Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a few questions for the Minister of MACA. This past spring, there was an update to the community, and I just wanted to check with the Minister to make sure that we are in fact on track as the update to the community was last given. I would like to ask the Minister: what is the status of the Hamlet of Fort McPherson? Are we in fact out of the deficit? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In July 2014, we met with the community of Fort McPherson and we were concerned about their financial situation. At the time, we said that we were going to place them under a municipal supervisor, which actually became the municipal administrator as well. We dissolved council and we took over the operations of the community of Fort McPherson.
I have to commend the people of Fort McPherson. We had made some changes early on that they weren't happy with. They let us know. We made some adjustments, especially to the elders' water rates, and they worked with the community, they worked with the department, to try to address their financial situation. I'm happy to report, Mr. Speaker, that we still are on track. We are still waiting for last year's audit. That's up to, I think, March 31, 2016. My understanding is the work has been done; we're just waiting for the final audit. We’re anticipating that there is going to be a surplus after many years of a very large deficit. That was a commitment of the people we had in there doing the work and the residents of Fort McPherson. We are on schedule.
Also during the update, the department said they were going to go through the hiring process for an SAO for the community. I'd just like to ask the Minister: was an SAO hired for the community at this time?
I'm not quite sure an SAO has been hired. I think they were going through the advertising and maybe the interview process, but I will follow up on that. Also, I think there was a commitment at the time that we were going to have elections again. That is still the plan, to have elections in December and have the new council take office January 2017.
That brings me to my next question: during this update, the department said that they will be offering courses under the School of Community Government for training for councillors and also the future mayor. I'd just like to ask the Minister: when will these courses be offered in the community? I really look forward to that.
Through the School of Community Government, we do offer courses to elected officials after municipal elections, and we will do so in this case. It’s actually a very good course and it tells them of their responsibilities, what they can do, what they can't do. Through the accountability framework that we have implemented now, I think it's going to allow us to nip these problems before they get to be to the stage where they were at in Fort McPherson. That's going to be one of the benefits of the accountability framework, is it will protect the community from getting into a financial situation like we've seen a few communities have got into in the past. We look forward to the courses that will be offered to the new council in Fort McPherson, and we look forward to them taking over the operation of their own community.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At the community meeting, what the people actually wanted to see was these courses offered before the election. That way people will know which responsibilities the council will have before they actually run. I'd just like to ask the Minister if they would be willing to offer these courses through the fall. Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, the Member makes a good point, and I will check with the department and see if there are opportunities. We'll explore options and see if there are opportunities for us to offer these courses before the elections actually take place, so those that are considering running for council will know exactly what they're getting into and what they're responsible for. I'll follow up on that and I will get back to the Member.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
