Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I wonder if the Minister could indicate if all of the funds in these categories, grants and contributions for all the different groups and agencies, was fully expended last year?

Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, our understanding is that it was all used up. There may have been little lapses because of accounting at year-end, I do not know. There is certainly more demand for BDF money than there is money. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, is there the ability within this activity to move money around? Is it under-subscribed, by one of the groups or areas, and moved somewhere else? Is that a practice? Thank you.

Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, that is one of the reasons why we hold some money, $579,000, at headquarters, so we can reallocate it as necessary. When we get late into the fiscal year, the department does look at ways of reallocating if there is surplus money in one region and demands in another. It can be moved. As we do the exercise of streamlining our loans, grants and contributions, that will certainly be one criteria we have to look at. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. We are dealing with grants and contributions. We are on page 11-23, total grants and contributions, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, just for the record, page 11-21, Northwest Territories Development Corporation, the $1.4 million, the Minister stated he would provide the information as to the differences there.

Mr. Handley.

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Can he inform us when he will be able to provide that to us?

Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, I can provide it in general terms right now, if the Member would like. For minerals, oil and gas, we gave them $150,000 that went into permanent salaries; information systems was $246,000, which was a combination of permanent salaries, casual wages; community economic development services was $150,000 in casual wages; human resources, $175,000 into permanent and casual wages. We created a manager of business development position in Fort Liard, which was for $90,000. That was an additional position in the South Slave area, I believe in Fort Smith, which is another $90,000. There was a North Slave position for $43,000. There was $250,000 for the Holman office and polar bear research. There was $217,000 that went into the directorate. That should total up to $1.4 million.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, earlier in the first response to my questions in this area, it was stated that the Financial Management Board Secretariat of the day had requested some savings to be brought forward. These are identified. In fact, there were no savings there because it had all been dispensed out in other areas. On top of that, could you give me the total amount of salaries this has gone to? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, through the expenditure management exercise, the department had to come up with a target of savings. Whether it came out of this one or this other category, it is hard to tell. In doing that, the department, in order to deliver its mandate, found itself short on a number of areas, particularly salaries and wages.

What I have given you has all gone into salaries, with the exception of $110,000, and I am saying salaries and wages together. If you want a split between salaries and wages, I can break that out. Of the $1.4 million, roughly $1.3 million went into salaries and wages. Wages are casual wages. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So $1.3 million went into casual wages? All of that went into casual wages?

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Handley.

No, Mr. Chairman. The $1.3 million went into salaries and wages, with the bulk of it going into salaries. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Roland.