Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it’s no secret that the well-being of communities holds a special place in my heart. My time spent in local governance as a school trustee and city councillor laid the groundwork for that. So when considering GNWT activities I often see things through a municipal lens, and I did just that yesterday as I pondered the Environment and Natural Resources’ budget and listened to the government’s plans for climate change and greenhouse gas targets.
In order to meet an aggressive greenhouse gas target -- one that we don’t yet have, I must admit -- this government must engage NWT communities. Engage the communities in thinking about what they can do and engage them in taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There are many ways to do that, Mr. Speaker, but one that I think will produce great dividends is to establish an NWT green fund similar to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Municipal Green Fund.
The GNWT has earmarked about $60 million over a three-year period for energy projects. It is a simple matter to place a portion of those dollars into a special fund for green and energy wise projects, a special fund that NWT communities can access for their energy projects. The parameters of the fund could allow for low interest loans or for grants, the grant amount which could be matched by the communities.
Like the FCM Green Municipal Fund, funding could be provided for feasibility studies, field tests, development of municipal infrastructure, creating energy efficiencies in the community and so on. Under the New Deal established by MACA a few years ago, our communities have control over their own capital funds but often lack the accumulated dollars to take on high cost energy projects or to do the research on potential energy projects. I believe that our communities want to become more energy efficient, want to initiate green projects but need a financial push to get them started.
Mr. Speaker, this is not a request for new money. It is merely a reprofiling of money already identified by the government for energy projects. But it is also money that does not have specific identified targets. How the funds will be spent in future fiscal years is yet to be decided. So I feel we are perfectly positioned to establish an NWT green fund.
Our Territory and our residents deserve the benefits which would result in the establishment of such a fund. Our communities deserve the financial assistance that a green fund will provide, assistance that will allow them to get involved in large cost energy projects for the benefit of our…
Ms. Bisaro…
…question for the Minister of Finance at a later time. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
