I have a constituent who is a subcontractor and did not receive payment from a government contract. It is an issue. I can tell the Minister that. It is an issue. I will give him the full details when we are out of the Chamber. The Government of Canada is doing more than looking at it. There is a bill called the Canada Prompt Payment Act currently in first reading. Is the Minister willing to develop a legislative proposal and to share that proposal with the standing committee so we can get to work on prompt payment legislation here in the Northwest Territories?
As I have stated, we have put this to the working committee. I have reached out to the Northern Construction Association. Based on one person, again, am I willing to make legislation? Possibly. I am willing to sit down with the Construction Association and see if this is something that is of utter importance that needs to be done in a timely manner, to have a look at it. As of right now, with one person, I am not ready to move on legislation.
When you combine prompt-payment issues with progress-payment issues with all of these payment issues, it seems there is a payment problem. Should I, as a private Member, bring forward a bill that would support a prompt-payment regime, would the government be in a position to support that legislation so we can get some work done in this House?
I can't control if the Member wants to bring a private Member's bill forward. I have said we have recognized this. We have reached out to the Northern Construction Association. We are monitoring what Ontario is doing. The federal government is pushing theirs through their House.
As far as progress payments go, that is a totally different issue than prompt payment. Progress payment seems to be an issue around the manufacturers' goods. We are coming forward with a manufacturers' strategy, a "what we heard" document. If that is an issue in those documents, then we will sit down and have that discussion.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the manufacturing strategy doesn't include a section on progress payments, prompt payments, and doesn't include a clear policy direction in that strategy to resolve this issue. Thank you.
We went out and talked to all the manufacturers in the Northwest Territories. We have gone to all the regions and had this discussion. I will be tabling in this Assembly, in this session, the "what we heard" report around the manufacturers' strategy. I haven't even had a close look at it myself yet. I suspect that, if this is an issue with the manufacturers, it will be in the "what we heard" report. We will have a look at it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to visitors in the gallery. With us is Mr. David Ramsay, former Minister and former Member. Welcome. I would also like to recognize a constituent from Behchoko, Louis Chinkon, who is here with us. Masi for coming. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today, I was asking questions of the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. I would like to follow up with some follow-up questions. In the 2017-2018 budget, can the Minister advise how much money the department has given to municipal governments for recreation and if the money differs from community to community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the money does differ between communities. In the budget, we had $825,000 in sports and recreation funding that we annually give to the community governments. Depending on the community size, et cetera, they range between $15,000 and $85,000 in sports and recreation funding annually. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister talked about $8.3 million into the recreation fund, $4.7 from Western Lotteries and $3.6 from the other areas. Can the Minister advise: does the department consider programs such as Youth Corps, Youth Contribution, and Youth Centre as programs for recreation funding?
No. The department doesn't consider funding provided through the youth programs as sports and recreation funding. Those are treated as separate budgets and have separate program delivery.
I thank the Minister for that answer. I guess I am going to have to sit down with the Minister and get a clear understanding of where this money is, because I don't think the numbers are crunching together as they should. My last question: does the department consider Children and Youth Resiliency Program as a recreation program or something different?
No, the department doesn't consider the Children and Youth Resiliency Program as part of its total for sports and recreation funding.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation on the procurement of their projects. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister if the NWT Housing Corporation uses BIP? Thank you.
Masi. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the NWT Housing Corporation does use the BIP process as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
In my community of Fort Resolution, there are many very highly skilled individuals who can build houses and do all kinds of things. An example is in most big projects in the community, like the health centre that was just recently completed, I think they had one or possibly two people from outside the community, and the entire health centre was built, but they can't seem to get to work on the houses. Most of the housing projects go to members from outside the community. They come in because there are some people having difficulty getting BIP or some liability insurance, and so on. Would the Minister consider using a contribution agreement with a local organization, whether it be the hamlet, the band, the Metis, using contribution agreements to deliver projects to the community members in Fort Resolution?
