Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Are there any plans in place to make amendments to the Financial Administration Act to ensure that control or restriction is in legislation? That way, people within the departments know there will be accountability. Even for ourselves, so we realize we are getting close.

We have a deficit. I do not think we should believe we are out of the woods yet. I have gone through this once and I hate to have to go through it a second time.

I would like to ask the Minister, are there any plans to look at developing controls through the Financial Administration Act so we know there will be some teeth there to control the misuse or expenditures within different departments? So they know there is legislation that protects us from going any further into a deficit situation?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My experience is that the Financial Administration Act is a pretty stringent document right now in terms of its controls. We are certainly open to looking at it.

If there are ways of making it even more clear and laying out the rules very clearly, then we are open to doing that. I think the main thing is going to be the vigilance of myself as the Minister responsible for Finance, as a Member of Cabinet and of this Assembly, in making sure we do follow the intent. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, in the last bill we were considering, the government demonstrated some leadership and came back and offered up a reduction in the amount that was in the door for the Executive offices. Unfortunately, I did not hear that offered up in the opening comments by the Minister.

I would like to first ask the Minister if, in the spirit of leadership and the spirit of recognizing that we have deferred $10 million in capital projects in the interim bill we just went through, are they prepared to come back and find ways to reallocate monies from within? There have been reductions that have hurt people in the Northwest Territories. Are they prepared to demonstrate the same sort of leadership in this supplementary appropriation? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Tomorrow is the end of the year. The money that is in this supplementary appropriation is essentially spent or committed. There is no money to offer up. It is the end of the year. We have no flexibility here to be able to do what the Member is requesting. If we had, we certainly would. But in this case, it is not there. Tomorrow is the end. The period is over. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I noticed that while the Minister says that this money is essentially spent, it is coming forward as not previously authorized. So maybe I could ask the law clerk. As I understand it, unless it is done as a special warrant, it is within the purview of this Legislative Assembly to delete the monies from this bill as it is presented.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am afraid I could not hear the law clerk. I am wondering if she could please repeat the answer?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That is the way I remembered the process. So in other words, the government has not had the authorization to spend these funds at this point.

Since the Minister is not offering up any reduction here, I would like to point out the areas that I have some concerns with. I would agree that the Members of this Legislative Assembly agreed to add a Minister to Cabinet over what is there. I am willing to accept that there are some expenses that entails.

I have to say I am somewhat surprised by the numbers that have been presented to us today to justify this. Things like computer and hardware equipment for $20,000 for a two and a half-month period. Even if they are one-time expenses, it seems relatively high. Home travel is apparently something that is being used to justify the total of $76,500 that the Minister has mentioned for the additional costs for a Minister.

When I look at this Cabinet, there has not been anyone added that should be increasing the cost of home travel. In the previous Cabinet of six, we had the same number of Cabinet Ministers from outside of Yellowknife. Home travel does not affect those within Yellowknife. Why is there a need for an extra $10,000 for home travel? We have not increased the number of Cabinet Ministers outside of Yellowknife. Why is there an increase needed for two months for $6,000 for maintaining duplicate residences. I do not understand where this extra cost is coming from when we have not added Cabinet Ministers who need to take advantage of that.

Going on under Ministers' offices, Mr. Chairman, they keep coming back to what are we taking out of the budget that affects the people of the Northwest Territories. Earlier this afternoon in a response to me, the Premier said that his government would not initiate or take on new work without the support of Members. Mr. Chairman, I had expected that there would be two empty offices at the Minister's end. This is not so. I look at the $75,000 that is left after we take the $76,500 off for a new Minister and say that was not something that I was consulted about. It is an ongoing expense. The extra $75,000 will keep going on for more than two months. It multiples significantly in the new year.

This was not something that was taken on with any consultation that I am aware of by the Members in this Legislative Assembly. We are looking at something that is not previously authorized. It was not something that had been discussed by this government with all of the Members. I have to express a significant concern about seeing that amount in there. I leave it to the Minister to respond. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The only thing I can say, Mr. Chairman, is that we have brought this forward in the appropriate form at the earliest possible opportunity we had. The figures we are using here are based on our best calculations. Mr. Chairman, if there is any surplus money in here, tomorrow is the end of the year, the money will lapse. I do not understand the point of what the Member is getting at. I think what we are doing here is appropriate. I think we brought it in at the proper opportunity. If there is any surplus, if we have over-estimated the cost of computers or something, then it will lapse. When it comes to the balance of the fiscal year, we will be doing the main estimates in June and, at that time, there is an opportunity to look at what the ongoing costs of this are. We will have the same opportunity. For this period, I do not understand the Member's motive. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, my motive is fiscal responsibility.

It concerns me that we authorized this expenditure which leads directly into the next fiscal year. If, in fact, we say yes to this, then how can we turn around and say no to it in the business planning process. I want to send a very clear message that I am not prepared to let this go. This afternoon, the government started on the right foot when it reduced the interim appropriation and I sincerely wish they would do the same here. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.