Wendy Bisaro

Thanks to the Minister for that explanation. I appreciate that the regional staff are there to assist. I am sure they do that on a regular basis, but I am particularly concerned about the lack of human resource capacity to deal with capital projects, specifically the expertise that is required to manage projects and so on. I know that MACA often works with the NWT Association of Communities to address human resource needs at the community level. I know that there is a plan in the works to develop those needs. The technical expertise I don’t think has been addressed. I would like to know if...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I wasn’t at all sure what I would speak about today, but then on my way home I took a detour and stopped at the multiplex for my flu shot. What great work our Health department has done, is doing and will do.

---Applause

Many people probably caught the news last night but didn’t get much besides H1N1 coverage. All across Canada, vaccination clinics have huge line-ups, four to five-hour waits, 2,000 people in line for 800 doses available at a clinic. That means 1,200 people were turned away there. But no one should panic. There will be enough vaccine to go around...

Thanks to the Minister again. If communities hire their own expertise to assist with the project to be a project manager or to provide the technical engineering and architectural and whatever assistance, are those costs undertaken by the community? Are they available to be funded through the community infrastructure contribution for capital infrastructure or through gas tax and other funds which communities receive? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. I would like to follow up on some of the comments he made in his Minister’s statement today. I would like to, first of all, commend the communities that were involved in the pilot projects, the communities of Fort Liard, Fort McPherson, Fort Good Hope and the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. I agree with the Minister that the New Deal is working, but I am still concerned for community capacity related to capital projects and community infrastructure. I would like to ask the Minister, the...

Thanks again, Mr. Speaker. Again I’d like to ask the Minister, with the increase in the number of community-owned buildings and infrastructure that is now coming on stream through the money that communities have, there are associated maintenance costs for these buildings. I’d like to know how MACA plans to assist communities with these extra maintenance costs. Thank you.

Thanks for the answer. I appreciate a lot that this is recognized, that the concern of the communities is recognized and that the department is looking at doing something about it. If there is a review of either the formula funding or just the total funding for communities, is there any idea from the Minister or the deputy minister when that review might be done? If there is any change, and I presume upward, would it be for the next capital estimates year or is it conceivable that it might be done midway through this next fiscal year so there is time for some back and forth and feedback and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to now ask the question to the Minister -- he says we’ll get the report, the results of the consultation and the report soon -- what might “soon” mean? I have to ask this question very often of Ministers. Are we talking one month? Three months? Six months? Two years? Hopefully not two years, because he’s talking about an LP soon. So when might that be? And at that time when those results of the consultation come forward, will there be an opportunity for further input, not necessarily from Members but from the public? Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister for that update. I expect that I will probably be asking what “soon” means later on, but I would like to ask the Minister first…The residency requirement wasn’t really addressed in the discussion paper. It was referenced, but somewhat obliquely. I want to know from the Minister whether or not there will be an opportunity once results of the consultation are out, whether there is an opportunity to go back and discuss particularly the residency requirement eligibility for voters section. Thank you.

Thank you to my colleagues. Amendments to the Local Authorities Elections Act were contemplated earlier this year. MACA produced a discussion paper and held consultations. I hope that the residency requirement was addressed through that process. I look forward to seeing the results. I will have questions for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs later on. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It has been over a week since municipal Election Day. As with any competition, there were some winners and there were some losers. I offer my hearty congratulations to the newly elected mayors and councils and a sincere thank you to all of those who ran, winners or not.

In my Member’s statement prior to the elections, I encouraged residents to get out and vote, and to get out and vote in large numbers. Well, that didn’t quite happen, but we did have an increased voter turnout in at least three of the six communities where elections were held. Previous years' election...