Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed?

---Carried

Bill 16 has had a second reading and is now referred to standing committee. Second reading of bills. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act, be read for the second time. The bill amends the Student Financial Assistance Act to extend the term of appeal board members from two years to up to four years and to amend the qualifications for the post-secondary student representative on the appeal board to include individuals who have been a post-secondary student within the five years preceding the appointment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed?

---Carried

Bill 17 has had a second reading and is now referred to a standing committee. Second reading of bills. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Masi. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I stand in support of the principle of this bill. It has been a long time coming. Members have advocated for these necessary changes that are long overdue. They have been advocated by the Cities, Towns and Villages Act for some years now, and I am very pleased to see the government bring this forward.

It is essential that we give our cities, towns, and villages the tools that they need to effectively maintain their operations and to take advantage of economic opportunities like tourism. In my community of Yellowknife, the need for a hotel levy has been long canvassed, and it is supported by the city council. I like to think that we have a very good working relationship with our local government here in the city. I am very pleased to see the government bring these changes forward so that we can start to get to work on it as a standing committee.

As chair of the committee that will be reviewing the bill, I also look forward to engaging with stakeholders in our cities, towns, and villages to make sure that this bill meets their needs and that we do our due diligence as a committee to ensure it is the best legislation possible, and we will get to that within the coming weeks. Thank you.

Masi. To the principle of the bill.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed?

---Carried

Bill 18 has had its second reading and is now referred to a standing committee. Second reading of bills. Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Bill 6, Cannabis Legalization and Regulations Implementation Act; Minister's Statement 1-18(3), North Slave Correctional Complex Inmate Concerns; Minister's Statement 19-18(3), Aurora College Foundational Review Process; Tabled Document 193-18(3), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2018-2019; Tabled Document 194-18(3), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2018- 2019; and Committee Report 7-18(3), Standing Committee on the Review of Bill 6: Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Implementation Act.

By the authority given to me as speaker by Motion 7-18(3), I hereby authorize the House to sit beyond the daily hour of adjournment to consider the business before the House, with the Member for Hay River North in the chair.

I now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, committee would like to consider Tabled Document 193-18(3), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2018-2019; and Tabled Document 194-18(3), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2018- 2019. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee. We will consider the tabled documents after a five-minute recess. Committee, please return to the Chamber at 5:15 p.m. on the dot. Thank you.

---SHORT RECESS

I have called Committee of the Whole back to order. Committee, we have agreed to consider Tabled Document 193-18(3), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures) No. 2, 2018-2019. Does the Minister of Finance have any opening remarks? Minister McLeod.

Yes, I do. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I am here to present Tabled Document 193-18(3), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2018-2019. This document provides for an increase of $159 million to the capital budget.

The major items in these supplementary estimates include:

• $136 million to continue capital projects which were not able to be completed in 2017-2018. This amount is offset by an equivalent lapse of funding for 2017-2018.
• $22.3 million to fund infrastructure investments associated with the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Plan Integrated Bilateral Agreement. These expenditures will be partially offset by funding from the federal government.
• $703,000 to replace airfield runway lighting at the Fort Smith airport. These expenditures are fully funded by the federal government.

That concludes my opening remarks, Mr. Chair. I am prepared to respond to the committee's questions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Minister, you may join the witnesses at the witness table. Minister, would you please introduce your witnesses for the record.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, to my right I have Mr. David Stewart, who is deputy minister in the Department of Finance. To my left, I have Sandy Kalgutkar, who is the deputy secretary to the FMB. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. I will open the floor up to general comments for the Infrastructure, Supplementary Estimates, keeping in mind that we will go through the document page by page. Do we have general comments on the tabled document? Ms. Green.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, this supplementary estimate represents a very large carry-over compared to previous years. This is money that could have been spent in our economy, but instead is being carried over. It seems to be the result of several factors; one is the large amount of money that's coming in to the territory from the federal government. Also, there seems to be a lack of capacity in the Department of Infrastructure to get contracts out the door. Also, miscellaneous issues with subcontractors. When the time comes for questions, I will ask the Minister to talk about the size of this carry-over, and how it can be reduced in years coming forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Green. If you have general questions for the Minister, you can ask those now, or you can wait until the appropriate sections. Would you like to continue, Ms. Green?

I will continue. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Could the Minister explain to us why the carry-over is so high this year? Let's start with that.