Mr. Speaker, I have a return to oral question asked by the member for Yellowknife Centre on February 10, 2025, regarding the budgeting process for the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority.

The department provides a dollar value and service expectation to each of the three health authorities to develop a detailed budget. The authorities must submit this budget to the department by February 15th of each year concurrent with the main estimates process. The department works with each authority to review their budget aligning details with what was presented to committee. This ensures that the authorities' budgets are ready for final review by the department once the main estimates are approved.

Further, to comply with Financial Administration Act, this work must be completed by April 1st of each year. Once the main estimates in the authorities' budgets are approved, the department then enters into a contribution agreement with each health authority which outlines the dollar value for activities, spending parameters, and reporting requirements such as performance indicators and financial statements.

Lastly, the authorities are required to submit variance reports to the department which facilitates monitoring of expenditures. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.