Thank you. Item 13, tabling of documents. Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to table Tabled Document 76-12(7), Co-Management Plan for Southeast Baffin Beluga Prepared for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans by the Planning Committee for a Co-Management of Southeast Baffin Beluga Committee, May 1994, also in Inuktitut.

Thank you. Item 13, tabling of documents. Item 14, notices of motion. Item 15, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 16, motions. Item 17, first reading of bills. Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kitikmeot, that Bill 28, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion is carried.

---Carried

Bill 28 has had first reading. Item 17, first reading of bills. Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kitikmeot, that Bill 30, Deficit Elimination Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Pollard. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question

.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion is carried.

---Carried

Bill 30 has had first reading. Item 17, first reading of bills. Item 18, second reading of bills. Item 19, consideration in committee of the whole of bills and other matters: Bill 1, Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1995-96; Bill 13, An Act to Amend the Fair Practices Act; Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Retirement Plan Beneficiaries Act; Bill 19, An Act to Amend the Elections Act, No. 2; Bill 21, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95; Committee Report 2-12(7), Report on the Legislative Action Paper on the Office of Ombudsman for the Northwest Territories; Committee Report 3-12(7), Report on the Review of the Legislative Action Paper Proposing New Heritage Legislation for the Northwest Territories; and, Committee Report 4-12(7), Report on the Review of the 1995-96 Main Estimates, with Mr. Ningark in the chair.

Good afternoon. The committee will come to order. What is the wish of the committee? Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Do we have the concurrence of the committee that we deal with Bill 21, then Bill 1 and Committee Report 4-12(7), specifically to deal with the Housing Corporation? Do we have agreement?

Agreed.

---Agreed

Thank you. Mr. Pollard, are you ready to deal with Bill 21, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95?

Minister's Opening Remarks

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95 requests authority for additional appropriations of $26,540,500. This supplementary appropriation consists of additional appropriation requests in the amount of $25,120,500 in operations and maintenance and $1.420 million in capital. Mr. Chairman, $16.956 million has been allocated to the social envelope, $7,362,500 has been allocated to the resource management envelope and $2.22 million has been allocated to the infrastructure envelope.

The effect of these supplementary appropriations were taken into account in the revised financial forecast 1994/95 that were contained in the 1995-96 budget.

Mr. Chairman, some of the highlights of this supplementary appropriation include:

- $3.92 million for the economic development agreement to meet the increased client demand for economic opportunities. This request will be offset by a recovery by the federal government in the amount of $2.744 million.

- $2.845 million for the student financial assistance program to meet additional requirements due to post-secondary enrolment increases;

- $2.414 million for health and hospital boards to meet increased operational requirement;

- $2.29 million for the social assistance program to meet additional requirements due to continued increases in case loads;

- $2.019 million for the child welfare program costs to meet additional requirements due to increases in the number of child welfare investigations as well as per diem increases for foster care and residential care;

- $1.8 million to fund increased Workers' Compensation Board benefit payments for renewable resource harvesters;

- $1.2 million to provide funding for the government's interest cost for temporary borrowing to meet cash needs;

- $1.032 million to provide funding to divisional boards of education for the staffing of an additional 16 teaching positions;

- $852,000 to provide for the GNWT share of additional costs related to RCMP contract cost increases;

- $852,000 to provide for increase costs for legal aid fees and payments related to court proceedings through the NWT;

- $501,000 to provide for increased operational requirements in the corrections program;

- $500,000 to provide funding for additional projects under the investing in people pilot initiative;

- $500,000 to provide for the GNWT share of the 1994-95 cost for the implementation of the Canada/NWT infrastructure agreement. This request will be financed through savings identified by departments in our 1994/95 capital projects.

Mr. Chairman, I am prepared to review the details of the supplementary funding requests and either answer Members' questions or refer them to the Minister responsible. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Before I open the floor to general comments, I would like to ask the honourable Minister if he wishes to bring in the witness.

If I might, Mr. Chairman.

Bring in the witness, please. Thank you. I was told initially that there was no report from the Standing Committee on Finance, but I am told that there is in fact a report from the Standing Committee on Finance. Mr. Antoine.

Standing Committee On Finance Comments

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There is a response here. The Standing Committee on Finance met today to consider this supplementary appropriation.

Committee Members expressed a number of concerns related to the items included in this bill.

While many of the specific concerns raised will be addressed later in this House, I will point out some of the more important issues identified by committee Members.

Members of the standing committee feel that the government's budget estimates should reflect the government's best estimates of the amount to be spent in a given area. Too often, however, lower figures are listed in the estimates and the department later comes back with a request for more funds. Many of the items in this supplementary appropriation fall into this category. For example, the standing committee has repeatedly expressed concern that amounts budgeted in the areas of health and social services are often unrealistically low and are later the subject of repeated requests for supplementary funding.

Moreover, many of the items listed here were the subject of a special warrant approved on January 11, 1995. This is of special concern to the standing committee Members. At that time, the standing committee was considering the 1995/96 main estimates and was hearing from the departments in the social envelope, including Health and Social Services. The standing committee was not given details of this supplementary funding at that time. As a result, many of the standing committees comments and recommendations in the report on the review of the 1995/96 main estimates were based on incomplete information.

Some of the requests for funding here created a significant difference in actual anticipated funding for 1994/95 and the amount estimated for 1995/96. The standing committee finds this unacceptable and will be working with the Minister of Finance to ensure such problems will not arise in the future.

Mr. Chairman, the standing committee is concerned at this reflection of poor budgeting and planning practices from the government. We will have a number of questions on specific issues as we discuss this matter here in the House. Mahsi, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Antoine, on behalf of the Standing Committee on Finance. Mr. Minister, would you introduce the witness please.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have with me Mr. Lew Voytilla who is the secretary to the Financial Management Board. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. We are reviewing the Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1994-95. The floor is now open for general comments. Shall we go into detail?