Then I would ask Mr. Roland, who is responsible for Bill 13 and the Financial Management Board, if he would proceed with his opening comments. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to introduce Bill 13, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No 2, 2006-2007. This bill requests authority for a negative appropriation of $4.320 million for operations expenditures and a negative appropriation of $124,000 for capital investment expenditures in the 2006-2007 fiscal year.

To clarify the contents of the bill, the supplementary appropriation is requesting approval for an additional $29 million in operations expenditures. Of this amount, $19 million will be offset by additional revenues to be received from the federal government. As a result, a net increase to operations expenditures of $10 million is being requested.

Bill 13 also includes a negative $33.4 million adjustment for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. This change is being proposed as a result of a recommendation by the office of the Auditor General, and represents the full amount of the community capacity building fund reported in the 2005-2006 Public Accounts. Previously, that portion of funding that had not been distributed to community governments by the end of the 2005-2006 fiscal period was carried forward from 2005-2006 and was approved as part of the 2006-2007 Supplementary Appropriation, No. 1. The current request will rescind this previous approval.

Major items included in this request for operations expenditures are as follows:

1. $16.7 million for funding provided through the northern housing trust. The expenditure will be fully offset by revenues from the federal government. In accordance with recommendations made during the finalization of the 2005-2006 Public Accounts, this funding will be cash flowed through the Financial Management Board Secretariat to the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
2. $2.5 million for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs for repair work and disaster assistance claims resulting from flooding in Aklavik during the 2006 breakup. The expenditures will be partially offset by revenues from the federal government.
3. $1.9 million for the Department of Justice to fund the Government of the Northwest Territories' share of increased costs under the Territorial Police Services Agreement.

Major items included in this request for capital investment expenditures are as follows:

1. A negative $2.5 million adjustment for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to advance the replacement of Deh Cho Hall in Fort Simpson.
2. $1.5 million for the Department of Human Resources to fund additional costs associated with the upgrade of the human resource information system.

That concludes my opening remarks. I would be pleased to answer any questions Members may have. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. I would like to ask Mr. Roland if he would like to bring witnesses into the Chamber.

Yes, Madam Chair.

Does committee agree?

I would ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to bring the witnesses to the witness table.

Mr. Roland, for the record, could you please introduce your witness.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Joining me at the witness table is Mr. Mark Cleveland, secretary to the Financial Management Board.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. I will now ask the Members if there are any general comments. General comments. Okay, does the committee agree that we'll proceed to the detail of Bill 13?

Okay. I will ask the Members, then please, if they would turn to page 5 in

the bill. We'll go through the line by line and then we'll return to the preamble, the schedule and the clauses. So on page 5, Executive, operations expenditures, Financial Management Board Secretariat, directorate, $16.65 million, total Financial Management Board Secretariat, $16.65 million.

Agreed, thank you. Executive, operations expenditures, Human Resources, not previously authorized, client services, $1.37 million, total department, $18.02 million. Agreed?

Thank you. Municipal and Community Affairs, operations expenditures, directorate, not previously authorized, $921,000.

Community operations, special warrants, community operations, $1.7 million.

Community operations, $817,000.

Okay, School of Community Government, negative $33.4 million, regional operations, $77,000, total department, special warrants, $1.7 million, not previously authorized $31.585 million.

Oh it's...I can't read it. Let's just call that again. Total department, special warrants, $1.7 million, not previously authorized, negative $31.585 million.