Thank you, Ms. Lee. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister if there’s going to be any disciplinary action against the person that wrote the letter, more importantly, undermining the Minister, undermining myself as the MLA, and undermining the community’s efforts to work with us to find solutions to this problem and make sure that we have a fair transition. Is there going to be any penalties put forth in regard to how this thing was handled, and more importantly, how this was undermining the process we agreed to?
Mr. Speaker, the public administrator is following up on that. I will get back to the Member with the information. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I mentioned about the economic forecast in the Northwest Territories and some of the things that are going to be pressuring this government, pressuring the new government. I want to ask the Minister of Finance in terms of the go-ahead basis in terms of the fiscal forecast in the new coming years. Is the government looking at programs that could be decentralized, taking away things in the region to save on dollars to make things efficient and effective? That is the word that is being used around this table here to ensure that this government here could be sustainable in terms of preventing or initiating some of their programs they want to do as stated in the budget address here.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We know that there is a strong concern from small community MLAs, for example, about employment. We need to look at ways to assist small communities with employment. I think -- and I have had discussions with the Member for Tu Nedhe about some of the possibilities with just using existing resources -- the intention is not to centralize back to Yellowknife; the intention is to look at efficiencies. We have had discussions and a lot of work done, for example, on how many boards and agencies we have. We know that there is an opportunity coming with devolution that there is going to be 150 or so positions moving north from Ottawa. How do we structure ourselves as a government and the work that has to be done in a way that we would see, as the Premier indicated in one of his speeches, how we could get as many of those positions as possible outside of Yellowknife. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, in the budget I noticed that there is going to be $300,000 a year towards program performance review of GNWT’s policies on provisions for adequate, suitable and affordable housing in the Northwest Territories. I am not too sure how that money is going to be used in the performance review. I am wondering how this funding here is justified in terms of people are now being asked to be moved out of the house.
There are a lot of empty houses in the Sahtu. I went to Colville Lake, Fort Good Hope and Tulita. There are empty houses there. Here we are spending $300,000 to do a performance review. We just had an Auditor General’s report and now we need an extra $300,000 to do another review. Is this the type of initiative under efficiency and effective government in terms of spending this kind of money when houses are needed to be filled in the regions?
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in my budget address, the Minister of Housing, Mr. Robert C. McLeod, would be speaking to the House about the work that was going to be happening, moving forward with housing, the things that they are doing, how the review will be undertaken to address some of the issues that the Member has mentioned, the issue of community concerns with housing issues, the difficult decisions we have to make about trying to offset the CMHC funding that is diminishing yearly, what creative ways can we come up with to address some of those needs. We still have the challenge of $20 million, roughly, of arrears both in rental as well as mortgages, so there are a number of critical issues that will be addressed through this.
Yes, the Auditor General did a report. She instructed the Housing Corporation to do a number of things. The Members have raised the issue of housing repeatedly in every community we have all gone to. Housing is the number one concern, so that is going to assist us, through the Minister, to be able to address some of those issues. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, in my Member’s statement I also mentioned about the regional gaps between the regions here. I want to ask the Minister here in terms of I am very disappointed not to see any mention in terms of justice in terms of RCMP in the communities where they do not have a detachment in the seven years since I have been asking this government here and the government before in terms of asking for an RCMP in our communities. Yet when we go back to our communities, that is one of the questions they ask. When are we going to get an RCMP detachment? We hear the same old, same old. I want to ask the Minister if there is any light at the end of the tunnel in terms of rectifying this issue for us.
Mr. Speaker, once again, as I indicated in my budget address, governments across Canada are moving full bore into fiscal restraint deficit fighting, debt reduction to address the very significant debt and deficits that most of them have, including the federal government. We also know that the federal government has given instructions already within their own departments about no growth at all. Departments have to absorb all of the costs for forced growth for collective agreements and any other costs. We know that we have programs in health, for example, that are worth millions of dollars that have one year left after which they are going to be looking at being sunsetted. We are going to have to make decisions. The opportunity for new money is going to be very difficult. I would suggest, however, the Minister will be coming before this House in the not-too-distant future, the Minister of Justice, and we will be able to have that discussion. We have no clear revenue sources or new pots of money that are coming available. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Time for question period is expired. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I request unanimous consent to return to item 9, oral questions. Thank you.
