Yes, Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, it was a fairly significant influx of federal money, and some large capital projects we had on our own. That is the reason for the carry-overs, and as we go through the details, I think you'll have a pretty good indication of where a lot of this money was supposed to have been spent. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Ms. Green.

Thank you. Given the fact that the federal money is going to be coming in for years to come, how is the Minister going to reduce the carry-over in years ahead? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister.

Well, ideally, we would like to try and get the contracts out as soon as possible. That's one of the reasons we changed the capital estimate process that we go through to October, so we are in a position to get contracts out. If we feel that there is a capacity issue, then, we will have to take steps to address that, but I think that the department is working quite hard at trying to roll out the projects with the folks we have and the amount of dollars that are coming into the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Ms. Green.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I didn't hear in that answer how things would be different in the next fiscal year than they are now. Given the fact that there is no increase in capacity, and no decrease in funding, what's going to make the difference to get the contracts out sooner? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I think some of the projects are quite big. I'll use Stanton, for example, and the money that we are investing in there. Some of those should come off the books as they are completed, so I would anticipate that we will not coming forward next year with such a large carry-over budget. Then again, we work on getting these contracts let and out the door. That should reduce the carry-over from this year to next. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Ms. Green.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I still don't hear a definitive answer there on how this is going to be reduced. I think we all understand what the problem is, but we don't have a grip on the solution. If it isn't one big project like Stanton, it's going to be another big project like the Tlicho road. Is there a way to break down the contract amounts into smaller projects as a means to move forward with more money going out the door? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister.

Yes, Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, where there is an opportunity and it makes sense, and we still get a good product at the end of the day, I suppose it's something we could look at, but we have to ensure that we get quality product if we break it down. I think I have said a couple of times before that we work on getting these contracts out the door as quickly as possible or as soon as the appropriation is approved. Then we should see a reduction in the carry-over. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Ms. Green.

[Microphone turned off]

I would remind everyone to keep an eye on the red light to ensure that it is on while you are speaking. There was nothing further from Ms. Green for general comments. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am just going to go back to clarification here. The business plans start in October. We approve them, and so we are having delays getting these contracts out in a timely manner. Has the department looked at even moving that process even earlier so that we can get these contracts out as of April 1^st? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, our business planning starts in September for the operations budget. Capital plans is the one we debate in the October session, and it used to be a little later. At least that's my understanding while I was part of this Assembly, when we'd debate the capital budget a little later than that. Then we heard some concerns about the ability to get the projects contracted, out the door, material ordered, while we still have a winter road, so that is one of the reasons we changed the approval process to October. I think, for the most part, it has worked fairly well. Again, there has been a huge influx of money, so we are trying to deal with it, and I am not sure if moving it earlier would speed it up. We approve the capital estimates in October, and I think they have until April 1^st, is when the money starts being appropriated, so that gives them time to have contracts in place. We just have to ensure that we work with all departments to make sure that the contracts are let and out the door, taking advantage of the time change in the debate on the capital estimates. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for that. That clears things up a little bit better. I guess my question, though, is: because we have seen this huge number of a carry-over, do you guys track the reasons why we have these carry-overs? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we do track why some of the projects are carried over, and there were a number of reasons that that could be. I think I shared some of those in our briefing with committee. However, I believe we shared all of the briefing information with committee as to why most of these projects were carried over. If not, I will go back and have a conversation with my department and we will share the proper information with committee, but I think we have shared a great deal of information as to why many of these contracts or why many of these projects were carried over. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.