Thank you, Madam Chair. I am here to present the 2014-15 Capital Estimates of the Government of the Northwest Territories.

The estimates outline appropriations for government and

infrastructure contributions of $193

million and $29 million respectively, in the 2014-15 fiscal year.

The estimates, however, do not include appropriations for housing infrastructure proposed by the NWT Housing Corporation in 2014-15, totaling $31 million. The appropriation for these investments will be sought during committee’s review of the 2014-15 Main Estimates. The NWT Housing Corporation’s proposed 2014-15 Capital Plan, however, has been included in the estimates document as an information item for review and comment.

Including the proposed housing investment, the total planned infrastructure investment in 2014-15 will be $254 million.

As Members will recall, 2014-15 is the first year of a two-year increase to the capital plan of $50 million per year. Although this short-term increase will help address some critical infrastructure priorities, as Members are aware, the GNWT continues to have a significant infrastructure deficit. This deficit does

not include deficits also accruing in our municipal and housing infrastructure stock.

The current fiscal strategy will continue to address this deficit after the two-year top-up sunsets by providing a $100 million allocation for capital planning

in 2016-17 and escalating this by 5

percent thereafter. To ensure utilization of this allocation is maximized, funding for large projects such as the Stanton Hospital project and the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk highway will be provided for outside this base allocation.

The GNWT is facing the difficult challenge of maintaining existing assets, improving housing stock, and meeting legislative requirements with limited fiscal resources. Our ability to meet these needs is further constrained by a borrowing limit whose definition was broadened while the limit remains restrictive and does not reflect the debt carrying capacity of the territory.

Under the current limit there is limited opportunity for the GNWT to make investments to improve our territory’s essential infrastructure base to deliver programs and services, to respond to slowdowns in the NWT’s economy or to make investments in strategic infrastructure that will better position the territory and all of Canada to maximize economic opportunities of the North

Major highlights of these estimates include:

• $90 million for highways and winter roads across the NWT. This includes funding for the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk highway, which will largely be funded by the federal government.

• $62 million for health facility replacements, renovations and information system upgrades, including the initial funding required for the planning for the Stanton Territorial Hospital project.

• $28 million to continue to contribute to community infrastructure needs

• $12 million for small capital projects across all departments

• $6 million for information technology projects

• $4 million to continue the Capital Asset Retrofit Program for energy efficiency upgrades to existing GNWT buildings, including the installation of biomass heating systems, and

• $3 million for improvements to NWT parks.

I am prepared to review the details of the 2014-15 Capital Estimates. Thank you.