Thank you, committee. Please return to page 369. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a question that relates to page 370, which is an information item. It's a revenue summary item. What I understand here is that the Government of the Northwest Territories is providing less money and the CMHC is providing less money to the Housing Corporation in the next fiscal year, to the tune of about $10 million. Just for clarification, this is even after the new bilateral agreement has been taken into consideration. Is that correct?
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll go to Mr. Martin on this one. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Martin.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, there have been a couple of notable decreases here, first off with respect to the GNWT contribution. This is primarily explained as a result of the RCMP funding allocation to support the Housing Corporation with that initiative. The last year in which the Housing Corporation received the final allocation for that initiative was in 2018-2019, and that was to the tune of about $8 million in 2018-2019, so that explains a significant component of that change. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you. Ms. Green.
Thank you, and then, the reduction in the CMHC funding, could the witness provide some detail on that, as well? Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Martin.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With regard to the CMHC funding, what's reflected there at this time is a sunset of $1.84 million associated with the previous IAH, Investment in Affordable Housing, funding agreement that the Housing Corporation had in place for the last 10 years. 2018-2019 is the last year in which the Housing Corporation was receiving the $1.8 million under that older agreement. Currently, the additional $2.4 million that has yet to be incorporated into our budget, associated with the bilateral funding allocation for 2019-2020, that will be added to the CMHC funding eventually, and that will offset that $1.84 million reduction. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. If I understand correctly, it won't just offset the reduction; it will actually increase the amount of money coming from CMHC. Is that the correct?
Thank you. Mr. Martin.
That is correct, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the detail on that. I am wondering if I could get a commitment from the Minister to add this information to the letter that he is already writing to the standing committee. Thank you.
Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, we will make that commitment and get it to standing committee. Thank you.
Thank you. Ms. Green.
Thank you to the witness for their responses. Nothing further.
Thank you, Ms. Green. NWT Housing Corporation, total, $103,906,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of the NWT Housing Corporation?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Thank you to the Minister. Thank you to the witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, you may escort the witnesses from the Chamber. Committee, we have agreed to next consider the Department of Lands, which begins on page 301 of the document. I will turn to the Minister responsible for opening comments. Minister Sebert.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to present the 2019-2020 Main Estimates for the Department of Lands. Overall, the department's estimates propose an increase of $1,847,000, or 9 percent over the 2018-2019 Main Estimates.
These estimates continue to support the objectives of limiting expenditure growth in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the fiscal framework. These estimates continue to support the priorities of the 18th Legislative Assembly through the management and administration of sustainable use of public land in the Northwest Territories.
Highlights of the proposed estimates include new initiative funding totalling $1,677,000 to further enhance our ability to responsibly manage land in the Northwest Territories. This includes funding of $674,000 in 2019-2020 to support a two-year initiative for the establishment of a Wek'eezhii land use planning committee and planning office.
Building on work that began in 2018-2019, these estimates also include funding of $674,000 for 2019-2020 to continue to advance work for the management of untenured and unauthorized occupancy of public lands. This initiative includes a number of term positions to support this work, including a land administrator position, a strategic analyst sustainability position, and a resource management officer II position.
To support the department's core functions, these estimates include $200,000 for one indeterminate geotechnical advisor to provide land-related geotechnical knowledge and $129,000 for one indeterminate geomatics analyst.
To further advance work that began in 2018-2019 to address equity leases in the Northwest Territories, the department's estimates include an additional $563,000 to fund a total of five positions, for three years, to address this land tenure issue. Four lands specialist positions dedicated to this initiative are located in Fort Simpson, Inuvik, Fort Smith, and Yellowknife, with the team lead position located in Fort Smith.
Lands' estimates include a sunset of one-time funding of $50,000, which was approved in support of the Agriculture Strategy implementation initiative led by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, as well as a sunset of $106,000 for transition allowances for devolved federal employees previously approved for a five-year term beginning in 2014-2015.
To support our mandate commitments in the area of land use planning, these estimates provide for the Department of Lands to continue to coordinate the Government of the Northwest Territories' input into the development of regional land use plans, including capacity building and contribution funding to Indigenous governments in areas without completed land use plans. In addition to the work with the Tlicho and federal government to support land use planning for public lands in the Wek'eezhii area, the department is leading the development of an approach to land use planning for the southeast portion of the Northwest Territories. Work in this area will be further enhanced with the completion of the department's strategic approach to land use planning NWT-wide, which is expected to be released in early 2019-2020.
These estimates also continue to support the high inspection standards that mitigate potential risk on public land dispositions, as well as those that may exist in relation to activities that have been permitted by the department or the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board.
This concludes my opening remarks. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. I understand that you have witnesses you wish to bring into the Chamber. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Minister, please take your seat at the witness table. Minister, would you please introduce your witnesses for the record.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Deputy Minister Willard Hagen is to my left, and Brenda Hilderman, director of finance and administration, is to my left.
Thank you. Committee, there are three activities in this department. The departmental total is found on page 305. However, we will defer that until consideration of the activities, the first of which, corporate management, begins on page 308. Comments or questions to this activity? Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. Actually, I think it is further down where land use planning is found. Yes. Okay, I have it. Sorry, I'm just getting my notes together. Sorry, the items that I have are further down into the business plan. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Lands, corporate management, operations expenditures summary, $3,446,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We are already a third of the way through the department. Moving on to the next activity, operations, beginning on page 312. I will give committee a moment. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I think that this is the part of the budget where a whole bunch of people are being moved out to the Department of Finance for the ISSS. Is that correct? Thanks.
Thank you. Minister, could you please clarify?
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. I understand that the mains have been restated to exclude that change.
Now, Mr. O'Reilly, would you like to rephrase the question, perhaps?
I am trying to understand the answer. So, in last year's business plan, is this where we would have found all of those wonderful GIS people who in this budget would have been moved out to the Department of Finance? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Ms. Hilderman.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Our 2018-2019 Main Estimates had a fourth activity, which was the Informatics Shared Services Centre, so, with a major reorganization, restructure, then the mains are restated. That activity is no longer in Department of Lands' main estimates. It now appears within Department of Finance's. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.
Okay, so now we have the "ministry of the evaporating function" within Lands. So, okay, Mr. Chair, where can I ask, then, about the indeterminate geomatics analyst position that the Minister spoke of in his opening remarks? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Yes, that is within this activity. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.
Bingo. I think I've got it now. Why is the department hiring a geomatics analyst -- as I understand, these are computer people who do computerized mapping and all that kind of thing -- when it seems like all of those functions have been removed from the department and are now parked in Finance? Can someone explain to me why this person or why this position is being added to the Lands budget? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Yes. A large body of work that forms the Department of Lands' core business is geomatics-related and involves mapping and surveying approvals to be appended to leases and related legal agreements and documents, so the geomatics analyst will support self-government implementation by ensuring GIS data and land-tenure records to be transferred are current and reflect a high degree of accuracy. This position will aid in response to additional survey needs and requirements stemming from the transfer of lands, of land related to land resources, and self-government agreements. This work is often time sensitive, so presently Lands has one resource dedicated to this work in land administration. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the explanation from the Minister. I am still trying to figure out why is this position not in the ISSS unit that is in Finance? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
