Debates of Oct. 22nd, 2002

This is page numbers 1063 - 1106 of the Hansard for the 14th Assembly, 5th 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 rights.

Topics

Members Present
Item 1: Prayer
Sport And Recreation Achievements
Annual Report Of The NWT Development Corporation
Quit And Win Stop Smoking Campaign
Support For Mackenzie Delta Oil And Gas Opportunities
Highway Maintenance Training Opportunities
Wage Parity For Hay River Community Health Board Employees
Revisions To The Business Incentive Policy
NWT Quit And Win Contest
Maximizing Cameron Hills Development Opportunities
Hay River Physicians Quota Achieved
Lack Of Health Care Available In The North Slave Region
Passing Of Prominent Northerners
Remarks On The Community Of Nahanni Butte
Return To Oral Question 322-14(5): Business Incentive Policy Revisions
Return To Oral Question 327-14(5): Mechanism For Revoking Board Appointments
Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Federal Support For Northern Development
Cameron Hills Development
Status Of Hay River Health Board Employees
Repairs To Highways No. 5 And No. 6
Support For Oil And Gas Development
Negotiated Contract For Air Tanker Services
Standard Medical Services In Northern Communities
Aurora College Facilities In Yellowknife
Smoking Cessation Programs In The Nwt
Medical Travel Co-payments
Committee Report 10-14(5): Report On Bill 1: Human Rights Act
Tabled Document 63-14(5): Northwest Territories Development Corporation 2001-2002 Annual Report
Bill 25: Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 2001-2002
Bill 26: Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2, 2002-2003
Bill 25: Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 2001-2002
Bill 26: Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2, 2002-2003
Bill 27: An Act To Amend The Elections Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 20: Report Of The Committee Of The Whole
Item 22: Orders Of The Day

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1100

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe that the commitment to follow up monthly with the committee is one that would be appreciated by Members, just being notified of what is happening. Hopefully with all of this, and our financial situation that we are in as the Government of the Northwest Territories, I have always raised and maintained as a government my concern about our situation right from coming into this Assembly.

I would say that we need to curb the use of special warrants as a government. Again, I look at these and although the Minister says these are yearly things, nearly 51 of the 52 special warrants are to do with this collective agreement, and that regions are pretty tight. Well, regions do not write the cheques, do they? Is that not a headquarter function? Maybe in health boards or in education boards, but as Mr. Dent said, we are still a long way before we come up to the end of our fiscal year, and that is a concern to me that the Minister would say that we are running that close to the line already at this time of the year. Thank you.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1100

The Chair

The Chair David Krutko

Mr. Voytilla.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1100

Voytilla

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Many of our activities have nothing in them but salaries and wages, and very little O and M. So the collective agreement and the wages that are paid are the primary part of the appropriation. We have to control to the activity level. That is the requirement in the act. When we commit our salaries, that is because we have a contractual obligation. If we did not commit our salaries to the end of the year, then we would lose what we call free balance control, so our managers, when signing contracts against that appropriation, would not know what they have committed to the end of the year and may, as a result, sign contracts that over-commit the free balance in the appropriation. If they did that, that is a violation of the Financial Administration Act.

Our practice of committing salaries to the end of the year is in recognition that we must maintain free balance control. We must, throughout the year, know where we stand from a budgetary standpoint when we are making decisions on further expenditures. I would expect that if we de-commissioned the commitment system to do what is being suggested, and as a result lost free balance control, we would have severe criticism by the Auditor General.

The salary commitment system is in there so that our managers know how much money they have left in their budget all throughout the year.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

The Chair

The Chair David Krutko

Mr. Roland.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Mr. Chairman, I will just wait until we go through detail to have any further questions. Thank you.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

October 22nd, 2002

Page 1101

The Chair

The Chair David Krutko

General comments? Mr. Nitah.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

Steven Nitah Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the $1.3 million under item 5, Department of Health and Social Services, for forced growth within the foster care program, I do not have to tell you, Mr. Chairman, that any increase in forced growth in the area of child apprehension and foster care is troubling to me. The numbers that I have in front of me that I got from the Minister of Financial Management Board earlier today tells me that there are 876 children in care today, which reminds me of the earlier government practices of assimilation, where they took kids from our communities and into residential schools. What year is this, I wonder, Mr. Chairman?

What I would like to ask, with the same information I got from the Minister, where it says summary of forced growth for 2002-03 is $831,000, yet we are seeing $1.3 million in the supp. I wonder why, Mr. Chairman.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

The Chair

The Chair David Krutko

Mr. Handley.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Last year, boards ran a deficit of $457,000, so part of this supplementary money is to reimburse them for that deficit in 2001-02. Thank you.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

The Chair

The Chair David Krutko

Mr. Nitah.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

Steven Nitah Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do not have any other questions. I will wait until detail. Thank you.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

The Chair

The Chair David Krutko

General comments?

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

Some Hon. Members

Detail.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

The Chair

The Chair David Krutko

Does the committee agree to move to detail?

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

Some Hon. Members

Agreed.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

The Chair

The Chair David Krutko

We will move to page 5, departmental...Legislative Assembly, operations expense, special warrants, office of the clerk, $86,000. Mr. Roland.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, just as we start out on special warrants and many of these initially will go through this for the collective agreement, when was the collective agreement finally signed?

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

The Chair

The Chair David Krutko

Mr. Handley.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Chairman, the tentative agreement was signed on April 26th and the agreement was ratified on July 1st.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

The Chair

The Chair David Krutko

Mr. Roland.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Can the Minister again tell me the urgency of a special warrant? Seeing from July to September 18th is a fair bit of time, and then from September 18th to when we come in the House, can the Minister tell us why that was required at that point for a special warrant?

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

The Chair

The Chair David Krutko

Mr. Handley.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Chairman, the provisions in the collective agreement are in effect as of April 1st, so it would not matter if we signed in July or August. The departments have to pay back to the April 1st date.

As we said earlier, some departments, some activities were running very close to their limits, which was essential to have a special warrant in this case. Thank you.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

The Chair

The Chair David Krutko

Mr. Roland.

Committee Motion 31-14(5): To Add Clause 4 To Bill 27 (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 1101

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Minister just stated that it did not matter whether it was April 1st, July or August, the commitment was made April when the initial agreement was initialled, I guess, before it went out for ratification. So the commitment was made then. From April to September, we have had session in between that time. Why could it not have been addressed in a different manner?