---Unanimous consent granted
Item 9, oral questions. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a few more questions for the Minister of Finance. In the budget address today there was no mention of the disposition of the Opportunities Fund. I would like to ask the Minister what is the current disposition of the Opportunities Fund as it relates to our financial situation. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Opportunities Fund is sitting there. It is not being used. There is over $120 million in it. We have one load out. As we do the work on the borrowing limit, that issue of how the Opportunities Fund fits into that will be part of those deliberations which we are intending to have completed by April. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the Finance Minister is saying today that the federal government hasn’t made a determination on whether or not the Opportunities Fund would be booked as a liability for this government. In fact, we will have to wait until April to hear that. Is that what I am hearing the Minister say today? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, that is the basis that we are proceeding on right now. Since it is Finance that has made the initial determination, the Auditor General had initially told us that the way we were accounting for it was acceptable. Finance Canada had indicated that they thought it should be included in our borrowing limit, so as we proceeded with the discussion of the borrowing limit, there was an understanding that we have to put all these pieces on hold until we have that final determination between ourselves and the federal government, which we are aiming to have concluded by April. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, it just so happens the government is $35 million short of its current, I believe it is a little bit more than that, but if we had to book the one loan we have in the Opportunities Fund, I believe that was $35 million. What would that do to the Territory’s finance if the federal government came back to us and said that we have to book that as a debt, and what would that do to our ability to borrow any more money for the other things that the Minister had mentioned in his budget address today? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s a very significant what if. There’s work underway. We are looking at coming to, we hope, a new and better understanding with the federal government about the borrowing limit. To ask me what would happen if we had to book it, that’s a hypothetical that I think is premature. We are fully confident that we’re going to come up with a resolution to this issue that will allow us to incorporate this, meet the requirements that Finance Canada says we have to meet with the Opportunities Fund as it ties into the overall determination of our borrowing limit as a government.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My apologies, I should have phrased that a little bit differently. If we are going to expect to borrow $64 million and then another $155 million, I guess the way I could phrase it is, if we’re faced with a decision by the federal government, does that impact our ability to borrow any more money? Would it throw a wrench into our plans to borrow any more money for these amounts that the Minister has suggested in his budget address today?
I would have to ask him too many questions of clarification to be able to give him an answer. I don’t know if he’s assuming we’re going to stay at the current rate, if the government puts us back to 500 or if they give us an increase. I’m not sure about some of these other questions. We’re fully expecting to be able to incorporate whatever the final decision is. We’re expecting it will allow us to move forward and not be punished, as it were, with having the Opportunities Fund. We can’t afford a way that’s going to be detrimental to us. We’ve had those discussions already with Canada. It makes no sense. It would be counterproductive to give us some room and then say now add $120 million or $150 million through the Opportunities Fund and negate all that work. That whole process is geared toward resolving those issues by April.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I made reference to the Tamerlane Ventures venture at the old Pine Point site. I notice today -- I can’t find the page where the Finance Minister referenced it -- he talked about several different potential mining projects but he left Tamerlane off the list.
The Finance Minister also kept making reference to Taltson and the supply of power to the mines and power purchase agreements. I can’t even guess how much money the government has spent running down that road of trying to sell hydro to the diamond mines. The diamond mines have a limited life. We have a small venture south of the lake which could bring amazing employment opportunities to Hay River, and economic activity. I want to know where this government is at. Like I say, it didn’t rank for mention in the budget address today. Where does the government see themselves putting a priority on doing what we can reasonably to assist with getting that project up and off the ground in terms of cost to power?
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was an oversight. The list of examples wasn’t meant to be exhaustive but it was fairly exhaustive, except for Tamerlane. I do acknowledge that. We could have easily put that in there as another example of a project that has great potential in the South Slave. We’re going to be looking at all those opportunities, as indicated in the budget address again, as we examine the assumptions for Taltson and all the related issues. The Premier will be standing up in the House during the life of this session to speak to the people and speak to this Legislature about the details that are currently being considered.
Hydro power went to Pine Point in the old Cominco days. Tamerlane’s site is so close to where the hydro went and where the road goes, it would seem that with all those kinds of proximity and access to services that this would kind of be a no-brainer in terms of this government lending some support to a project like this which has so much potential for a community like Hay River. As I said, we do appreciate the government infrastructure going in there, but let me tell you, with about 100 jobs on our doorstep right now, we could absorb vacant housing without any extra expansion. This one seems like it’s pretty straightforward. What is the government proactively doing to see what they can do to assist with getting this project off the ground?
My understanding is that the resource prices haven’t been high enough for them to proceed much further. We are interested as a government in looking at how we can be as supportive to any number of industries and projects like Tamerlane. I agree with the Member; it’s geographically located very close to the source. It’s on a highway system. It has many things in its favour. When the Premier stands up to speak in the next few weeks, he’ll be tying those together as we revisit the assumptions of the current project as well as what are some of the other factors that are being considered.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to say a few things on the budget. One of the issues that we talk about is to try to encourage employment and job opportunities in the Northwest Territories. What really frustrates me is I have 14 people in my riding of Aklavik and there are some 20 people being laid off from the Arctic Tern facility in Inuvik which gives us something like 38 people being laid off in the Inuvik region. I, for one, feel that we’re spending $1.4 million to promote awareness in southern Canada for jobs and life opportunities in the North. If those individuals in Aklavik alone, those 14 people, can’t find work, they have no choice but to leave. Probably their best bet for employment is to move to the Yukon. If those 14 people left the Northwest Territories, they will take almost $300,000 of transfer payments with them and never mind if their families leave with them. I think that this government is not very considerate of the individuals, the effect of layoffs, the effect of limited jobs in our communities.
