Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On the video equipment in Yellowknife for $70,000; during the review of the 1994-95 capital estimates, the standing committee had raised concerns regarding purchase of video equipment. In February of 1994, the department responsible provided us with a briefing on in-house video productions. The essence of the briefing was that most of the government's video production spending goes to the private sector, and that most of the in-house spending is for production of a TVNC series called The Tube.
Following that briefing, the committee asked the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to provide more detailed information on the costs of this series. We suggested that the department contract the production of two episodes of The Tube to the private sector as a test case. As a result, until the information has been received from that request and, until the results of the pilot projects are known, the committee feels it is not appropriate to recommend approval of further expenditures.
The Minister indicated two days ago that his department had produced two segments of The Tube and that the cost of producing one or two episodes would be the same as the total costs, presumably meaning the cost of producing one season in-house. The committee doesn't feel it is appropriate to recommend approval of further in-house capital expenditures. Once the pilot project has been evaluated, a decision can then be made on replacement equipment and the future of video production.
As a result, the Standing Committee on Finance made a recommendation. As a result of that recommendation, I would like to make a motion, Mr. Chairman.