The terminology of interim measures is exactly that. We don’t really have a program in place currently in a lot of our communities and highway infrastructures. My guess is that an interim proviso in terms of providing any type of ground ambulance protocols or anything that they have will enhance what we don’t have today and would probably be better than having nothing.
My question is: Would the department consider interim measures for ground ambulance support in community highway infrastructures during this fiscal year?
One of the things we’re working on is updating the Highway Emergency Alerting Protocol. As far as the interim measures go, I mean, I mentioned before that we’re trying to get some first responder training so we have some folks that are able to respond. We’re looking at different types of equipment they might need.
As far as implementing an interim service, that’s a huge undertaking, and I think we’d have to, as a department, have a look at that. We’d have to do our due diligence on that because it is going to be a huge undertaking. Even though it would be just an interim measure, there’s a lot more to it than just putting a piece of equipment on the ground and hoping somebody can use it.
I will commit to the Member that we will… I mean, all the Members’ concerns that were raised, I think I’ve committed to pretty well all of them that we will have a look at them. It’s what we continue to do as a department. When we come back for business plan discussions and have a back and forth with committee, there’s opportunity there for them to raise these particular types of issues and see if there are ways they could fit them into the business plan. We look forward to that discussion. Hopefully, by the time we get to that stage we’ll have more information to share with the Members.
I appreciate the Minister’s commitment to looking at these. I’m not expecting a piece of equipment on the ground. I’m not expecting that we go out and hire and train someone to be at post. I believe that if the department, in their infinite wisdom and all the tools and resources at their fingertips, can come up with temporary solutions until such time as we do have a formal process for ground ambulance safety. Will the department and the Minister commit to temporary solutions during this interim phase?
I said I would commit to exploring it. I can’t make a commitment right here to actually implement it, but I will commit to exploring it and then returning to the Members.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Page 6-17, Municipal and Community Affairs, activity summary, public safety, operations expenditure summary, $1.629 million.
Agreed.
Page 6-18, Municipal and Community Affairs, activity summary, public safety, grants and contributions, total grants and contributions, $200,000.
Agreed.
Page 6-19, Municipal and Community Affairs, information item, public safety, active positions.
Agreed.
Page 6-21, Municipal and Community Affairs, activity summary, community operations, operations expenditure summary, $2.483 million. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to ask with respect to the Minister’s opening comment on page 2 of 4 at the bottom, the increased operations and maintenance funding and water/sewer funding due to population growth, explaining some of the forced growth funding there. I believe we actually are in negative or stable on population. I’m wondering what that was about. Is it people moving into the centres or what would that be about? Are costs going down elsewhere, where people move from?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Ms. Young.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The O and M funding forced growth calculation includes population as well as other indicators, like the cost of utilities. There is a salary indicator – for example, the GNWT salary positions are used as an indicator – so if there’s an increase in the Collective Agreement, there’s a calculation for O and M funding to increase the funding based on those salary increases as well. Population is one of about four factors that are included in calculating forced growth for O and M.
Thanks for that information. I guess I would select the ones that apply and leave out the ones that don’t. There’s a couple of them mentioned here, the fuel and electricity. I think our funding, the Minister said about $47 million to provide for community government operations and maintenance costs. What was the increase in that amount due to these factors?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The forced growth funding, community government operations and maintenance funding went up by $1.37 million; water and sewer funding operations, $1.2 million; water and sewer funding classification, $413,000; grants in lieu of property taxes, $223,000; Collective Agreement increases, year one and two, $338,000; Property Tax Revenue Grant Program, $119,000.
That’s all I had. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Page 6-21, Municipal and Community Affairs, activity summary, community operations, operations expenditure summary, $2.483 million. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Just one last question with regard to those. Yellowknife obviously seems to be a bit of a magnet for people from across the NWT for people who choose to move somewhere. Are some of these increases going to Yellowknife in recognition of that?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Ms. Young.
Yes. The operations and maintenance funding, all communities received an increase this year and, of course, grant in lieu would be an increase for the City of Yellowknife as well. They do not receive any water/sewer funding the way the formula there works, so they don’t get an increase in that.
I’ll leave it at that. I’m not worried about the amounts too much right here.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a question again in terms of community operations. At this point, it’s fairly consistent practice that the department works very well with communities in terms of delivering water services to most communities. I just wanted to know, there’s one community in particular that’s very interested in wild water, of course, by going into the subsurface and then piping the water from underground. What’s the department’s stand on it? Is there a policy? Are there health-related concerns? What’s the department’s perspective on that?
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Mr. Williams.
Thank you, Madam Chair. We have no policy on how we extract water. Usually we use traditional knowledge from the community. We also get advice from our engineering people, consultants that we hire, but there is no policy, per se, on the best way to draw water.
I think one of the very explicit policies that the community is going by is looking at the cost measure in terms of doing some comparative analysis in terms of having trucked water versus having their own source water and whether the department continues to engage the community in this enterprise and whether, at some point, there could be a common ground in terms of meeting their desires to ensure that they have their own water source. Has that discussion been ongoing with the community?
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Minister McLeod.
The Member is correct. There have been ongoing discussions with the community, because we had heard from them that they were looking at identifying their own water source, so we have had ongoing discussions with them. Where it’s at right now, I’m not quite sure. I will follow up with the officials and see where those discussions are and I will inform the Member.
Thank you, Minister. Committee, page 6-21, Municipal and Community Affairs, activity summary, community operations, operations expenditure summary, $2.483 million.
Agreed.
We’re agreed, committee. Page 6-22, Municipal and Community Affairs, activity summary, community operations, grants and contributions, contributions, $185,000.
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Page 6-23, Municipal and Community Affairs, information item, community operations, active positions. Any questions?
Agreed.
Page 6-25, Municipal and Community Affairs, activity summary, School of Community Government, operations expenditure summary, $3.076 million. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The School of Community Government is obviously a busy place. They provide training in areas that include a long list such as governance, management, lands, infrastructure, bylaw enforcement, fire protection, water and wastewater, emergency management, works, asset management and finances. For a number of years I’ve been asking if they would consider giving energy management courses, because, of course, that’s a primary area for savings and so on. Is that included? Are they doing that now?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister McLeod.
Thank you, Madam Chair. My understanding is that the courses that they’re offering have been updated to include exactly what Member Bromley is talking about, the energy courses.
I appreciate that response. It would be wonderful if committee could get information on that so we know what’s happening there and we don’t have to ask it again. Maybe we could even add it to the long list here.
We’ll be pleased to get an updated course list and provide it to Members.
Thank you, Minister. Committee, we’re on page 6-25, Municipal and Community Affairs, activity summary, School of Community Government, operations expenditure summary, $3.076 million.
Agreed.
We are agreed, committee? I’m hearing nothing from my left side. Page 6-26, Municipal and Community Affairs, activity summary, School of Community Government, grants and contributions, contributions, $680,000.
Agreed.
Page 6-27, Municipal and Community Affairs, information item, School of Community Government, active positions. Any questions?
Agreed.
Page 6-29, Municipal and Community Affairs, activity summary, lands administration, operations expenditure summary, $3.047 million. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I know the Minister’s ready for me here. I’m just wondering where we’re at with the Recreational Leasing Policy. I think we’re hoping that it’s going to be done by the end of the month, but I know the public’s keenly interested, and we’ve been through one iteration, and I think there’s some hope that there will be another chance to look at it before being finalized, but maybe I can get the Minister to start me off on that.
