Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, all communities are eligible for that fund. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the same fund, I'd like to ask the Minister if that can be treated as capital?

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Minister.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Member is correct. This is all capital. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, because we're now kind of spilling into potential capital here, I'm wondering if this capital has had any effect on the capital, this capital project initiatives that go to the communities, which is usually around $28 million. I'm wondering if the Minister -- I know it's not on here -- if the Minister could confirm that that amount of capital has not changed as a result of any of this money? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Minister.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the CPI funding the Member is referring to is not touched. It hasn't changed. It will not change, unless we can increase it somehow in the future, but it's been at $28,002,000 for a while. A lot of communities will use this money as cost share dollars for some of the Building Canada Plan projects. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Nothing further from Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. McNeely.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Going back to the New Building Canada Plan, here, I'd like the compliment the department on accessing those federal dollars. I first witnessed this this past winter, where one of the communities in my area has access for three different projects. Now you're starting to see a new utility or upgrade, a new cement floor in the arena, so they can make use of the building during the summer months rather than wait for frozen ice. We're going to see a loss of dust as a result of a new chip seal upgrade on our road system. So it captures the intent of the program, and I know this is a first and I compliment the department. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McNeely. Would the Minister like to respond?

Well, we appreciate the Member's comments and we're excited about the fact that our communities have taken full advantage of all the money that's become available to them to do a lot of fantastic projects in the community, and they are able to identify their priorities and they have the resources now to put towards some of the priorities they identified. So a shout-out to the communities. They've done a fantastic job. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Was there anything further, Mr. McNeely? Nothing further from Mr. McNeely. Do I have any more questions on pages 351? Seeing none. We can turn to the department summary on page 319. Any final questions for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs? Seeing none. I'm ready to call. Municipal and Community Affairs, department total, $104,200,000. Agreed?

I want to thank the Minister and his witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses from the Chamber.

---SHORT RECESS

We've agreed to consider the Legislative Assembly. I'll now turn to the Speaker for opening comments. Mr. Speaker.

Masi, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to present the 2016-17 Main Estimates for the Legislative Assembly. The Assembly is seeking an operations expenditures appropriation of $19,336,000 for 2016-17. This represents a decrease of $1,839,000, or 9.7 per cent from the 2015-16 Main Estimates of $21,175,000, and a 2.8 per cent decrease from actual expenditures in the 2014-15 fiscal year. A significant portion of the decrease from the 2015-16 operations budget is due to the sunsetting of $1,467,000 in funding that was approved for the 2015 territorial election, and for the transition from the 17thAssembly to this 18thAssembly.

My office also undertook a comprehensive review of the Legislative Assembly’s operational needs for 2016-2017, and developed a number of reduction options in order to align with the reduction target put forth by the executive council.

Mr. Chair, we are proposing reductions totaling $773,000 for the 2016-17 operations budget. These proposed reductions are substantially a result of changes we intend to implement to some of our service delivery models, along with adjustments to our staff resources during the inter-election period to improve our operational efficiencies. One example of operational efficiency that we are particularly pleased with is in the area of heating for the Legislative Assembly building. In 2010, a wood pellet boiler system was installed. Over the past five years, this has resulted, on average, in a 10 per cent reduction in the combined costs for heating fuel and wood pellets.

In 2015-16, our heating costs were reduced to $53,000. This is a 30 per cent decrease in the average annual heating costs before the wood pellet boiler system was commissioned. From an environmental perspective we have reduced our use of heating fuel, on average, by approximately 64,000 litres per year, resulting in greenhouse gas savings of approximately 189,000 tonnes in 2015-16.

I can assure Members that these estimates support the Legislative Assembly’s goals of achieving operational efficiency and limiting expenditure growth in order to sustain the long-term fiscal objectives of our government.

Mr. Chair, in closing, I want to thank all Members, my colleagues on the Board of Management, and the Assembly staff for their contributions and efforts in working towards these Main Estimates, and to the continued efficient operations and delivery of quality services for the Legislative Assembly. Masi cho, Mr. Chair. This concludes my opening remarks. I am pleased to respond to any questions that Members may have.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would you like to bring witnesses into the Chamber?

Yes, I do, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Mr. Speaker would you please introduce your witnesses?

Masi, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, to my right is the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Tim Mercer and to my left, director of corporate services, Mr. Darrin Ouellette.