Debates of May 14, 2007 (day 6)

Total department, not previously authorized, $2.851 million.

Speaker: SOME HON. MEMBERS

Agreed.

Page 10, Finance, operations expenditures, directorate, not previously authorized, $8,000.

Speaker: SOME HON. MEMBERS

Agreed.

Total department, not previously authorized, $8,000.

Speaker: SOME HON. MEMBERS

Agreed.

Page 11, Municipal and Community Affairs, operations expenditures, directorate, not previously authorized, negative $6,000. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I had a few questions regarding funding for two regional resource development impact advisors. It was a few years back where the two positions came in and I believe they came in through supplementary appropriation as well. They were to be sunset after two years. I guess we are reaching the end of the two-year period. We had hired these two individuals to work in the regions on resource development impacts. We don’t have a pipeline yet. So the first question I would have is what did these two individuals do for the past two years and how do we measure performance for positions like this in the absence of any resource development? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. I think we are going a little bit ahead, but maybe I will get the Minister to answer.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the information we’ve been provided is areas that staff positions have been involved with in preparation for pipeline activities is community profiles have been accomplished or completed for half of the communities in the impact area; identified community issues and concerns for inclusion in the GNWT general submission to the JRP; ongoing liaison with community governments during negotiations of the SEA, including feedback on proposed methods of addressing the issues; assisted community governments in the development of proposals for the delivery of programs using previously available funding; as well as organized regional follow-up meetings. For more detail, we could go to the Minister responsible, if that’s required.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Perhaps I would look to the Minister of MACA for some more information on this, but judging what Minister Roland had to say, a lot of the work that these individuals would have been doing the past two years is something MACA would do just as a matter of course; community profiles, working with communities, setting up meetings. That’s pretty basic run-of-the-mill type of work, Mr. Chairman. I would like to ask the Minister responsible for MACA how he gauges the performance of two positions like this and how does he defend them coming again for renewal here, $291,000 for an additional two years, or one year, or what the story is. Maybe I will look to the Minister for some answers. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. McLeod.

Michael McLeod

Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Chairman, sorry. Initially, we had four positions on a term expecting hearings and negotiations to be completed by this coming year. However, as everybody knows, the project has continued to move forward not as quickly as everybody expected. We have done a lot of work in terms of working with the communities to do the baseline studies. As the Member has indicated, we would expect MACA to have these as a matter of course. However, that’s not the case. We don’t have the information as to what assets are in the community, what size, what the capacity is. We also developed a template of different things that the communities could use as part of the tool kit to talk with industry. There has been a lot of discussion; there has been a lot of work done in the areas. We are now looking for continued work in that area. We are looking for two positions. I guess the biggest part of the work that needs to be done is the negotiation of the access and service agreement. The larger centres are probably not aware because money has been provided to them to negotiate those agreements directly. In the case of all the other communities, the proponent has indicated that they are not willing to negotiate access and services with each community and they expect this government to do that on their behalf. So that was one of the bigger parts of what this ask is for. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I find it a little hard to believe that MACA doesn’t know the capacity in each and every one of our communities. That is their mandate. They have to know what’s going on there. I know the government, years ago, used to publish community profiles, a booklet, when the Northwest Territories included Nunavut. It published a yearly book on community profiles and it was quite detailed. I am not sure if we are still doing that type of work. From time to time, when we look at communities, somebody gives us something. It’s called community profile and it’s got some information in there, but this is the kind of work that I am surprised to hear that it doesn’t get done and the department doesn’t know what the various capacities are in the communities. It’s something I think for a variety of other reasons, especially when it comes to funding, Mr. Chairman, we’ve had some questions on the capacities in various communities and what it is. So I think that work has to get done.

I didn’t hear the Minister say how long these positions are for. Are they indeterminate positions forever and a day or are they two more terms? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I believe they are for a term of two years.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Ramsay.

No, that’s good, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Page 11, Municipal and Community Affairs, operations expenditures, directorate, not previously authorized, negative $6,000.

Speaker: SOME HON. MEMBERS

Agreed.

Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. One more question on page 11 and that has to do with the funding to support the implementation activities associated with the New Deal for communities. If I remember correctly, the original number that was the ask by MACA was for $100,000. I just wanted some more information. The committee said they wanted that money taken out, but it’s come back as half; $50,000 instead of $100,000. So I wanted to ask the Minister what the impact of not having $100,000 would be and what is going to happen with the $50,000?

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Member is right; we had looked at the recommendations committee had made in a number of areas and went back to departments with a discussion what was requested. It was felt that there still needed to be some investment in this area for what was required, and we can go to Minister McLeod for the detail to substantiate that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. McLeod.

Michael McLeod

Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The New Deal initiative has been undertaken and it’s all been handled with funding from within up until now. We have never requested any additional resources to implement this whole initiative. Things have been going very well. However, it’s taken up the dedication from a lot of our staff people. There are a number of projects that have been deferred and delayed because of that. The trans fund didn’t move forward as fast as we would like it to happen because we needed the resources to work on a New Deal. That’s the same with the discussion paper on the Planning Act. The granular study was something that didn’t go as quickly as we wanted because we didn’t have the resources. We had indicated we needed $100,000 to provide the support. It was recommended that this be reduced. We figure we can go ahead and $50,000 will help us. It will mean that we can’t move ahead on some of the initiatives that we are working on now, including the Planning Act, the Lotteries Act and a number of things. If the money is not there, we will really have a problem. It’s a huge undertaking to do some of this work that requires us to provide the technical work, the financial analysis and the training support to community governments as we progress. It’s something we need to do and we can’t move away from it. If the resources are not there for us to support this, then we will have to take it from other places.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Minister is obviously much more aware of what the capacity is inside the department to carry out the work that needs to get done. Judging by his comments, there is more work than there are people or whatever. This $50,000, I know he said it’s to support. Does that mean you are looking at a new PY, somebody coming in to do the job, or what does he mean in terms of support? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the understanding is this funding is to support the workers of MACA to do workshops to help put a framework together, as well as develop the tool kit the Minister earlier made reference to. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So the $50,000 is going towards developing a tool kit and putting on some workshops. Is that right?