Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Department of Finance is responsible for obtaining the financial resources to carry on the functions of government, for intergovernmental fiscal negotiation and arrangements, for regulating the insurance industry, and for controlling the sale of liquor in the Northwest Territories. In order to meet its responsibilities, the department is organized into the following activities; the directorate, the treasury, fiscal policy, and the Bureau of Statistics.
The Standing Committee on Governance and Economic Development met with the Minister of Finance and his staff on Wednesday, January 17, 2001 to review the Department of Finance's 2001-2002 Main Estimates. The committee noted a $1,073,000 decrease in operations expense from the department's 2001-2004 business plan projections. This resulted from an increase of $198,000 arising from increases in compensation and benefits as the result of the recent UNW collective agreement, and a $1,271,000 reduction in expenditure requirements resulting from lower debt servicing costs that resulted from a corporate tax windfall. The Department of Finance did not propose any capital expenditures. The department proposed an additional position to its human resource plan to administer the hotel tax, should the proposed tax become law.
Committee members restated their request for a more consistent financial reporting format from their review of the government's 2001-2004 Business Plan. The standing committee suggests that financial data should be more user friendly and presented in lay person's terms. Further, a separate section should also be established on debt management in the program detail area. Understandable, readable and accurate financial data is requisite for effective debt management and the promotion of economic growth. The committee expects to see progress in this matter in the next business planning cycle.
Liquor Act Plebiscite
Committee members pointed out that in many communities there is dissatisfaction with the liquor plebiscite process. The committee expressed concern that plebiscite results are accepted only when a community achieves a 60 percent voter turnout. A 60 percent voter turnout may be too rigorous, as many people may have out-of-town responsibilities or duties. Some committee members further remarked that communities should be able to set their own plebiscite parameters. Many communities want to regulate alcohol sales, but there is nothing in place to address this. Each community has its own unique set of concerns and a plebiscite process must be able to respond to these interests. The standing committee recalled that a review was conducted on the Liquor Act in a previous Assembly and questioned why nothing came forward from it.