Thank you, Madam Chair. The Standing Committee on Government Operations has been considering Bill 43, An Act to Amend the Borrowing Authorization Act.
Bill 43 was given second reading and referred to the standing committee on February 9, 2015. Bill 43 is a little bill with a potentially big impact. For this reason, the standing committee wanted to ensure the due diligence was exercised during the review. The standing committee provided notice to stakeholders of its intention to hold a public hearing on the bill which took place on Friday, February 20, 2015. While the standing committee did not receive any public input on the bill, a number of questions were asked of the Minister regarding the need for an increase to the GNWT’s short-term borrowing limit.
A motion was carried to report to the Assembly that Bill 43 is ready for consideration by the Committee of the Whole. While this concludes the committee’s opening comments on Bill 43, individual Members may have additional questions or comments as we proceed.