The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation does try to work with communities. We do try to support local labour. Sometimes, though, the proposals that come in are just not doable; their bids are actually not reasonable. So sometimes we do have to go outside of the community. We do try to stay within the Northwest Territories, though, so again, we do try to support the communities as much as possible. We will look at negotiated contracts under the Negotiated Contracts Policy to actually help communities to build up their capacity; not for large corporations that have been in business for many, many years, but for organizations that are trying to get a head start.
I'm just asking, not for a negotiated contract, but rather something a little bit different, something that's probably common and doable with the Housing Corporation, to sign a contribution agreement with the community, whether it be the NWT Housing Corporation's own agency, the Fort Resolution Housing Authority, or the band, or the Metis. I think a contribution agreement is kind of two-fold; first, it's going to create employment for the local people, and secondly, it's going to actually get the projects done for the community. It’s just that, when it goes to a neighbouring community, then the contractor will make two trips in, and then the money's gone. So I'd like to ask the Minister if she would take a closer look at the system of having the money flow through a contribution agreement or a local organization?
As stated, we do try to support local labour, whenever possible; sometimes it's not doable. We have committed. I mean, we do learn from previous mistakes; we're trying to better the programs so that people have better access to housing and better work experiences. So there are some things we're doing. We're doing a community initiative program that works with Aboriginal and municipal governments, in partnership, to deal with issues in their community; everybody having something in the pot. We are looking at individual community plans, such as we've done with Fort Good Hope, which was one of our first ones, actually. So within that community, we're looking at their needs, specifically, and how we can work better.
The Hay River Reserve, we're working with Chief Fabian, to see how we can support labour in his community, because they haven't had a chance. We worked with Salt River First Nations to develop housing needs. So we are trying to work with the communities as best as possible, but recognizing that sometimes we can't support local labour. If they come in, if I have a two-bedroom housing unit, which I did one time, that I put out for tender, and the bids were coming in at over a $1 million, I can't accept that, Mr. Speaker. So they have to be reasonable. I want to be reasonable, but I also need people to be reasonable.
Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have very reasonable people in Fort Resolution. Mr. Speaker, I know that the Housing Corporation has a method in which they can do contribution agreements. Now, the Minister is correct that they're moving in that direction, and we're not talking about bidding on houses. Unreasonable bids, bids to lose contracts, I'm not talking about those. I'm actually talking about mostly elders in the community who are homeowners, where they need help, and when they go in with the size of the project that the Housing Corporation has to offer, it usually takes two small trips in from a contractor from outside the community and then money's gone. So then the elder has to wait one more year in order to then apply again. You see, that is unreasonable, actually. So I'd like to ask the Minister if the Minister would work with me to work with the community -- it's not only for Fort Resolution; I represent four communities -- to work with me to see if a contribution method would be a way that we could get the projects completed for the elders in the riding of Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh? Thank you.
I agree. It's totally unreasonable that people who are homeowners are people who can't access services. I heard a story once when I first started that somebody had applied in one of the smaller communities, and it may have been the honourable MLA's communities, had applied for some repair programs, and we gave them a grant of $10,000. By the time they paid for their contractor to come in, stay, travel, stay in their community, they got a kitchen sink for $10,000, Mr. Speaker. That is not okay, and that is not reasonable. In order to address that in a reasonable way, I have changed the program, Mr. Speaker, so that, if we do give people a $10,000 grant, the contractor's costs are outside that $10,000. The $10,000 will be put directly into services so that the next time I won't hear that their kitchen sink cost $10,000. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Time for oral questions has expired. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to return to the orders of the day, point number five, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, I'd like to recognize my oldest son; not my favourite son, my oldest son. As he says all the time, it's my favourite son, but I have to correct that. I'd like to recognize my son, Gordon Thompson, in the Assembly today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Well, Gordon, you just have to work harder at it. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to take this opportunity to recognize and welcome Yellowknife North constituent, former Member and former Minister Dave Ramsay.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The annual budgets of the Government of the Northwest Territories are basically covering two major areas: number one, operations and maintenance; number two, capital spending for upgrades of our continuous infrastructure. Our capital spending helps provide investment certainty for the businesses that operate within our territory, as well as investors.
The Government of the Northwest Territories continues to face many challenges with aging infrastructure, aging assets, building new infrastructure, modernizing our regulatory systems, unforeseen expenditures resulting from the impacts of climate change, and we need to maintain public confidence in our delivery of programs and services.
