Thank you. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am also wondering, given the financial situation that we have found ourselves in, if the Department of Finance intends to freeze any kind of pay for performance or bonuses associated with excluded employees during this time. Thank you.

Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. There have been no discussions of any kind of freeze at this time. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to recognize the fact that the Minister of Finance has certainly inherited the challenge we find ourselves in currently and has not created it. That being said, it is still frustrating to start our Assembly off like this, but, at the end of the day, my concerns would be for the people of my riding and of the NWT. What I would like to be able to ask is: can the Minister clarify the ramifications if the supplementary borrowing is not approved? Thank you.

Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I realize this is frustrating, but I would like to suggest to the Member that this is an opportunity for us to get it right and that, by going through this process as an Assembly right now, this is an opportunity to look at the fiscal policy that we do develop going forward and ensure that we are not back in this situation. In some ways, I'd say, this can be an opportunity for all of us.

As far as the immediate situation as to what would happen should the short-term borrowing limit not be increased, it certainly does create a situation where we are not being fiscally responsible. At present, the GNWT does have a very good credit rating. We are seen, essentially, as somewhere that is good in terms of our relationships with the banks that provide us our short-term borrowing and long-term borrowing. We would rather it not be seen as an entity that is not being fiscally responsible and that we identify that short-term cash flow problem. We are taking steps to manage that in the most fiscally responsible way.

There is also the possibility, of course, that we could be putting ourselves in contravention of our own legislation, which restricts the ability for short-term borrowing. Alternatively, we are running an overdraft in our cash, and that comes with significantly higher costs on interest, which simply makes the problem even bigger, makes the problem grow. From the perspective of the individual departments, for example MACA, to the extent that they are not receiving the funding that they are needing at the present time to maintain their operations to the end of the fiscal year, that could put internal pressures on them. Those are a number of the issues. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Member for Kam Lake. Member for Frame Lake.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think I'd like to start by asking, I think I heard there were some cash-flow issues with regard to federal funding for the large infrastructure projects. I had understood in the budget for 2018, or the current O and M budget, that we had already hired, I think it was, three extra staff at the Department of Infrastructure to help with better reporting and getting money out of the feds for these projects. Am I hearing that that's not working? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I will shortly just turn it over to Mr. Kalgutkar. My ability to speak to infrastructure is quite limited. Perhaps, in the interests of time, I will just go straight to Mr. Kalgutkar.

Mr. Kalgutkar.

Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I think I heard the Minister say that their department was going to look at ways to try to prevent this from happening again. Can the Minister get a little bit more specific about what specific measures the Department of Finance is going to do to make sure that our predictions are better in the future, that we have a better way of collecting money owed to us? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Two parts: firstly is that, in the process of seeking main estimates from the various departments, individual departments certainly need to be given perhaps more scrutiny, more pressure, to ensure that those estimates are accurate. It will be somewhat challenged in the next budget cycle. Departments have already been providing those estimates before this administration even took their seats, but we will do our best over the next coming months to know that that is an expectation.

Internally, the Department of Finance, when this issue arose and our own conversations were had, decided that we would be re-profiling an internal position to be focused on cash flow and receivables to ensure that we are doing every step that we can at the Department of Finance to oversee the day-to-day cash-flow activities of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Do you want to make any comments, Minister of Finance?

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Member indicated that the frustration is on the one side of the Assembly. I suspect it is on all sides of the Assembly. I certainly share the frustrations sitting here, as well. What I would like to say on behalf of the Department of Finance is that we intend to start now as we mean to go on and to be fiscally responsible but to, as I have said, use this as an opportunity to do better. That is where, we mentioned earlier in my very brief introductory comment, that, by doing some four-year plans, year-over-year plans, it is our hope that each department is in a better position to make better estimates so that the total budget matches up in a way that allows for better projections of cash flow so that we can plan, knowing that there will be supplementary appropriates, but that they are not perhaps of the nature that we're dealing with today.

That said, we are going to do our best to be fiscally responsible right now to manage the monies in a way that ensures the best possible flexibility, while still not incurring the necessary expenses such as interest. I do thank the Member for his detailed comments. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Can the Minister of Finance tell us what the interest we will pay on this $135-million supplemental is?