Robert C. McLeod

Mr. Speaker, again, the town of Norman Wells identified a need and they were protecting some infrastructure. I will assure the Member that MACA will explore all of our options in trying to access funding for the project in Norman Wells. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I applaud the community of Norman Wells for seeing a problem and doing something about it right away. The problem is, Mr. Speaker, that the Building Canada Fund is hoping to have projects that have yet to be started and that is the basis of this. I would advise the Member that we are still working with the Government of Canada on hopefully having some positive outcome for the project in Norman Wells. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we have had discussions with the new Minister, my counterpart in Nunavut, and it was agreed to that we would put an ad out and seek nominations. Anyone interested would just follow the nomination process. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I would imagine that this would fit under an emergency, as this seawall needed to be built to protect their infrastructure. As I advised the Member, I will be bringing all this forward with the department and we will see what kind of options we have and I will advise the Member and the community of Norman Wells. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, as I advised the Member, we are still working with the Government of Canada to try and see if there is some way we can apply some of this funding to the project that has already been completed in Norman Wells. We will continue to work on that. If we get some information on that, I will pass it on to the Member and the community of Norman Wells. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my pleasure to provide Members with information about the current status of the Community Capacity Building Fund. This program has supported innovative and diverse projects in all 33 communities in the Northwest Territories, providing benefits to all of our residents.

In July 2005 the Government of the Northwest Territories established the $35 million Community Capacity Building Fund from funding made available by the Government of Canada under the Northern Strategy. The Community Capacity Building Fund provided one-time funding to communities to assist them to...

Mr. Speaker, there is much to be said about looking to the past to inform and guide you in determining where to go in the future. I would like to let this Assembly know that staff at Municipal and Community Affairs have begun that process and are working on developing an updated Strategic Plan. Many changes have occurred in recent years and now that the New Deal is firmly part of the way MACA interacts with the communities, the development of a new Strategic Plan to address the changes is opportune at this time.

Workshops for MACA staff are underway and are capturing staff experiences...

Mr. Speaker, this is not an easy time. I’ve been on both sides of the floor during times like this and it’s not easy. A couple Members, I respect the brutal honesty and their stand on the position. We are all here to...There’s reason for each person to do what they do and they feel whatever they have to, to do best.

I was walking here this morning and I was wondering where I was going to start. I was going to start from the time I got in here, my expectations of being an MLA to what I saw after I came in here which didn’t impress me at all and Jackie’s made reference. The politics within the...

The department will probably be in contact with the village very soon. It is a priority and I’m sure with the Member raising the issue that we need to expedite this. But I have informed the Member that through correspondence MACA will be in contact with the community to get this moving forward.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There was a report done a few years ago that recommended that this be looked into. It’s something that the departments of MACA and Health and Social Services have identified as a priority. Money is available in the budget that we will be hopefully debating on the floor of this House to enhance some of the programming to the communities.