Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Bill 17 has had second reading and stands referred to the Committee of the Whole. Second reading of bills. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Weledeh, that Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2, 2007-2008, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill makes supplementary appropriations for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2007-2008 fiscal year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Bill 18 has had second reading and stands referred to Committee of the Whole. Second reading of bills. Consideration of Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Bills 9, 10, 17 and 18. By the authority given to me as Speaker by Motion 9-15(6), I hereby resolve the House into Committee of the Whole to sit beyond the hour of adjournment until such time as the committee is ready to report progress, with Mrs. Groenewegen in the chair.

I would like to call the Committee of the Whole to order today. Members, we have several items before us. What is the wish of the committee? Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the committee wishes to consider Bill 9, Write-off of Debts Act, 2007-2008; Bill 10, Forgiveness of Debts Act, 2007-2008; Bill 17, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 2006-2007; and Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2, 2007-2008. Mahsi, Madam Chair.

Mahsi, Mr. Lafferty. Is committee agreed?

Agreed. We will do that after a short break.

---SHORT RECESS

I will call Committee of the Whole to order. The first order of business is Bill 9, Write-off of Debts Act, 2007-2008. I would now like to ask the Minister responsible if he would like to introduce the bill. Minister Roland.

Mr. Chairman, I am here to introduce Bill 9, Write-off of Debts Act, 2007-2008. This bill authorizes the write-off of the debts listed in the scheduled to the act.

Pursuant to section 24 of the Financial Administration Act, Legislative Assembly approval is required for the write-off of government assets or debts exceeding $20,000.

Pursuant to section 82 of the Financial Administration Act, the write-off of debts owed to a public agency exceeding $20,000 and the write-off of debts owed to the Workers' Compensation Board exceeding $50,000 must receive Legislative Assembly approval.

The write-offs being proposed in this act will not require a new appropriation. They will be charged against allowances for bad debts which were established in department budgets at the time it was determined that collection of the debt would be unlikely.

I wish to emphasize that the write-off of a debt does not relieve a debtor of the liability for repayments. The government will continue to attempt to collect the outstanding amount.

Through continued reviews by staff, future recovery of the debt may still be achieved. In addition, in the case of debts owed by companies, staff will track the principals of each firm for future credit reference.

That concludes my opening remarks. I would be pleased to answer any questions Members may have.

Thank you, Minister Roland. I would now like to ask the chairperson of the committee that reviewed the bill, Accountability and Oversight, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight reviewed Bill 9, Write-off of Debts Act, 2007-2008, at a meeting on June 8, 2007. Following the clause-by-clause review, a motion was carried to report Bill 9 to the Assembly as ready for Committee of the whole.

This concludes the committee's general comments on Bill 9. Individual Members may have comments or questions as we proceed. Mahsi, Mr. Chair.

I would now like to ask Minister Roland if he would like to bring in witnesses.

Yes, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Does the committee agree that we bring in witnesses?

Thank you, committee. I would now ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to escort the witnesses in. Mahsi.

Thank you. Minister Roland, for the record, would you please introduce your witnesses?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, to my right is the secretary to the FMB, Mr. Mark Cleveland; and to my left is Louise Lavoie, assistant comptroller general.

Thank you, Minister Roland. Welcome, Mr. Cleveland and Ms. Lavoie, to the proceedings this afternoon. We will now open up Bill 9 to general comments from committee. Any general comments?

Thank you, committee. Before we consider the clause by clause, there are two clauses, we will defer that and to go the schedule. It's on page 3. We will deal with the schedule first. That's the debts written off, total $308,305.95.