Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Follow-up to my Member’s statement, I have a few questions for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. I would like to ask the Minister: how have MACA and the hamlet communicated Fort McPherson’s financial issues and the next steps to correct them to the residents of the community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we work with the community. We explain to them the situation that was in the community and some of the changes that had to be made, that we made some adjustment to some of the rates in the community. I can be glad to say that the financial situation in the community has improved. We are looking at reinstating the council and mayor in the fall. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, with earlier discussions with the Minister, I know that we are awaiting the audit to get things back to the way it used to be. I would like to ask the Minister what is being done to stabilize local water rates and other municipal services in the community.
Mr. Speaker, we are not interested in getting things back to the way they used to be because the way things used to be was they had a huge deficit in the community, and we are not interested in getting back into that situation. The adjustments that were made to the water rates in the community reflected the cost of doing business in the community. We had heard, when we had made the adjustment, that there was some concern with the elders’ rates, so we adjusted that. My understanding was the rates were adjusted again on April 1st. I think they may have even come down. But I will confirm that.
What I meant to say was the actual water rates that people paid before. Mr. Speaker, people in the community are paying twice as much as any other community in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister agree to look into the most recent issues and help Fort McPherson manage its water services in a way that is affordable and adequate for the residents?
Mr. Speaker, as I said before, the water rates in the community reflect the cost of delivering water in the community. For a long time the community had very low water rates that were never adjusted and there was a bit of a sticker shock when they were adjusted, but I commend the community of McPherson. They stepped up to the plate and they realized that they were doing their part. We can review the whole thing, but to go back to the water rates that they had before would probably just put them back into the position that they were in before.
Masi. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know in the community meeting that was held this spring the department said that they would look into possibly getting water from the Peel River which would bring down the cost of delivering water in the community. Is the department looking at that for this coming fall? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we will work with the new council and mayor once they’re elected if that is a priority of the community to change their water source and then we will look at that. We’ve had a number of communities across the Northwest Territories take advantage of the water treatment plant program and we can work with the community if it’s a desire of theirs. Because I take the Member’s point and I think I’ve heard from the community as well that I think there is a distance to drive to get water to the community, so we’ll explore that option with the new mayor and council when they get sworn in, and if it is a priority of theirs then we’ll try and advance it.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
