Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.

Yes, thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, I'd appreciate that from the Minister. I think that's the kind of transparency, accountability, and sharing of what should be publicly-available information that I'm looking for. So I'm happy on that one.

The question, though, I want to ask is, you know, and I would have asked it at the beginning, but I'm going to try to sneak it in here. We're getting really close to the reserve for the entire supplementary estimates, and I think some of it is largely due to spending on asset management in particular.

But what happens -- we've only got I think 11 million -- maybe the Minister can tell me, how much is left in the reserve, and what happens if we get any closer to it? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So there isn't, as part of the overall fiscal plan or picture, a capital reserve. The supplementary reserve, which we spoke about yesterday, yes, that was sitting at $35 million this year and is definitely seeing a fair bit of pressure on it right now. But when we're funding capital projects, you have to fund the capital projects 50 percent out of surplus dollars and then the other 50 percent would typically come from some form of borrowing.

So to the extent that we are eating in to -- or increasing our capital spend, we are drawing that down from the projected surpluses that we were holding on to in compliance with the fiscal responsibility policy. That, or going in for borrowing. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.

Yes, thanks, Madam Chair, and thanks to the Minister for that. I guess maybe I might suggest, then, that in the review of the Fiscal Responsibility Policy that this idea of a reserve on the infrastructure side is something that the department might look at. Yes, is that something that they could consider? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And as I mentioned earlier, Madam Chair, there is an existing commitment to look at the Fiscal Responsibility Policy so this certainly may well be that opportunity. And similarly, as I had said, there's ongoing work happening with respect to the reporting on contracting and procurement more generally. So this may also be that opportunity to again to look there. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Department of Infrastructure, capital investment expenditures, asset management, not previously authorized, $20,274,000. Does committee agree? Oh, Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to go to these culverts in highway reconstruction.

This spring we had a number of washouts on Highway 1 and which required some -- you know, a lot of labour and equipment. And I see with the culverts there, will some of that work take into account, you know, some of the issues that we did experience this spring, or is that going to be additional funds we'll be looking for? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, this spring's culvert work would come out of what would have been appropriated as part of the usual appropriation. So this is for work that was underway or not completed but underway or begun last year. The annual amount that is budgeted for culvert work I gather is $7.5 million, and that remains unchanged. Thank you.

Member for Hay River South.

No, thank you.

Department of Infrastructure, capital investment expenditures, asset management, not previously authorized -- Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess I just want to speak in support about how helpful I would find some sort of database of all the current projects and some sort of status to look at.

It would also be my dream, as I've spoken about before, we approve capital projects and when we do that, we are not allowed to say the total cost of the project. But the minute that we are allowed to say that, if such database could include that information so I don't have to come back and keep asking how much a project costs to get the public figure out eventually. And I know sometimes you could do that by going through all the contracts reports and adding them all up for a specific project, but you actually probably can't figure it out properly. But I did have a question as well.

I'm just trying to understand this $125 million in lapsing. You know, we are not spending $125 million. If the Minister could just give me what she believes is causing this. And I mean, is any of that political FMB decisions where they go, listen, we're just not doing this project anymore, or is it FMB going to departments and saying, you don't meet the criteria to carry over, or is it -- I guess is it one of those two things or something else? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So I don't have the number -- or the 125 number in front of me. So I just want to be clear that I'm not going to speak to a specific number. And I know that it does seem like that there may be some different numbers where we somehow have managed to operate it on once again with these different documents.

But the crux of it, and the point of the question, as I understand, is really, again, how are projects that are not seeing carryovers, what is happening to them and where are those decisions.

So projects don't necessarily get -- they're not getting cancelled. We're not doing a cull. That's not how the item comes forward. What does come forward is the request to carry over.

So the departments would look at the projects that are underway or in planning or, you know, have contracts that have been signed, obligations established, and then those come forward to be approved for a carryover. And that's what would be in front of the House now. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.

Yes, thank you. Well, I guess I wonder, then, is any of that lapse, a department has just simply not applied for a carryover and then they didn't get it, or, you know, is there a capacity issue, it's actually reapplying for the money to be carried over, or are they just actually not -- don't have contracts in place or significant progress, I guess, on those? Thank you.

Thank you, Member. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I mean, departments certainly don't need to apply to carry over their funds. I mean, that's where we get into the situation where, you know, each department does have their projects for which they are responsible. Obviously Infrastructure has a fair chunk that they're delivering on behalf of others as well. But it is up to an individual department if they want to seek to have a carryover or not. I would, yeah, and I can't really speak for those individual decisions. But if it overtly doesn't meet the criteria of the "carryover" definition, that may be a reason not to, but then again, the explanations as to why something might be delayed could be a reason to do in favour of a carryover -- or to seek the carryover. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Department of Infrastructure, capital investment expenditures, asset management, not previously authorized, $20,274,000. Does committee agree?