Yes, Mr. Chairman. I am here to introduce Bill 1, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 1, 2005-2006. This bill requests authority for additional appropriations of $21.342 million for operations expenditures and $32.002 million for capital investment expenditures in the 2005-06 fiscal year.
Major items included in this request for operations expenditures are as follows:
- $16.1 million for the Department of Executive, Financial Management Board Secretariat, for the resources associated with the human resource amalgamation. Of this amount, $14.8 million was transferred from other departments;
- $3.2 million for the Department of Health and Social Services for the additional costs incurred for the provision of hospital services for NWT residents in hospitals outside of the NWT;
- $2.2 million for initiatives to prepare for the Mackenzie gas project, as follows:
- • $1.3 million for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs to provide contribution funding to assist communities to prepare for the project and participate in the review process;
- • $440,000 for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs for three community benefits agreements specialist positions and a community benefits coordinator position to help communities identify issues, anticipated impacts and strategies;
- • $378,000 for the Department of Health and Social Services for three regional workshops to examine anticipated social impacts and initiate collaborative planning to monitor and mitigate these impacts; and,
- • $110,000 for the Department of Health and Social Services for a social impacts coordinator position for a two-year term to coordinate the community monitoring and mitigation of the social impacts.
The operational funding request also includes $2.8 million for contribution funding for the continuation of infrastructure projects not completed in the 2004-05 fiscal period. Funding for these projects was approved and lapsed in 2004-05.
The operations funding requests are within the 2005-06 supplementary reserve.
The major request for capital investment expenditures is $29.5 million in capital carryovers from the 2004-05 fiscal year.
I am prepared to review the details of the supplementary appropriation document. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.