Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The committee wishes to deal with Supplementary Estimates No. 1, Supplementary Estimates No. 3, followed by the Executive Summary of the Report of the Joint Review Panel for the Mackenzie Gas Project. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Is committee agreed?

Agreed. All right, we’ll do those documents in that order after a short break. Thank you.

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We’ll now call Committee of the Whole to order. We’re reviewing Tabled Document 42-16(5), Supplementary Estimates No. 1, 2010-2011 (Operations Expenditures). Does committee agree?

Okay, I’d now like to ask the Minister responsible, the honourable Mr. Miltenberger, to make opening comments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am here to present Supplementary Estimates No. 1, 2010-2011 (Operations Expenditures). This document outlines an increase of $3.274 million in operations expenditures for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

The major items in this supplementary request include:

1. $1.093 million for the additional costs to be incurred as a result of the collective agreement between the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority and the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

2. $1 million for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to fund the Aquatic Ecosystems Research Partnership Program with Wilfred Laurier University.

3. $405,000 for the Department of Transportation to carry over funding from 2009-10 to continue research and development projects funded as part of the Building Canada Plan. An offsetting amount was lapsed in 2009-10.

I am prepared to review the details of the supplementary estimates document. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Minister. Would the Minister like to bring witnesses into the House?

Yes, Mr. Chair.

Does committee agree?

Okay, thank you, committee. I will now ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to please escort the witnesses into the Chamber.

Please introduce your witnesses.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Margaret Melhorn, deputy minister of Finance; Sandy Kalgutkar, deputy secretary to the FMB. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. I will now open the floor to general comments on Tabled Document 42-16(5), Supplementary Estimates No. 1, 2010-2011 (Operations Expenditures). Any comments? Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a question on the first one and that’s $1.093 million for additional costs to incur as a result of the collective agreement between Hay River Health and Social Services Authority and the Public Service Alliance of Canada. I’m just wondering if the government has any plans going forward to bring those employees under the authority of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Currently they are outside of the other employees and I’m just wondering, seeing as we’re spending another over $1 million, I’m just wondering if anybody has a time frame on when that might happen. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There are no imminent plans that I’m aware of. The money that’s here is, of course, I think patterned on the agreement that was signed with the UNW and subsequently had to negotiate an agreement with the staff in Hay River. Thank you.

I guess there are a lot of complexities to the… You don’t just bring these employees under the GNWT’s banner overnight, but it’s been something that’s been talked about for a number of years and I think the government probably should be taking a look at it. I’m just wondering, from a budgeting perspective, wouldn’t it be easier if these employees were Government of the Northwest Territories employees? Thank you.

From a program point of view, there are benefits to having everybody under one bargaining unit. From a fiscal perspective, our estimates are that it would cost in the neighbourhood of up to $11 million additional to transfer all the employees into the bargaining unit and deal with all the related issues such as pensions and superannuation. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Following up on similar questioning, I would just like to ask if there are any legal ramifications from doing this by way of being a separate health board. I think that, if anything, you know, we talk about taking all our mental health, alcohol and drug workers and bringing them into the government so that everybody’s treated fairly and everything else, so you don’t have the disparity between one group over the other. So I’m just wondering, is there a legal hold-up to doing this or is there the possibility of a legal challenge, or is it just that we don’t want to do it?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The main consideration or impediment would be coming up with the up to possibly another $11 million in addition to the money that’s now before us. So it’s a monetary consideration. Thank you.