Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Roland.

Thank you. I think if you checked in Hansard, I asked for what portion of the year. Are you actually asking for money you have not spent yet? Is that what I am to take by his response? His response talks about March, 2002. We are still in November, 2001. Is he in a money-grab situation here and counting on this in every department, putting in a little pot here? Let us get some specifics here. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, certainly. We are requesting funding to balance our budget for the 2001-2002 year. We had a base for the Legislative Assembly of $42,000. Our estimates are that we need $19,000 more for a total of $61,000 for the fuel costs for the fiscal year. Yes, it is not just up to today. Power as well as fuel. We do that. We have to do that. We cannot exceed the appropriation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So I guess one can say that you know for sure, in this specific area, you are going to fall short on funding? We know that for a fact and that is why we are calling for $19,000?

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, I cannot say I know specifically that we are going to spend $19,000 exactly more than what is in the budget for this year but that is our estimate of what is needed to be able to balance our budget this year. It is the best we can do. We do not have any authority to overspend so this has to be an estimate to finish up the fiscal year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So this request, and again, this will be a current theme throughout this one, because a number of departments have asked for an increase in this area, so in fact, we will, in this specific area, to provide funding for forced growth and expenditures resulting from significant increases to the cost of heating fuel in the Northwest Territories.

Seeing that and tying it to the Minister's own comments in this House about fuel prices dropping when Members raised the concern about some of the higher costs, how does that tie together? You passed this budget in April of 2001 and the season was just starting to warm up at that point. Now we are just getting to the colder months and in fact, the prices have dropped.

On one hand, we are asking for more money. The Minister stated in the House that fuel prices have dropped. What specific area we are seeing the demand in here?

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, there are two pieces to this. One is there are rate increases that we know have come into place since we prepared the budget. The fuel rate rider, for example, was ten cents. That came into effect. We know we can include that in. We know that is a new expense.

Then as we prepared this, looked forward late this summer to how we are going to balance out the rest of the year, we had to do projections and figure out what our best estimate was of what is needed in order to finish out the year, including both the known expenses or increased costs and the projected ones. The figures that appear in here are our best estimates at this time of what is needed.

If fuel prices continue to drop, and there is no way of predicting that will happen, but if they did continue to drop, then we may end up with surpluses in here. If the fuel prices suddenly were to skyrocket again, we could end up being short again. Mr. Chairman, this is our best estimate at this time of what is needed to finish out the fiscal year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So the Minister a couple of times now has referenced the fuel rate rider. I believe that is through the Power Corporation. In fact, this is not to do with the price of fuel or a department purchasing fuel through a supplier. It is in fact through the Power Corporation. Is that an accurate interpretation, Mr. Chairman?

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, I think it is really all of it. Some of it is through POL, or communities serviced by POL. Some of it will be non-POL communities. It is a combination of all of those. This is the interim rate rider. It is not a final one we are dealing with but again, it is our best information on the change we have to accommodate. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Legislative Assembly, operations expenditures, not previously authorized, office of the Clerk, $19,000.

Total department, $19,000.

We will go on to Executive, operations expenditures, not previously authorized. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I have a number of questions on this $1.4 million. The first has to do with the $250,000 identified for development of a Social Agenda. My first question has to do with the placing of this working group under the Cabinet Secretariat in the Executive. I was just wondering why something that is sort of tied to the social envelope, as this would appear to be, would not have as its lead either Health and Social Services or Education, Culture and Employment, or perhaps even Justice or Housing, but one of the social envelope departments instead of the Executive?

One of the reasons for the concern is that the way our system is set up now when we are reviewing budgets or activities, the Department of the Executive is reviewed by the Standing Committee on Governance and Economic Development, whereas social program issues are reviewed by the Standing Committee on Social Programs. With this placement, it means that the Social Programs Committee is somewhat out of the loop in the consideration of what might be undertaken here.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, this is placed in the Executive because it is the devolvement of broad social policy through a number of GNWT departments, including those in the social envelope -- the territorial Association of Municipalities, non-government organizations, the federal government, aboriginal governments. It is a broad spectrum of stakeholders. The role of the Executive is to provide that sort of broad policy direction. I think at this time, because it is much broader than just a government department, it is appropriately placed in the Executive. I agree with the Member that because it is with the Executive it did not go through the regular review by AOC.

In terms of it being placed in the Executive, I think that is where it is appropriately placed at this time because of the broad spectrum of stakeholders involved. Thank you.