Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will proceed with my opening comments.
Mr. Chairman, this afternoon the committee of the whole is reviewing the 2000-2001 interim appropriation for the Department of Transportation. The proposed appropriation for the department includes an operations and maintenance component of $22.2 million with a capital component of $17.7 million. Altogether, the department's requested appropriation for the first four months of the 2000-2001 fiscal year is $39.9 million.
The proposed appropriation is based on the department's adjusted budget from the 1999-2000 fiscal year projected for the first four months of the new fiscal year. The budget target assumes that the department's operational requirements for 2000-2001 will remain the same with no significant changes in program expenditures between years.
Mr. Chairman, the Members will notice that the Department of Transportation's proposed appropriation amounts to the better part of its expected total appropriation for the 2000-2001 fiscal year. This is because of the extent to which the operations for our airports, ferries and highways are carried out under contract with municipal government and private contractors. The department's contractual obligations must be committed from the start of the fiscal year.
Secondly, with our short construction season, the department must get started on the capital projects it intends to deliver within the first four months of the 2000-2001 fiscal year. The department cannot award new contracts without this Assembly first having made the necessary appropriations.
This interim appropriation will allow the Department of Transportation to get on with its day-to-day business of running the territorial transportation system.
Mr. Chairman, I have been pleased with the questions that Members from every part of the Northwest Territories have asked me in the House about the Department of Transportation's highway maintenance and reconstruction programs. It is clear the Members know just how important the transportation system is for our economy, our businesses, our communities, our constituents and our families.
The Department of Transportation's expenditures included in this interim appropriation will benefit almost everyone in the Northwest Territories one way or another. I am sure the Members will agree that these expenditures are necessary and worthwhile. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.