Thank you. I'll take that as a comment. I'm going to continue on. Is there any further questions? Member from the Sahtu.

Thank you. I take that as a comment. Any further questions? Don't see none, I'll continue on.

Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2023-2024, Department of Infrastructure, assets management not previously authorized $6,128,000. Does committee agree?

Okay, I'm going to go to the Member from YK North.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So just on the Marine Transportation Services, obviously this is kind of an eyepopping number here, $14.4 million deficit or even more deficit than was already expected. I understand that this is due to a low water year. But can the Minister give us some assurance that there will be steps taken to avoid these levels of deficit in the future.

Thank you. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I happen to have it on authority that the Minister of Infrastructure is trying to arrange a briefing on MTS for committee and probably well deserved. It's certainly -- yes, the low water was certainly an impact, but that certainly isn't the only challenge that MTS has seen. They have struggled to find their footing since the end of NTCF for NTCL, so it is certainly not one that I want to minimize the ease by which there can be a path forward to sort of a more fiscally sustainable way. There's -- the forest fires also had an impact because, of course, the head office and main facilities for MTS are located in Hay River, and they were subject to the evacuations and, indeed, right at a critical time. That also impacted what occurred in the last year. So a number of different reasons and a number of different events.

I can say that with respect to 2024, it is expected or at least hoped that there's been some strategic planning around the loads, around the harbour restoration, and that with that, that should support a season that does not see this kind of need late in the season for support. Thank you.

Thank you. I'm going to go to the Member for YK North.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I appreciate that information the Minister was able to give, and I look forward to more indepth discussion at our committee meeting. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'm going to go to the Member from Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is more of a comment than a question. Having experience and I realize I could realize this amount here for the simple fact that there's many challenges that we've seen and probably will see in the future. Just to give you an idea here, we were expecting freight, but it didn't arrive. Everybody got evacuated out. The point of contact was -- on behalf of MTS ended up down south. So anyways, operations carried on. And to give you an idea of the many challenges facing this company here, similar challenges are faced by the other barge carrier operating out of Fort Nelson with an office there in Fort Simpson. So having sent -- sent some freight and picked up some freight from Cooper Barging, we finally seen that company arrive in the Sahtu in August only to find out that they had forced an 82-year-old captain with the proper certifications to take out a retirement in Manitoba to operate the boat so they're in compliance with the regulations. So that's just some information as to the challenge in the past, and we're probably going to see more challenges in the future. So I can realize the deficit in this amount there. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'll take that as a comment. Going to continue on. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you. I'm going go to the Finance Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, just trying to make sure I'm -- see if perhaps -- don't know that any of us have that right at the tip of our fingers, Mr. Chair. I just want to -- again, I mean, the fact that there's $14 million -- $14.4 million here is what is required at this point to bring it back. But I -- yes, I mean that -- so that -- I mean -- maybe I'm not -- maybe I'm not -- sorry, maybe I'm misunderstanding the question, Mr. Chair. So obviously compared to what the projected budget was, the projected deficit at this point is $14.4 million. So is the question something other than that 14.4? Sorry, thank you.

Thank you. I'm going to go to the Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you. I'm going to go to the Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes. Thank you. Sorry, that is -- that is the business loss. So MTS operates with a revolving fund and it gives flexibility to continue to run its operations without, you know -- yes, it gives it some flexibility within to run operations from within that revolving fund. Any losses to the revolving fund have to get covered. This reflects those losses. Thank you.

Thank you. I'm going to go to the Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.