We have some 45 percent unemployment in my riding. I have never expected in the last 15 years as a Member of this House that I would see 45 percent in my community. I think it’s frustrating that we come here and talk about a budget with all these great ideas and concepts but we are laying people off that are the hugely affected by unemployment and statistics in our communities. I think we’re sending the wrong message by spending $1.4 million in southern Canada when we can’t even find jobs for people who live here. I’d like to ask the Minister what exactly we’re going to do to ensure that we can keep the residents of the Northwest Territories employed so they don’t have to leave the Northwest Territories for work.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have to do a number of things in this area. We have to continue to look at bringing qualified people north to fill jobs that are hard to fill. At the same time, as I indicated to the Member for Tu Nedhe, there are investments being made in the small communities, the $925,000 that was just announced for the Small Community Employment Program, the $350,000 for student employment.
In Aklavik I understand that the affected employees will be given full consideration under the government’s Affected Employee Policy, that there will be a number of different jobs available. We have money in tourism that will hopefully assist in the small communities. We have a fairly significant amount of money being added to the SEED program so that there is money to try to encourage community entrepreneurs, especially in the smaller communities. We’ve just about doubled our Community Harvesters Fund. We’re trying to do a number of things to promote employment in the communities.
As we look at being creative and thinking outside the box, I think there are a number of areas that can be explored, possibly under housing and how to do maintenance in a more coordinated way in small communities. For example, where you have housing, you have municipalities, you have the government, all with significant assets and none with enough money to do the proper job and other opportunities to join forces and look at a collaborative approach at a community level. There would be enough maintenance work to be done that journeymen and apprentices could be hired that are currently now probably flown in from regional centres.
It will work great in a world where you have an economic base to work out of, but in our communities we don’t have that. The job opportunities are not there. I believe there is only the possibility of two people getting some sort of job within the government while the other 12 people are basically out in the cold. I’d like to ask the Minister what exactly are we realistically doing to invest in the people of the Northwest Territories, especially our young people who are going off to graduate from high school and getting post-secondary education only to be told, sorry, we’re spending $1.4 million to hire competition for the same job you’re coming home for. I find that kind of odd that on one hand you’re saying that, while we’re trying to get professionals to work in the Northwest Territories. Excuse me, the Aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories make up less than 30 percent of the workforce in the Government of the Northwest Territories but they make up over 50-some percent of the population. Yet we have an Affirmative Action Policy and the majority of the people that are being laid off in Aklavik are affirmative action candidates. Affirmative action numbers are going to go down again. I’d like to know from the Minister what exactly we’re going to do to ensure we have retention programs and services in place to retain resident jobs in the Northwest Territories for our residents.
As I’ve indicated, we have to do both. We have a program now where we, as a government, hire graduates on an interim basis, give them an opportunity to get settled and possibly find full-time employment. The Make Your Mark Program is critical. We hear it from businesses that they have trouble recruiting staff, many of them professional or very specialized kind of skills. We’re investing and working with over 40 companies, trying to meet their employment needs by assisting them. We know we have to do both. We’re investing significant amounts of money encouraging students to go out to school. We’re reviewing our Student Financial Assistance Program to make sure that it’s adequate as well.
Again in the budget we talk about sustainable communities. Every job we lose in our community makes that community unsustainable. It depends on capacity in the community, vibrant people working new jobs, dollars staying in our communities, and also ensuring that we have the capacity in those communities. So if we’re going to be laying off people in Joe Greenland who have LNs that basically have the education and training and those people who have been there for some time, I mean, this facility has been functioning for 32 years. There are a lot of people who are working there. I’d like to know what we’re doing, when you talk about sustainable communities, ensuring that those communities are realistically stable and that the government quit staking jobs out of the communities.
I’ve given a fairly extensive list of some of the program areas that are being funded and that support is there. We’re working, as well, with communities. At the same time we also know, as we talk about efficiencies and effectiveness, the issue of long-term care facilities and the fact that they can only be sustained in regional centres. That’s a direction that the government is going in because it’s the most efficient and affordable way to deal with the issue. At the same time we’re adding hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Home Care Program so that in fact we can work better and more effectively in the communities with the families and health centre and home care staff that are going to be hired to help assist in keeping folks, elders, and those with needs in their own communities in their own homes. Thank you.
Thank you Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary Mr. Krutko.
Thank you Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister, I know I requested this some time ago and yet we are almost at the end of the life of this government. We had a meeting with the Minister in regards to finding, in regards to the rural remote communities, of giving us actual cost breakdowns per program in each community, cost per program, number of jobs in those programs and exactly what the cost to operate programs and services are in our communities and the services that are being developed out there. I would like to ask the Minister if he could pull that information together. He has already committed to it, we haven’t received it and we only have a couple of months to go here, so I would like to ask him, can I get that information before the end of this session? Thanks.
I do recollect the discussion around the committee table about that basically geographical tracking information. I had understood it had been provided, but I will check and I will commit to the Member that we will get it to him during the life of this session, as he has requested. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to table the Main Estimates, 2011-2012, Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
