Thank you, Madam Speaker. My questions are directed to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. I want to follow up on my statement about 911 service. At the time that the city completed the feasibility study, along with a number of other partners, the recommendation was that it be started in seven communities – that’s the majority of the residents within the NWT. About 75 percent of our residents live in those seven communities. About 50 percent of our residents live in the City of Yellowknife. The start-up costs, at that point, were estimated to be about a million dollars, which was, unfortunately, beyond the possibility of the city alone.
I’d like to ask the Minister, now that we are well along our way to getting cell service in every community, whether or not he would entertain a proposal from the City of Yellowknife for partnering with them to implement 911 service.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I believe we also partnered with the city when they were doing the report. The Member is correct; there have been a number of things that have improved since then. What I said at the time was that we do provide a lot of infrastructure money to the municipalities, and if they wanted to use that for implementation of 911, then that would be a decision that they would make. However, looking at the overall picture, maybe there is an opportunity now to sit down and review a proposal that the city may want to put together. Short answer the long way was yes, we will be glad to look at a proposal from the city.
Mr. McLeod seems to have a particular skill at taking the long way around to come to a yes. I thank you, Minister, for the yes. I’m smiling when I say that.
I appreciate that the Minister referenced gas tax money and, absolutely, there’s gas tax money, but I think the Minister also knows that community infrastructure needs are huge. I think Yellowknife’s alone – and I don’t have the exact figure – is millions and millions of dollars. I appreciate that he’s willing to entertain a proposal. I will certainly pass that information on to the city.
I know that this year’s budget is done, but I would like to know from the Minister if there’s any possibility of funds being included in the 2014-2015 budget. That would be the end of the two-year period when all the cell upgrades are done. Is it feasible that we could start now to look at earmarking some money for the 2014-2015 budget for 911 implementation?
Planning now is already underway for the 2014-2015 budget. We will be glad to look at a proposal. There is opportunity for an investment from this government and something that we would have to look at. We’d work very closely with committee and we’d work very closely with communities to see if there are opportunities for them to use some of the infrastructure money they get.
The Members in this House are well aware that MACA really doesn’t have very much money, where 78 percent of our money goes out to the communities in the forms of infrastructure and O and M. There are opportunities there. Planning is underway for the next budget cycle, and if there are opportunities, I believe we’ll have to explore those.
Thanks to the Minister for his response. I had a couple more questions where I was going to ask him to help us out, so I’ve already got a positive answer, so I’m a little stuck here. The Minister mentioned that MACA doesn’t have money and I appreciate that. I recognize that MACA in itself doesn’t have funds that it can give to communities for infrastructure needs. However, the government does have that kind of money, and I think if the Minister were to represent communities and make the pitch, I guess, to Cabinet to put that money in there, I think it’s possible that out of the grand picture of our $1.6 billion we could put some money in.
I’d like to know from the Minister if he will, as a champion of municipalities – which I think he is and I hope he will continue to be – do that on behalf of, at this point, the City of Yellowknife.
I do champion the needs of the communities within the Cabinet table as well as my colleagues championing the needs of the communities that they represent. I have to tell the Member, if there is a proposal that comes forward, we have to seriously have a look at it, understanding that technology is changing. Again, we have to work very closely with the communities, because this is not going to be a system that would apply to all 33 communities that we represent.
If the city wants to come forward or any other jurisdiction wants to come forward with a proposal, we will have a look at it and see if it fits within our budget, see if it affects the infrastructure money that we give to the communities, because there’s $28 million that we distribute to all 33 communities. There are opportunities there and I do commit to the Member that we will explore all avenues and go forward from there.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
