Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, later today I am tabling the interim estimates that we're proposing, and with that does come an update as to our proposed borrowing. I can say, Mr. Speaker, that we do typically run an operating surplus where available for the government. Now, we do also provide updates in the fall with the capital planning process and normally would be providing the update as well as part of the budgeting process here. We're still waiting on numbers, and we're still coming in from this wildfire season. So the last time we did May estimates, 20232024 Main Estimates, we were...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents: Interim Estimates, Operations Expenditures, April 1st to June 30th, 2024, and Annual Report 20222023 Northwest Territories Power Corporation and Northwest Territories Hydro Corporation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, thrilled again to talk about biomass. This is an opportunity where, you know, communities can come forward. There is there certainly is opportunity, and I would certainly want to extend the opportunity to speak further to communities, whether it's on small scale projects, which there is funding for under the community grants programs, funding under feasibility studies. There may be opportunities through, you know, and I'd certainly like to be able to perhaps resend some information, that I saw go out at the end of the 19th Assembly under the Minister of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, having a revolving fund where you take a specific amount of money and put that aside, typically it's used for Crown corporations, for example for the airport where there's money in and going in and going out. It allows an entity to operate and conduct its operations with that revolving fund. Having it where there's a revenue source coming in and we take that percentage out, one of the concerns is that you actually wind up saying, all right, here's the $10 million that we're going to use for this initiative. And I think the Member's statement laid out quite...

Mr. Speaker, I'm also the Minister responsible for the public service and the work that we do as a government can't happen without that public service. So that is I hope not a rumor that's out amongst the public service that that's where we're going to be starting to find a way for better and more responsible government. Being a responsible government, having responsible fiscal policies, does not necessarily require us to go out and get rid of those people who deliver our programs and services. It does mean looking at how we do things, looks at the duplication of services, at government...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can't change the cost of fuel. I can only impact on the costs of the tax and rebates for the tax. And to that extent, our rebate system was taking into account the higher costs of the tax. So the rebate system we design in fact more than paid for the average cost of impact of carbon tax on average residents in the Northwest Territories. Anyone that paid or filed their taxes saw that rebate in October, saw a rebate again in January, and they will see another rebate coming in April adjusted with the heating fuel impacts here.

So, Mr. Speaker, we aren't...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, home heating fuel will also be exempt in the Northwest Territories as it is now being allowed by the federal government for us to do so. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, certainly I can provide those numbers. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with respect to the income disruption support payment, that was the first one that was provided and that was really meant to be an opportunity, really, just to acknowledge the fact that individuals who had been evacuated at that time may be in situations where they didn't have anything to provide some of their daytoday costs and to sort of mitigate some of those daytoday costs. $750 was we were looking at we certainly did do a jurisdictional scan of what was going offered elsewhere. It was very clear at that time that very few jurisdictions, indeed I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our residents were already receiving a much higher rebate than what many residents in other parts of the country were. What we did in our system was, and what we understood would not have been offered had we come under the federal modeling, was to zone the three types of rebates that were being received. And under the home heating oil tax situation, that meant that those living in zone C who were really in some of the communities that are the most remote, most rural, they would have been receiving a much higher benefit to account for the fact that the...