The principle of government, Mr. Speaker, outside of normal day-to-day operations is to develop resources using responsible practices. These include a sound regulatory system, regime, modernizing legislation, public engagement, and, most importantly, working with the Indigenous landowners. Only with our vision for prosperity in the Northwest Territories, prudent and proper targets for our work, independence, and sound investment will we achieve our destiny.
Encouraging and expanding industry's presence in the North is achievable if we have a fair regulatory climate and effective land-access systems. Industry's presence creates royalties and corporate income taxes as well as meaningful jobs. Corporations also provide meaningful benefits directly to the communities. One only has to look at the $500,000 for school books for Indigenous youth; $600,000 to assist the construction of the Kimberlite Career and Technical Centre here in Yellowknife; as well as the $100,000 cement floor for the Lutselk'e arena, just to name a few.
It is important that we train northern workers for the jobs in industry. The Government of Canada contributes to the Mine Training Society, which runs a variety of programs to develop staff for the resource sector and to improve the safety knowledge of the workplace.
Creating a vibrant, sustainable economy means balancing the needs of our remote northern communities, regional centres, and the capital city while maintaining affordable programs and services for both residents and governments. We might view these as fixed income for our territory. Spending by government helps to sustain us as well as provide economy confidence.
Mr. Speaker, the 2018-2019 budget address forecasted $84 million less in revenue than the first year of our term. This can be attributed to the world commodity prices beyond our control, tax decisions by corporations operating here, and temporary closure of the Enbridge line 21, which triggered the stop-work order for the production of the Norman Wells oil field.
I voiced my support for the repair of this pipeline at the public hearings, last October and this past January, of the National Energy Board and the Northwest Territories Land and Water Board. Now it seems the pipeline repair will proceed, adding $53 million in replacement and repair expenditures to the local economy over a five-month period. In addition to the repair, royalty revenues will resume after the operations start up again and oil begins to flow. This is a prime example of our regulatory system in collaboration with all stakeholders, including local Indigenous communities, including the supports for industry.
Collaboration is needed for the health of our economy and our government's revenue. We live and work in a remote area with high costs for almost everything we need and everything we do, but our distance from the rest of the world does not free us from the pressures of global pricing. These are very real challenges for industry and for our government.
Our government also faces the challenge of replacing aging infrastructure and assets. We can only put off that kind of spending for as long as again. Again, it is the question of balancing figuring out how to keep our programs and services as well as meet the needs of our infrastructure.
It is pretty clear that our government cannot satisfy every need with the resources it has at hand. It is just not possible. Priorities had to be set, and we have done the best we could. Both Regular MLAs and our Cabinet friends across from us have worked very hard on the business plans that led up to Budget 2018-2019. Everything considered, the budget we have before us is not as bad as one would think. We might polish the edges a little bit, and we certainly need to work with the Government of Canada to get additional resources with the programs announced. I would not recommend increasing taxes until we have exhausted all options available. It would only discourage the small northern communities which are struggling to meet the day-to-day challenges of growth as well as looking after their families. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table to following document released by the Dene Nahjo, a report prepared with the Gordon Foundation entitled "We are One Mind - Perspectives from Emerging Indigenous Leaders on the Arctic Policy Framework." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Tabling of documents. Minister of Lands.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "Northwest Territories Surface Rights Board 2017-2018 Budget, Strategic Plan, Business Plan and Five-Year Forecast." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Tabling of documents. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I would like to table the following three documents: number one, "Many Ways to Lose a Billion - How Governments Fail to Secure a Fair Share of Natural Resource Wealth, by Don Hubert, PhD, for Publish What You Pay Canada"; "Press Release by Responsible Mining Northwest Territories - NGOs Encourage GNWT to Produce Modern Mining Legislation"; and the last document, Mr. Speaker, is "A New Shared Arctic Leadership Model, from Mary Simon, Special Representative of Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, Submitted March 2017." Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Tabling of documents.
Pursuant to section 99 of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, I hereby table the Northwest Territories Conflict of Interest Commissioner Annual Report to the Legislative Assembly for 2017.
