Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too share some of the same concerns my colleague from Mackenzie Delta stated. We are early in our fiscal year and we are already, according to the numbers that are being presented, over expending our supplementary reserves. That is a concern to me. Since becoming a Member of the 14th Assembly, I have made my concern about our fiscal position as the Government of the Northwest Territories known.
Mr. Speaker, within two months of the budget being passed, the fact that we are already expending the supplementary reserves gives me concern. We have ten more months to go, with the more expensive season yet to come, the winter season, for extra costs as a government.
I know Members have been calling for more expenditures in areas, but I think we really need to look at what we are doing and how far we are willing to go. I understand that some of these figures in the supplementary appropriation are for carryovers and for capital projects, and those are understandable. Sometimes projects do not get completed on time so the money is carried over, but there are areas where there is concern, Mr. Speaker, when we are so new into the fiscal year that we are already having to deal with forced growth. That, Mr. Speaker, gives me serious concern.
We are just beginning the year and the time of the year when things would be considered to be less expensive. For example, Mr. Speaker, we all know that the energy costs are lower during the summer and prices, as we heard Mr. Handley state, of oil and gas have been dropping. We know that they start dropping in May because the demand, for example, for home heating oil goes down. They again start going up in October, as is the cycle for many years. We will be paying more then. Departments will have to pay more. If we are already dipping into forced growth areas that were unaccounted for, that gives me serious concern as to what is going to happen in the near future when things start getting colder and darker once again.
There are some important initiatives in here and, as Members, we will need to look at that. I myself intend to question some of the requests for funding.
As well, Mr. Speaker, the area of special warrants is one of the highest areas that is being called for. That basically tells me as a Member that it has already been expended. The money has been spent and we are just going through a process now. It draws serious concern in that area, Mr. Speaker.
With that, as we are going through it, I will be questioning the Ministers on their requests for more funding. Thank you.