Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Written Question asked by Ms. Green on June 29, 2016 regarding the 2014-2015 Public Accounts.

1. Can the Minister confirm that Government spending on infrastructure exceeded the operating surplus, as per page 8 of the non-consolidated public accounts?

I can confirm that the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) spending in 2014-2015 on infrastructure did not exceed the infrastructure financing provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Policy (FRP). The Government achieved sufficient cash from the operating surpluses during the 2014-2015 fiscal year to finance at least 50 per cent of capital expenditures. Later today, at the appropriate time, I will table a document showing how the GNWT complied with the FRP.

1. What are the consequences for Government not adhering to its own fiscal responsibility policy by failing to finance infrastructure from 50 per cent of the operating surplus?

The FRP is focused on committing the GNWT to prudent borrowing to ensure long-term fiscal sustainability. If the GNWT did not achieve sufficient cash from operating surpluses to finance 50 per cent of infrastructure investments in a fiscal year, the GNWT would be required to adopt a fiscal strategy to ensure sufficient operating surpluses were achieved over the subsequent two fiscal periods to bring the GNWT back into compliance.

1. What is the cost of the additional borrowing required for infrastructure funding?

The GNWT would have had to borrow approximately $56 million to fund infrastructure projects in 2014-2015. Given that the GNWT incurs short-term borrowing to have sufficient cash for operations and fund infrastructure investment, the actual cost of borrowing the $56 million can only be estimated. Assuming that the $56 million was borrowed in equal installments over the 12-month period, the estimated borrowing costs would be approximately $325,000.

1. Can the Minister commit to make the reporting on adherence to the fiscal responsibility policy available in plain language within three months of the review of the public accounts?

A plain language report on the GNWT adherence to the FRP will be included in the Public Accounts.