Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to introduce Bill 22, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 3, 2006-2007. This bill requests authority for additional appropriations of $14.71 million for operations expenditures and $19.235 million for capital investment expenditures in the 2006-2007 fiscal year.
Operations expenditure appropriations requested in the supplementary appropriation include:
- • approximately $2.6 million offset by federal revenues;
- • $342,000 to be recovered through own-source revenues; and
- • a negative appropriation of $6.567 million to record a change in accounting treatment of the Federal Gas Tax Transfer Agreement due to recommendations from the Auditor General of Canada.
Capital investment expenditures requested in the supplementary appropriation include:
- • $800,000 offset by federal revenues;
- • $18 million to record the fair market value of CL-215 water bombers transferred from the federal government at no cost; and
- • a negative appropriation of $624,000 to record a change in accounting treatment of the Federal Gas Tax Transfer Agreement due to recommendations from the Auditor General of Canada.
Major items included in this request for operations expenditures are:
- the transfer of $38.139 million from the NWT Housing Corporation to the Financial Management Board Secretariat, to complete the transfer begun in Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2, 2006-2007, recording the corporation's budget as a contribution under the Financial Management Board Secretariat budget as suggested by the Auditor General's office;
- $4 million for costs associated with hospital and physician services to Northwest Territories residents receiving services outside the Northwest Territories;
- $2.9 million to fund 50 percent of the 2005-2006 accumulated operation deficit and 50 percent of the 2005-2006 operating deficit at the Stanton Territorial Health Authority;
- $2.1 million for increased costs as a result of transitional costs associated with the Human Resource amalgamation;
- $1.8 million for increased GNWT costs resulting from the rise in fuel prices in the NWT since 2003. This represents 50 percent of the total calculated amount included in 2005-2006 Supplementary Appropriation, No. 3 that was not approved on an ongoing basis; and
- $1 million for increased expenditures for supplementary health benefit programs, including extended health benefits, indigent health benefits, and Metis health benefits.
That concludes my opening remarks. I would be pleased to answer any questions Members may have.