Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In respect to the NGO Stabilization Fund that we’ve made a priority here today, there are real needs at the community level. For example, in my riding there is a real need for youth programs in terms of ensuring that there’s funding for programs and resources. At the same time, we’re contending with real social issues like homelessness. For those reasons, this fund is relied upon from the community organizations outside of Yellowknife.
For the Premier, as Minister of the Department of Executive, is the Premier willing to consider enhancing the NGO Stabilization Fund for 2014-2015 to at least a minimum of $500,000? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We would like to fund all of the requests, but we have a finite level of resources and we are going to the main estimates process. We will also be rolling out a number of strategies that pertain to social programs, such as the Early Childhood Development Framework, the Northwest Territories Anti-Poverty Strategy, the Minister’s Forum on Addictions and Mental Health recommendations, Economic Opportunities Strategy, Mineral Development Strategy, the Land Use and Sustainability Framework. So we’ll be rolling out all of those frameworks as well.
So I can commit to the Member that as we go through the main estimate process and that as we go through developing action plans for all of these strategies, which I’m sure will impact positively on the communities that need assistance, at that time we will look at all of the requests. Thank you.
I’d like to thank the Premier for making that commitment. Some NGOs are currently delivering critical services, but without GNWT funding they don’t qualify for the Stabilization Fund. What capacity building support is available from the GNWT for such NGOs? Mahsi.
We have a third-party accountability framework and it has three categories. The categories that provide services to the Government of the Northwest Territories, we can provide multi-year funding agreements, and depending on the type of service and the kind of NGO, and if they get funding from the Government of the Northwest Territories, there are different categories of reporting that are required. So if you’re not providing essential services, then your reporting requirement is not as complicated as for the NGOs that provide essential services. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
