Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to present the report on its review of the Draft Main Estimates for 2008–2009.
Since the 16th Legislative Assembly was elected in
October 2007, the time frame of this transition year did not allow for full-budget circle review that would typically involve the review of business plans. Instead, the 16th Assembly approved an interim
appropriation in February 2008, followed by a main estimate to be introduced in the May–June session. In an attempt to better align government expenditures with anticipated revenue, the GNWT proposed reductions for the 2008–2009 Main Estimates. The government also included strategic investments that should support the vision, goals and priorities set by the 16th Legislative Assembly.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations is responsible for the oversight of the departments of the Executive, Finance, Human Resources, and the Financial Management Board Secretariat.
The committee has met with Ministers between April 1 and April 8, 2008, to review the Draft Main Estimates for each of the departments in detail. During these meetings committee members repeatedly expressed their concerns regarding the government decision-making process leading to the proposed reduction and proposed elimination.
The committee felt that Members were not sufficiently consulted and provided with details to make informed decisions on how they proposed strategic investment and how they relate back to the vision, goals and priorities of the 16th Assembly.
On March 31, 2008, the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning also received a briefing from the Minister of Finance, outlining the fiscal framework and the fiscal strategy of the government.
Reductions
Overall, the committee found that it’s important to maintain fairness and consistency throughout all departments when looking for areas of reduction. The government has to find a balanced approach between position cuts and other operational cost reductions.
The committee is concerned that the reduction exercise focused too much on the elimination of positions, and instead more emphasis should have been placed on questioning how the departments conduct their day-to-day business.
Committee recognized that the departments look at their daily operations, seeking out opportunities to reduce and save expenditures for travel, materials and supplies. The committee feels that more could be done and encourages the government to continue seeking out cost savings in day-to-day expenditures; for example, exploring savings through bulk airline ticket purchases.
Mr. Speaker, I’ll turn the rest of the report over to the Deputy Chair, Mr. Hawkins.