SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The legislative assembly is in the process of sifting through the five-centimetre-thick 2010 budget, and one thing is clear, spending is up with more money going to every department.

Health and Social Services, which is the largest department at $325.8 million, was also allocated the largest net increase, receiving 14.4 per cent or almost $3 million more.

With increased spending across the board, some of the biggest percentage jumps compared to last year's budget are going to administrative branches, with the legislative assembly, the executive and Human Resources occupying three of the six largest proportional gains. They also happen to be among the smallest departments.

Public Works and Services, the executive, Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, the legislative assembly, Health and Social Services and Human Resources are the six departments receiving the largest increase percentage-wise, respectively.

Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger downplayed the increases to the executive and legislative assembly, saying it was difficult to compare money allocated to those two with departments like Education, Culture and Employment (ECE), a larger department which only had a 2.4 per cent increase, because they have smaller operational budgets. He said the increases are less significant when you consider how much more money goes to larger departments.

"You can look at percentage increases or the overall number," he said.

ECE received more than $7 million additional funding, whereas the legislative assembly's funding increased by less than $2 million. Public Works' 65 per cent increase makes it the highest of any department and is attributed to the cost of utilities from different departments being amalgamated, not new money, said Miltenberger.

"The money is currently there, we're just pulling it under one department," he said.

While projected spending in each department increased, the budget for some departments, like Industry, Tourism and Investment, which received 1.7 per cent more money, and Finance, where the budget went up 2.2 per cent, didn't even grow at the rate of inflation.