Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ms. Bisaro is correct in the process that we are undertaking. At least at this stage the interim process is a feature of how we do business. We don’t see it too often in the life of a government, and this allows us to then have a very good look at the way we do our budgeting, the exercises we go through, and to make the required changes as we would like to see it as Members of the 16th Assembly. That is why we are doing the interim appropriation process.
The capital plan is one where we also realize that we’ll need to move ahead with key projects; for example, in areas where there’s only barge service, where materials for construction need to be done during the summer operations and, as we heard from Mrs.
Groenewegen earlier, the fact that
building in winter drives costs up.
The 4.7 per cent increase over the ‘07-08 amount is due to the increased cost of materials and labour that have been estimated in the process. As well, some projects that are highlighted for safety issues for moving on with agreements that have been reached have been addressed through this process as well. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.