Debates of Nov. 6th, 2001

This is page numbers 659 - 727 of the Hansard for the 14th Assembly, 4th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was chairman.

Topics

Members Present
Item 1: Prayer
Amendments To Highway Investment Strategy
The Proposed Human Rights Act
The Highway Troll Fairy Tale
Hay River Family Support Centre
Support For The Oil And Gas Industry
Support For Wildlife Harvesters
Highway Investment Issues
Plans To Return Home To The Inuvik Boot Lake Constituency
St. John Ambulance Investiture Ceremonies
Gwich'in Tribal Council Meetings In Ottawa
Human Organ And Tissue Donor Program
Highway Taxation Limitations
Clawback Of The Federal Child Benefit Supplement
Deh Cho First Nations Leadership Meeting
Acknowledgement Of Canadian Rangers And Junior Rangers
Item 4: Returns To Oral Questions
Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Costs Of Community Harvests
Redesign Of The Highway Investment Strategy
GNWT Contracting Policies
Oil And Gas Training In The South Mackenzie
Organ Donor Identification
Family Support Centre Funding
Examination Of The Highway Investment Strategy
Status Of Forest Resources Inventory
Protecting The Safety Of Highway Users
GNWT Contract Budgeting Process
Rental Accommodation For Income Support Clients
Organ Donor Identification
Community-based Resource Development Funding
Approach For Investing In Highways
Written Question 9-14(4): Workers' Compensation Board Fiscal Policies
Item 11: Reports Of Standing And Special Committees
Tabled Document 73-14(4): Northwest Territories Emergency Plan
Tabled Document 74-14(4): Investing In The Future Of Northerners, Northwest Territories Development Corporation 2000-2001 Annual Report
Tabled Document 75-14(4): Interim Manufacturing Directive
Tabled Document 76-14(4): Evolving Education For An Evolving North: Aurora College Annual Report, 2000-2001
Tabled Document 77-14(4): Letters Of Support For The Premier And Staff
Tabled Document 78-14(4): Comments By Sheila Macpherson, Solicitor For Premier Kakfwi, Regarding The Report Of The Special Committee On Conflict Process
Tabled Document 79-14(4): Northwest Territories Power Corporation Annual Report 2000-2001
Appointment To The Standing Committee On Accountability And Oversight And The Board Of Management
Setting Of Sitting Hours By The Speaker
Appointment To The Standing Committee On Accountability And Oversight And The Board Of Management (carried)
Setting Of Sitting Hours By The Speaker (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
To Adopt Tabled Document 42-14(4)
To Institute A Supplementary Pension Plan (carried)
To Repeal Section 32 Of The Elections Act (carried)
That Elections NWT Develop A Permanent List Of Electors (carried)
That Elections NWT Develop An Automated Enumeration Data Entry And Retrieval System (carried)
To Amend The Elections Act To Reduce The Nomination Period To Five Days (carried)
To Amend The Elections Act Respecting Candidates Withdrawing Their Nomination (carried)
To Amend The Elections Act To Repeal Revision Day And Substitute Revision Period (carried)
To Amend The Elections Act To Eliminate Photo Placards (carried)
To Amend The Elections Act To Provide Write-in Ballots For Voting By Mail (carried)
To Amend The Elections Act Respecting Advance Polls (carried)
To Amend The Elections Act To Eliminate Proxy Voting (carried)
To Amend The Elections Act To Permit Returning Officers To Vote (carried)
To Amend The Elections Act To Establish Special Mobile Voting Stations (carried)
To Amend The Elections Act Respecting Refund Of Candidates' Deposit (carried)
To Amend The Elections Act To Provide For A 28 Day Electoral Event (carried)
To Adopt The General And Technical Recommendations In Cr 7-14(4), Pp 10-11 (carried)
To Amend The Elections Act To Provide For The Appointment Of A Deputy Chief Electoral Officer (carried)
To Amend The Elections Act Respecting Returning Officer Appointment Expiration (carried)
That The Chief Electoral Officer May Re-appoint A Returning Officer (carried)
That The Preliminary List Of Electors No Longer Be Posted (carried)
That Special Ballots Be Available (carried)
That Candidate Returns Be Available For Public Inspection (carried)
That An Elector May Decline To Vote (carried)
That An Elector Must Swear Or Affirm Eligibility To Vote (carried)
That An Elector May Vote In Polling Division Where Resident (carried)
To Repeal Section 51(3)(a) Of The Elections Act (carried)
That The Poll Clerk Shall Witness Deputy Returning Officer Providing Assistance (carried)
That Mail-in Ballots Be Changed To Special Ballots (carried)
That Incarcerated Electors Vote By Special Ballot (carried)
Eligibility Of Electors In A By-election (carried)
To Amend The Rules Of The Legislative Assembly To Add Rule 27(3) (carried)
To Amend Rule 85 (2)(c) Of The Rules Of The Legislative Assembly (carried)
Item 20: Report Of The Committee Of The Whole
To Amend Rule 85(2)(c) Of The Rules Of The Legislative Assembly
To Amend The Rules Of The Legislative Assembly
To Amend Rule 85(2)(c) Of The Rules Of The Legislative Assembly (carried)
To Amend The Rules Of The Legislative Assembly (carried)
Bill 8: An Act To Amend The Motor Vehicles Act
Bill 14: Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2, 2001-2002
Assent To Bills

