'm happy to keep finding a way to make it better, Mr. Speaker.
Final supplementary. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, has the Minister ever contemplated making the business plan even tighter to our political priorities such that it's not just a massive list of everything the government is doing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have had concerns raised at times, certainly in this government, where we had a very narrow set of four priorities. It was raised at some departments or at least divisions since the work that they did every day that they believed was for residents was not going to be reflected in business plans because it didn't necessarily, at least on first blush, reflect overtly or directly the priorities. So, again, I appreciate it. I think there's probably some back and forth to be had.
Too much information is of no benefit to the public to understand or to Members to act on, so I am certainly happy to look again at what we can do before we come back here. Our business planning process is underway, and we want it to be effective for the House and effective for the public. I will certainly look back again and see if we can meet that standard. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
