Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated in my Member’s statement, I have concerns with the budget process. My questions today are for the Minister of Finance. When was the last operational business review of the GNWT costs done?
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We set up a program review office in the 16th Assembly to start looking at value for money and efficiencies, economies, looking at how we do business. We also, through our annual business planning process and budget process, look at what the costs to government are and what our fiscal capacity is, and our ability to move forward and where changes need to be. Those are the two areas where we have work on a regular basis that allows us to examine how we do business with operations, both infrastructure and O and M.
If we’re continuing to do reviews of the operations on an annual basis, how do we include the public or our public sector employees to contribute to some of these cost reductions the ways that we do some cost reductions or the way that we can make the government more efficient? How do we include the public or the public sector?
Over the last few years we have had roundtables on economic development, roundtables on dealing with revenue options. We are as well looking forward to, in the life of this Assembly, moving that show on the road where we will go to regional centres and we will meet and do pre-budget consultation with the communities and with the regions. We also have other activities through the daily work of Ministers that are involved in economic development. As well where we’re looking for that type of feedback, we’re currently negotiating for collective agreements with the various unions that are going to lay out that arrangement going forward and we want those, as well, to be fair but affordable.
I’m glad to hear that the government’s continuing to do reviews of the costs, but my question to the Minister of Finance today is: Since 2000 the operating budget of the GNWT doubled from $600 million to $1.2 billion; how can that be if we’re always continuing to look at efficiencies in the government?
If we go back to 1967 when the planes first came north with the Commissioner, this town, this city – it was a town then I think with barely 4,000 people – most communities had the most rudimentary of services. Minimal roads, minimal services from health, education, social services, economic development; they were almost non-existent. We have invested over the years in trying to build up the North. We made a decision as a territory that we were going to support the kind of community structure that we do have that recognizes the value of communities in place where they are as they have been for hundreds and, in many cases, thousands of years and over the years we’ve negotiated with the government. The federal government, as well, sees enormous value in having a territory that is full and functioning and vibrant, because it’s part of their strategic planning, it’s part of their sovereignty.
We have negotiated with the federal government over the years our agreements that have allowed us to slowly improve the level of services in the communities. We employ thousands of people. We do services now that were not even thought of even in 2000. We’ve added doctors, nurses, rehab people, teachers. We’ve improved infrastructure. We’ve poured billions into infrastructure. We’ve been investing in the North and we’ve been investing in Northerners, which is a darn good way to spend money. I think that’s why our budget is where it is today. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad the Minister took me all the way back to before I was born in 1967. I appreciate that, but as I indicated in my Member’s statement, the population of the Northwest Territories has only increased 7.5 percent since 2000, but our budget has doubled. Can he indicate to me why those costs are so great when we’ve only increased by 7.5 percent?
Clearly, over the time from 2000 to the present, there have been significant cost increases. The price of oil, for example, is now, as of this morning, slightly over $100 a barrel. We’ve made huge investments in the communities in terms of infrastructure, housing, roads, schools, sewer, water, you name it. We’ve invested in our territorial highways. We’ve negotiated collective agreements with the staff. Our staff have increased, as the Member himself noted in his statement, over 26 percent, and we are still running behind the curve. We have hospitals to build. For example, we have almost a $100 million hospital to be built in Hay River that’s on the capital plan that will be part of that investment in the North. Those are the types of investments that have driven our budget, and the quality of life in the North has gone up, as well, over those years. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
