This is page numbers 3557 – 3584 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 5th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was fund.

Topics

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Minister of Finance

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In both the case of the Aboriginal governments and the Heritage Fund, the money is not expected to flow into our coffers until late in 2015, at which time we will honour the commitment to put in 25 percent into the Heritage Fund. Thank you.

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

I didn’t hear an answer there, but I’m not surprised at that either, I guess. The Minister has repeatedly claimed that 5 percent of the Heritage Fund was part of this budget, yet less than 1 percent – it’s a very small fraction of 1 percent – is actually budgeted. What gives? Mahsi.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Minister of Finance

The key issue with the Heritage Fund has been the political debates over the amount that goes into the Heritage Fund. We came forward with 5 percent. We’ve had the debate. Clearly, the money is not going to flow into our coffers where we’ll actually have the cash until 2015, but the critical decision as a government was what we are going to put in, as a Legislature, what we are going to agree to earmark to go into that Heritage Fund. If we would have waited until next year, then the 5 percent in the budget would have gone into the fund. So there was a need to have that political debate, even though the money isn’t going to flow until some months hence. This was the first opportunity to clarify that and we’ve done that.

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

The point is that the Minister has booked the revenue. He’s booked the allocation to the Aboriginal governments and he has not booked the dollars to the Heritage Fund. We want that done this fiscal year. We know that the dollars flow later, and by delaying it another year, guess what. It delays the dollars into the Heritage Fund another year. Not acceptable.

I assume the $120 million booked in the budget as resource revenue royalties is an estimate. Why don’t you, again, at least book the estimated 5 percent as per your repeated claims that 5 percent was being booked this fiscal year.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Minister of Finance

The intention was to have that number reflected in the 2015-16 budget when we had the number. We’ve committed to the 25 percent and we will honour that and we will put it in as soon as we get the money. That will be reflected clearly and accurately in 2015-16. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

The Minister has budgeted us into an untenable situation where he claims we have to spend almost all of our children’s inheritance in 2014-15.

How will the Minister adjust our budget to ensure 25 percent of the net fiscal benefit in 2014-15 can be booked into the Heritage Fund as per the will of our public and this House? Mahsi.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Minister of Finance

Our plan is clear. I have laid it out. We’ve agreed to the adjustment of 25 percent. That money will not be available to us as a government until late 2015. We will book that money. We will agree to the 25 percent on an ongoing basis. We will book that and have it reflected in the 2015-16 budget. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions will be for the Heritage Fund as well. The Minister’s statement indicates the Heritage Fund begins in 2015-16 when the revenue begins to flow into the government. I guess Mr. Bromley’s questioning about when that money will flow... Are we skipping a year of the Heritage Fund? Are we skipping the first year of the Heritage Fund?

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Minister of Finance

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, we’re not. We’re acknowledging that the Devolution Agreement kicks in April 1st . The

resource royalties will start to accrue but the royalties will not be paid out and will not come into our coffers until the end of 2015. Once the appropriate business cycles are concluded and reporting cycles and financial cycles are concluded where royalties are ascertained, at that point we will honour the commitment and put in 25 percent in 2015-16 on a go-forward basis. Thank you.

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

I guess one of the confusions, then, is that we’re booking the revenue, we’re booking the expenses for the Aboriginal groups for the 2014-15 budget.

Can the Minister explain those if we’re not expecting them until the 2015-16 budget?

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Minister of Finance

The $120 million is booked for accounting purposes. The $15 million is a sign of good faith, but you’ll notice in my budget address I indicated in there that that money will not flow until late 2015.

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

Mr. Speaker, are we sure those monies are flowing and if they don’t show up are we committed to the fact that we’re going to have to borrow that money to pay the Aboriginal groups?

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Minister of Finance

As it has been pointed out, some of these figures are estimates. They’re based on the royalties posted on an average basis. So depending on how good a year it is and the coming year will depend on what we’re going to get, but we fully anticipate we are going to get royalties in the neighbourhood of $120 million, barring some unforeseen bad news, and if there’s good news, then it will be more. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to continue with questions towards the Minister of Human Resources, and again it’s about the GNWT vacancies. So let’s start with what we know. We know that there are 571 jobs that the GNWT is actively pursuing, and we all know that there are possibly 100 or 200 other jobs that they’re not pursuing. We can only assume that when you consider and extrapolate the numbers the Finance Minister has used that could be anywhere from $10 million to $20 million.

So let’s start with this: How many jobs out there are not being actively filled and sometimes are defined as dormant or inactive jobs? How much money is being allocated and where do we find these resource jobs referred to as dormant or inactive? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Beaulieu.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The dormant and inactive positions that are not scheduled to be filled in the GNWT as of October 31, 2013, was 161 positions.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

I want to thank the Minister for laying out a clear number in front of us. So let’s work with 161 jobs that are not being pursued, of course. So we’ve ignored for just a moment the 571

jobs that are being pursued. Knowing that we have 161 jobs and we use the typical math of about $100,000 per person, that could now put us into the range of about $16 million are out there somewhere just sitting.

Would the Minister agree that some positions are not being filled by departments and that money is being used for other things that the department has on their wish list other than being directed for human resources as further directed by the Legislature itself? Thank you.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

At this time many of the dormant and inactive positions are not funded. They’re unfunded positions or just PYs that appear in the PeopleSoft as dormant and inactive positions. We are undertaking an analysis with all of the departments to determine if any of these positions are funded and with the ones of the inactive, dormant positions that have funding attached to it, what is happening specifically with that funding and for what other personnel use is that money used for.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

The Minister said many. Many could be one or two, three or four, maybe even 100. We don’t know, because in my first question, of course, I asked exactly and the question was how much money is being allocated to these jobs. So right now all I can do is use my traditional math provided by the NWT Department of Education, I want to thank them for those 12 good years, not discovery math, which we’re not sitting here guessing.

My next question for the Minister is, if there was a snapshot using the ever famous program called PeopleSoft, as of October 31, 2013, what would that snapshot say of how many vacant positions are there within the Northwest Territories government? Thank you.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

The positions are vacant for various reasons. Two of the position categories that are vacant are the dormant and the inactive and also the to-be-staffed positions, which we use the number or 571 for that specific date as a snapshot. Counting that plus all the other vacant positions in October, no, I’m sorry. I do have a number that is from December 31, 2013, and that is 1,150 positions. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.