Robert C. McLeod

MACA has no relationship with the Dehcho First Nations as to the operations of the band within their area. We work directly with INAC, or we will work closely with the local band governments as it relates to the municipal-type services or responsibility that we have an agreement with them to deliver.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in the mandate to pursue new federal funding for the enhancement of community government infrastructure. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, MACA, is working collaboratively with both the federal and community governments to fulfill that commitment through various funding programs, including the Gas Tax Agreement and the New Building Canada Plan. Funding leveraged through these programs is helping to decrease the community public infrastructure deficit in communities across our...

Mr. Speaker, we will work with the federal government. I mean, we have three roads that we are looking at. One is the Mackenzie Valley Highway, which we've heard for the last 30 to 40 years is a priority for people up and down the Valley, and it would have huge benefits to everyone down in the Valley. The other is the road to Whati and one is the road to the Slave Geologic Province. We will work with the federal government and we can put applications in there. If they decide that one has more value than the other or one that they're able to fund at this point over the other then we'll start...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we're doing the preliminary work on the roads that are in our mandate and for us to link them to the possible reductions exercise we're going through I think is unfair. Nowhere in this budget are we debating the investment in the Whati road right now. We are doing the preliminary work and we are looking to try to leverage federal funding for these particular projects. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We would like to think that the accountability framework tool has been a very valuable tool for not only our department but for community governments as well. It allows us the opportunity to identify any issues that are small before they become big issues and work with the communities to try and resolve these issues. Before we had the accountability framework, unfortunately we ran into a few situations where communities had run into some difficulties and we had to step in later. With the new accountability framework, we believe we have the tools in place to respond to any small issues before...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. MACA has a different relationship with the local band government than we would have with other governments. Other governments fall under the legislation that defines authority and roles and responsibilities. Local band governments fall under the authority of the federal Indian Act and are the responsibility of the Indian and Northern Development Canada, or INAC. We have nine local band governments in the Northwest Territories, and MACA has a financial agreement with them to deliver municipal services. Beyond these agreements we really have no authority over their...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll follow up and gather the information and I will see where we're able to table that. But I will follow-up. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, absolutely, if there is opportunity for us to find other stakeholders or other community governments and that, we can partner up with them and we will explore all options in how we can move this forward. We have done a lot of work across the jurisdiction, across the country to see what their successes have been with the implementation and which systems might work best for up here. I think we have basically come up with a plan. The next step now is to identify finances, to try and implement across the NWT, and it's one of the reasons we go through the exercise that we go through so...

I would be willing to share that information. I think I have shared it in the past. As we go through the budget, the committee of the whole process, I think there is an opportunity there too where a lot of the positions would be identified. I will commit to gathering the information and sharing it with the Member. It will be out there in the public as well.

We are doing what we can to mitigate the impact of the reduction exercise that we are going through. I think we have been fortunate so far. We have been able to accommodate a lot of those folks that have been affected. I think the number is quite low right now. I did share that number with committee the other day. As I said, we will continue to update them on the work that we are doing to accommodate those few government employees that are left.