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Some Hon. Members

Hear, hear!

-- Applause

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Bell.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Brendan Bell

Brendan Bell Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. After the last responses from Mr. Voytilla, I had a chance to check the Financial Administration Act, specifically section 33. When dealing with special warrants, it says:

When the Legislative Assembly is not in session and the board reports to the Commissioner that:

a) an expenditure is urgently required.

The Minister has established that these funds were urgently required in order to meet the summer assembly deadline. Notwithstanding that, the thing was not approved until the 26th of September, but:

b) The expenditure is in the public interest.

I think that we could certainly argue that it is, but:

c) there is no appropriation or an insufficient appropriation to incur the expenditure.

Mr. Voytilla indicated that just in case the special warrant was not approved, they made sure that they spent enough money that could be covered by this appropriation and that they were not outside of that in case the special warrant was not approved.

It seems to me that a special warrant cannot be issued unless you know that there is no appropriation or an insufficient appropriation to incur the expenditure. Would the Minister speak to this? It does not seem like the proper usage of a special warrant.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Mr. Handley.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Voytilla is much more familiar with the detail of the Financial Administration Act than I am so I will let him speak to it, since I do not have a copy here. Thank you.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Voytilla.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Voytilla

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think the issue the Member is addressing is whether or not we had, in our view, the capacity to absorb the expenditures to date at the time that the special warrant was requested and approved, should that special warrant have been denied. It was our judgment that we did. That obviously would have involved changing our expenditure plans in other areas over the course of the remaining part of the fiscal year to accommodate whatever we had spent and did not get reimbursed on the hydro project. It was our judgement that we could meet that obligation from existing funds if we had to, but that would have meant some changing of those remaining plans for the rest of the fiscal year.

With the approval of the special warrant, we did not have to change those plans but we did have the capacity, should we have needed to, to have changed our spending plans over the course of the rest of the year to deal with the amount spent to hydro to that date.

I do believe that is in accordance with the Financial Administration Act and we were operating within the normal bounds that guide our budgetary and expenditure approval process.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Voytilla. Mr. Bell.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Brendan Bell

Brendan Bell Yellowknife South

Thank you. Certainly I think all Members in the House would understand and the public can probably see that it is very easy to, if not get bamboozled by Mr. Voytilla, at least confused. I think no fault to him but it is just very confusing.

It seems to me also that he indicated that they certainly could have met the obligation from within and they were willing to change their spending habits, their spending commitments if the special warrant was not approved. It clearly states in here that there is no appropriation or an insufficient appropriation to incur the expenditure. That does not seem like it was the case, if in fact spending could be rearranged to accommodate this.

I do not know -- and it is very possible that I do not understand the Financial Administration Act very well, and I will admit that. I think it is something that I certainly hope the Auditor General takes an interest in and has a look at, just to provide us with some assurance that the Financial Management Board did not operate outside the guidelines of the Financial Administration Act in this instance. Thank you.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Bell. We are on Executive, operations expenditures, Financial Management Board Secretariat, special warrants, directorate, $1 million.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Some Hon. Members

Agreed.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Paul Delorey

General accounting, not previously authorized, $1,500,000.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Some Hon. Members

Agreed.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Paul Delorey

Labour relations and compensation services, not previously authorized, negative $78,000.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Some Hon. Members

Agreed.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Paul Delorey

Executive, operations expenditures, Aboriginal Affairs, not previously authorized, $140,000.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Some Hon. Members

Agreed.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Paul Delorey

Total department, special warrants, $1 million.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Some Hon. Members

Agreed.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Paul Delorey

Not previously authorized, $2,962,000.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Some Hon. Members

Agreed.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Paul Delorey

We will go to Municipal and Community Affairs, regional operations, not previously authorized, $119,000.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Some Hon. Members

Agreed.

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Paul Delorey

That was negative $119,000.

-- Laughter

Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Paul Delorey

Agreed?