Thanks for that. I would also appreciate information on how many, if any, employees did leave within a short time of receiving that allowance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. I’ll take that more as a comment, unless the Minister wants to respond. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We’ll provide that information for the Member.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Mr. Bromley.

Thanks.

Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, operations expenditures, corporate management, not previously authorized, $120,000; minerals and petroleum resources, not previously authorized, $250,000; energy, not previously authorized, negative $800,000. Total department, not previously authorized, negative $430,000. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee. We’re on page 15, Environment and Natural Resources, operations expenditures, corporate management, not previously authorized, $91,000; environment, not previously authorized, $500,000, forest management, not previously authorized. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you. Just a request of the Minister, Mr. Chair, on the evaluation and the success of these energy programs. I would like to know about the Sahtu assessment and how these programs went into our communities. If he could provide me with a written document on these programs that went into the communities, specifically the hot water heater program and any other programs under this initiative that had some impacts in the Sahtu region. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We don’t have region-specific information, but I will provide that information to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Committee, we’re on Environment and Natural Resources. We’ll continue with Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a question under the water resources section. There’s a fairly large increase here for the operations of the Taiga Environmental Lab. Could I get an explanation of why the increase? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There’s going to be revenue generated out of this. The four employees that were there weren’t government employees, weren’t federal government employees, if my memory serves me correctly, and we brought them into the fold, but they’ve been operating on an equivalent amount of revenue from third-party sources. I’ll ask Mr. Aumond if he wants to add anything further and, if I’ve strayed, to make sure that we get it right.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Mr. Aumond.

Thank you, Mr. Aumond. Ms. Bisaro.

Thanks, Mr. Chair, and thanks to the Minister and staff for that. So this was only a portion of the operation of the lab. So the private sector was offset totally by revenue, if I heard that. So then we have a corresponding… I think it’s 50 percent of the costs of the lab that we are paying for, or is there revenue to offset our portion of costs as well? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The indication we have is that the lab has generated about $600,000 a year in revenue and that’s all we have listed as revenue. I’ll ask Mr. Aumond if he has anything further to add.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Aumond.

MR. AUMOND. Thank you, Mr. Chair. The department would have in its base budget that just would have been passed last March, money to operate the lab. This is just an additional amount of revenue that was not anticipated at the time that the budget was done. So that’s why it’s being brought forward in the supp at this time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Aumond. Committee, we’re on page 15, Environment and Natural Resources, operations expenditures. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The issue here is a comment that was made by an elder in Fort Good Hope that was hoping that sometime in the future I would make a request here that the department considers looking at setting up a lab in the Sahtu, given the issues that we’re faced with today and the environmental, especially with the water issue just recently with Imperial Oil. So, Imperial Oil seeking a water licence in the amount of reusable water that’s going back into the Mackenzie River and that the elder in Fort Good Hope strongly commented to me how we would like to see a laboratory in the Sahtu. I’m not too sure where that will be brought up or discussed within the plans of the government, but it’s something that he seriously told me to raise with the Assembly and

I’m raising it now. So more of a request to the department.