Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to present the Department of Finance’s main estimates for the 2010-11 fiscal year.
The department’s 2010-11 Main Estimates propose O and M expenditures of $76.528 million. This represents an increase of $1.658 million or 2 percent from the 2009-10 Main Estimates.
In October 2009 the Department of Finance released its Strategic Action Plan 2009-2012, which provides multiyear direction for the department. The plan includes strategic initiatives flowing from two overarching strategic priorities, these being fiscal sustainability and modern management. These strategic priorities are critical to the long-term success of the GNWT and flow to departmental initiatives and action items.
The Department of Finance will continue the GNWT’s longer term broad-based initiative to modernize government management in order to better respond to changing expectations and priorities. Key activities aimed at identifying and addressing areas for improvement within the current management framework include:
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investing $200,000 to continue the renewal of the Knowledge Management Strategy;
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modernizing the Financial Administration Act, associated financial policies, procedures and directives;
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continuing to implement and maintain the new financial information system, SAM, by investing $338,000 for incremental support costs and an additional $595,000 in amortization expense to reflect a full year of service for SAM;
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investing $125,000 in one-time funding to
complete the planning, design and transition activities for the implementation of a financial shared services and procurement model;
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investing $195,000 to implement the GNWT’s Strategic Security Plan, which will help the GNWT to protect the government’s electronic information assets;
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modernizing the Petroleum Products Tax Act; and
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implementing an electronic records and
document management system.
Also reflected in the department’s proposed budget is an increase of $912,000 in collective bargaining increases.
The department’s budget includes $37.122 million in contribution funding for the NWT Housing Corporation. The department has no direct authority over this contribution funding, other than providing the corporation with its operating cash flow.
As the GNWT’s lead revenue department, the department will address fiscal sustainability through initiatives that will enable the GNWT to generate long-term economic social and environmental returns that will over time increase the Territory’s self-reliance. The Department of Finance’s revenues are projected to total $1.236 billion, which is approximately 91 percent of the total GNWT revenues being forecast for 2010-11. The department will undertake a number of revenue-related initiatives, including:
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following recent public consultations, develop a proposal for changes in the NWT tax mix to better balance the tax burden;
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continuing to participate in discussions on
devolution and resource revenue sharing; and
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releasing a public discussion paper on the
establishment of an NWT Heritage Fund.
For the 2010-11 fiscal year the Department of Finance’s main estimates include a total staffing complement of 108 positions, 99 in headquarters and nine in the regions. This is a net increase over the previous fiscal year of one term position resulting from the Refocusing Government’s Strategic Initiative to implement a financial shared services and procurement model. That concludes my opening remarks. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.