Thank you. Okay, before I begin, I would like to for the record, I would like to say that three of four Tlicho communities Behchoko, Whati and Wekweeti are underfunded. They are underfunded communities, so I just wanted to say that for the record.
So Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister referred to an agreement in 2007. It is now year 2022, and we have a community without access to clean water as identified in United Nation Declaration on Human Rights. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister focus on what can be done now, not on what was done in the past? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we're already focusing on the future and the present. We are working with the municipal government on this very issue. So the Member, I've given her emails showing what was going on. Yesterday I provided an update that was very current as of yesterday morning, that they met with the community and were working on trying to address that issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. Well, I don't think I did not receive the email that he is referring to. And I know that I keep checking my email. I didn't get anything from him. But I keep getting email from his assistant. So if he sent that email yesterday, I would like to see it today, if he can resend it.
Mr. Speaker, does the formula for funding received by the community government, especially in Behchoko into consideration that there are two distinct geographic communities? Each community has its own water plants, sewer facilities, water, and sewer distribution centre systems, fire halls, fire fighting mobile equipment, and recreation facilities. Thank you.
Thank you. So the Member should be aware that my EAC is sending out emails that I get, and I send it to the Member right away. Whether we get them from the community, who are asking questions and that, when I send this stuff out there, the latest one was an issue about freeze up. We get that sent to the Member right away so she is aware of what's going on.
As for the formula, yes, it encompasses everything. Again, when we talk about the municipal funding formula, it was developed with NWTAC for the betterment of the territories, the 33 communities. So it's a formula that's used, and it counts all those things that the Member's talked about.
Just so the Member's aware, we are looking at those funding policies, and we're trying to fix them presently. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Okay, well, I would like to see the email again. But what I would like for the Minister to do is that to meet with me and the community leaders to discuss these important issues.
So another question is that, Mr. Speaker, I know that we are coming to a fiscal year end, okay. So there may be some operational budgets that have not been fully spent. Can the Minister commit to work with the Department of Finance to identify where there is any unused funding across the entire GNWT and redirect these unused funds for a onetime payment to the community, especially those just like Behchoko for damage repair. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I've already met with the TG government, and we're more than willing just recently, with Cabinet, and I'm more than willing to meet with them. Our staff are meeting with the TG governments as we move forward.
In regards to surpluses and that from the Government of the Northwest Territories, we don't have surpluses. We don't. We're $1.5 billion in debt. We have a budget that we're using. So there is no surplus out there. If there was, we have 33 communities with 33 issues that each community has that we need to move forward on. So I can't promise the Member that there. There's no surplus, and there's no money available. And if there was a surplus, we have to compete against needs of the Northwest Territories, just not one community. It's departments; it's other communities as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Monfwi.
Well, we just did the Finance budget today. So Mr. Speaker, with reference to the 2014 study that identified the shortfall in funding many community governments, will the Minister agree to update the 2014 study to identify the current shortfall in funding for NWT community government and commit to correct the inequalities in a timely manner? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my understanding of the 2014 report that the Member's talking about was jointly done with NWTAC. We're more than willing to work with them to go on there.
As for the inadequacies that the Member talks about, it's a budget process. We need to compete with other priorities for the Government of the Northwest Territories. The Member from Yellowknife North talked about $20 million for housing. Bam, let's give me $20 million for housing. Well, how do we take that compared to other issues? Housing is a priority. We've heard it in this House. But we have other priorities and other commitments that this government needs to be recognizing. I'm more than willing to work with committee and work with the government, Cabinet, and our colleagues from AOC to come up with a process. I need to stress that it was a priority of the NWT of our moving forward. We had $25 million for initiating initiatives for the four years. $5 million is going to the municipal funding gap. We are also working from lands and doing some work on that as well to help municipal governments move forward. So we're trying, using all the tools in our toolbox, to help shrink this funding gap. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
