Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 1998-99, requests authority for additional appropriations of $5.947 million, made up of $4.252 million for operations and maintenance expenditures and $1.695 million in capital expenditures. The total supplementary appropriations, year to date, do exceed the supplementary appropriation reserve included in the main estimates. The improvement in the 1998-99 revenue forecast on a one-time retroactive adjustment to the grant from Canada in the 1997-98 fiscal year has permitted the government to address a few critical needs through supplementary appropriations. With the revenue adjustments and additional supplementary appropriations, we do project an accumulated surplus at the end of the 1998-99 fiscal year of approximately $52 million as compared to an accumulated deficit of $28 million forecast in the 1998-99 Main Estimates. However, Mr. Chairman, our fiscal situation still requires vigilance.

The operations and maintenance appropriation grant include $2.3 million for the Department of RWED to address a shortfall in the fire suppression budget as a result of significantly more fires in the previous years, $1.2 million to establish the diamond projects division in the Department of RWED, and $752,000 for the Department of RWED to initiate third party partnerships to address urgent needs for the new Nunavut Territory. The capital appropriation grants include $1.7 million for the NWT Housing Corporation to fund the Minimum Down Payment Assistance Program Pilot Project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.