Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the newly minted Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. I’d like to congratulate him on his initiation into question period previously.
I’d like to follow up on my Member’s statement with regard to options for community governments and assistance that might be available for them. I’d like to ask the Minister what options or what services exist at this time that will provide assistance to communities when they feel that it is needed under their lack of capacity under the New Deal.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member for that. The communities have always asked for the right to make their own choices, and I think that under this New Deal they have that. But there is an understanding that there may be some capacity issues. I think MACA has gone a long way in trying to help the communities deal with some of the capacity issues. They’ve provided a lot of support to them in the way of advice and assistance and financial management support. They’ve made themselves readily available for any support to the communities, as much as they possibly can, to help them take advantage of the monies gained in the New Deal.
Thanks to the Minister for that answer. That’s about what I expected.
Interjections.
No, no, it was not nothing. It was very much something, but it was something I already knew.
I’d like to follow up and ask the Minister whether or not there is currently a pot of money available to communities that would provide assistance to them for large infrastructure projects.
I’m not sure if the Member’s expecting this answer, but I’m going to give it anyway. Twenty-eight million dollars is available to community governments as part of the capital formula funding, and also there’s additional money, like $7.5 million available under the Gas Tax Agreement. There’s $43 million going to community governments under the Building Canada Fund, which is available over seven years. MACA is in the process of communicating with the communities and asking for their identification of projects by December of this year.
Thank you, Minister. I’m glad to hear that you’re communicating with the communities. That’s a good thing.
I would like to ask for the Minister’s opinion relative to the suggestion for an infrastructure fund proposal that was mentioned in my statement. Does he see the merit in such a proposal, and will this Minister take on the task of convincing the Finance Minister that we should include such a fund in our 2009–10 operations budget?
I take the Member’s suggestion. We should have to look at any options that are presented to us by Members on the other side of the House and bring them before the departments and amongst our Cabinet colleagues to see if there’s some merit to them. I will commit to having a look into this and seeing what I can do. Like I said earlier, I have a briefing with the department this afternoon. So by tomorrow I’ll be hopefully up to speed.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. You always were up to speed in my books.
I appreciate the answer that you gave in terms of numbers and the millions and millions of dollars that is available to communities, but that is not just for infrastructure projects. That funding has to go for them to operate their communities, and when a large infrastructure project such as a water treatment plant needs to be done to keep up with federal regulations, there’s not really extra money available for that.
I’d like to ask the Minister if he would commit to consultation with the NWT Association of Communities in the establishment of an infrastructure fund so that we get a fund that works for the communities and not one that simply creates problems for them in its use.
Thanks to the Member for that. First, I’m going to work with the department and, like I said, familiarize myself with all that we can and can’t do and what’s available and what’s not available. I think once I get that done, then I’ll probably be in a better position to make a commitment.
But like I said, I’ve committed a couple of times already today — I should be good for a while — to try and familiarize myself with the department as much as possible so I’m in a better position to give good, solid, concrete answers to many of the Members’ questions. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
