Debates of February 18, 2005 (day 39)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to speak about multi-year funding for municipalities in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, we know here within our work and our jobs it’s very difficult for the GNWT to plan very far in the future, because of the uncertainties in the year-to-year tax revenues and funding from Canada. Mr. Speaker, we are also taking that problem and we are turning it around and we are putting that pressure on municipal governments. Mr. Speaker, I believe it’s time to look at multi-year funding for municipalities to ensure that they have certainty when they put forward their budgets at the end of the calendar year.

Mr. Speaker, the GNWT negotiates multi-year agreements with these municipalities through our Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. Mr. Speaker, tax-based communities use the normal calendar that ends on December 31st, but in the Assembly, we pass our budget on March 31st. There is a three-month difference between our fiscal year and the municipality’s fiscal year.

Mr. Speaker, I know that this is a problem. Not just in the administrative process -- how it’s created -- but it’s entrenched in our Financial Administration Act and I think it needs to be amended so we can approve a two-year rolling calendar fiscal funding program. That would allow municipal governments to pass budgets with some certainty.

Mr. Speaker, we could always have the proviso of saying if unforeseen circumstances change the GNWT’s revenues, any major change in the world, we will work together to make the financial arrangements work.

Mr. Speaker, as the biggest government on the land at this time, we should be able to help stabilize uncertain funding for municipalities that struggle very hard to provide services to our community people. Mr. Speaker, later today I will have questions for the Minister responsible for the FMBS about addressing the FAA and the lack of multi-year agreement possibilities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.