Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the reliability and the availability of information from the boards is the circumstances which contribute towards is probably as varying as the boards themselves. We are attempting to get a handle on this.

If we were expected to manage the expenditure of funds from the boards, the money that we devolve to them in such a way as to know the level of detail of every transaction, that would be really costly and really duplicating the function which the boards are responsible for at this time. I do not think that is the intent of anyone.

As to where the information actually breaks down, I will again ask Mr. St. Germaine if he could shed some light on that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This once again speaks to the processes, the accountability, the monitoring, and evaluation systems that are in place between the department and health boards.

Is there is a standard financial accounting format, budget process that is in place for all the boards? Are there quarterly variance reports done as is the standard in most parts of government? And if those variances are not up to speed or if there is questions are they not checked? Is there not a common vocabulary or a common understanding of the definitions and terms of what constitutes acceptable expenses?

Mr. Chairman, these are fairly basic questions but it speaks to the issue before us with the budgets. That there seems to be some very basic flaws in the processing systems to the extent that the department cannot with any certainty come forward and tell us what the expenses of the boards are. After a year of trying, we are going to end the fiscal year still with no clarity on the issue of deficits. What is going to be done starting April 1st so that we are just not propagating this problem, but rectifying these accountabilities, processes and structures that may be missing? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, we do have projected deficits for all the boards. The difficulty is in substantiating what has contributed to those operating deficits. Yes, there is a standard common financial reporting system. Yes, there are quarterly variance reports that are received.

The difficulty is in identifying what contributed to the discrepancies. I will again ask Mr. St. Germaine if he could elaborate on that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, that is a very interesting comment. It appears the information is provided, but the department does not accept it on face value and is trying to possibly understand what underlying issues are there, or is it in fact correct information. Is that what I understand the answer to be?

If that is the case, it speaks to a pretty fundamental problem in terms of trust. If in fact you are not confident you are getting accurate information and you have to go in and do all of the extra work yourself, the issue of the relationship between the department and the boards comes back up. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the issue is not so much about trust as it appears to be. Again, these are the kinds of questions that will be answered when our esteemed Mr. Cuff comes forward with the results of his investigations. It seems to be more around the capacity of boards to be able to provide this kind of financial information. A lot of the financial management functions are very complex. Sometimes there are issues of staff turnover. When financial records begin to deteriorate, it becomes a really major exercise to try and go back and find out where there might have been a change in the expenditures and really look into those things.

In my estimation, it is not as big an issue of trust as it is of capacity. Thank you.

The House will come back to order. Item 21, report of the committee of the whole. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Do we have a seconder for the motion? The Chair recognizes the honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee, who seconds the motion. The motion is in order. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried. Item 22, third reading of bills. Item 23, orders of the day. Mr. Clerk.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until Wednesday, February 21st at 1:30 p.m.

-- ADJOURNMENT

The House adjourned at 6:15 p.m.