Debates of February 2, 2006 (day 21)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is also for Minister Floyd Roland on the budget address. On page 8 and 9, he listed four key points in terms of the second condition necessary to achieve…(inaudible)..in the Northwest Territories. I wanted to ask for some clarification. In his address, he talked about the reports by the expert panel and we are in the hands of the federal government in terms of how we control the finances we are going to have. How will the Minister make our position in the Government of the Northwest Territories well known to the federal government in terms of having them listen and pay attention to our position? How will he do it?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Roland.

Return To Question 323-15(4): Reflections On Budget Address

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess there are all types of avenues one can consider to the point of taking our tents and setting them up on the front lawns of Parliament, but, more realistically, what we need to do and we have been doing, but we are going to have to enhance it more, is how we have got the message out there. We have a business case. We believe our business case is an adequate one and it’s clear that we have delivered the message to Ottawa about our fiscal situation in the Northwest Territories in the unique situations we encounter being this far north and the conditions that we live in. We need to look at our strategies of how we have tried to do it. We have tried to do it within an environment being much more cooperative, working with the existing tools we had in place and trying to get them to understand our position. Well, we are going to have to take this up a notch. We are going to have to work with our other jurisdictions, with the provinces and territories and have them look at our situation in the business case and support us as we go to Ottawa. They have supported us on a number of fronts in the past and I believe a lot of them understand our positioning.

Ultimately, as well, we can say as much as we want on our own from the Northwest Territories, but if we don’t get the rest of Canada -- the experts, as Ottawa would call them -- echoing our concerns and saying that our numbers are adequate and legitimate, then it’s a difficult battle. So what we need to do is take a different approach in how we get that message to Ottawa; a unified one from the Northwest Territories, but now we are going to have to reach outside of the envelope we normally operate with and start getting the message down in Ottawa, not only from northerners but from those in Ottawa as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 323-15(4): Reflections On Budget Address

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I support the Minister in terms of his process to getting the attention of the federal Minister or the federal government. However, business case after business case, doing things very politely and that's good. Northerners, that what we tend to do. I think enough is enough and we can get the attention of the federal government that needs to pay attention. So I think there has to be some more radical steps considered in terms of getting the attention of Ottawa. So in that sense, I want to ask the Minister how or what type of measures is he going to use in terms of his strategy in terms of pressing for immediate action? We've got two years left in this government, so are we going to put pressure on the government to force some immediate action? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 323-15(4): Reflections On Budget Address

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, before we get to radical solutions or options that may be out there, there's a new government in Ottawa. We have to take a different stance, we have to get the message to them, and I'm looking for the opportunity I get to sit down with the new Finance Minister to see if he thinks the arguments, the business case that we put forward is adequate or not adequate to go with what we're asking for. That will then entail what we'll need to do as a jurisdiction. But ultimately, the message that is initially sent out about fiscal imbalance is a good one. Hopefully with the new Finance Minister in place, we'll be able to sit down and have a good discussion and hopefully walk away from that with some positive results in the very near future. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 323-15(4): Reflections On Budget Address

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think it's time, enough is enough. We have a new government. Some of the old bureaucrats are still in Ottawa. You can change the face in the kitchen table here, but you still have the same cooks brewing up the same kind of recipe for provinces and territories. So I think this government's got to come up with a backup plan. You know, we have to hope the federal government will listen to us, and hope that we…We need a backup plan. We need to get serious and get really down to the brass knuckles of…Our resources are leaving us everyday; millions and millions of dollars. We're asking for things that are being legal. So I want to ask again, does the Minister have a backup plan if things don't go…(inaudible)…as well as we think. What is the backup plan for us to take charge of our own destiny? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 323-15(4): Reflections On Budget Address

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member has referenced cooking and so on and so forth. I guess one could say there's a new chef in the kitchen now when it comes to the new government in place. We need to get an understanding from where they may come from initially. From that, we will know how much we'll have to push and how much harder.

Mr. Speaker, clearly, as Minister of Finance for the Northwest Territories, and I look down in our fiscal forecast, if we do not get the changes that were requested, and ultimately those changes can be made and should be made in Ottawa because they have that authority and the ability. If we do not get that changed in a way that is on a cooperative approach, at some point, as Finance Minister, I end up ultimately responsible for our fiscal situation. If we, for example, go beyond the borrowing limit that is being imposed on us, those are some of the scenarios I have to face and how we would approach that. So, Mr. Speaker, first goal is, number one, let's get in the door with the new Finance Minister, see where he's coming from and see if he's willing to listen to our arguments on the political front. Never mind the briefings he may get from his new staff or the staff that is already there. Ultimately we need to sit down with him on the political front, get an understanding of where he may stand or she may stand. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Your final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 323-15(4): Reflections On Budget Address

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there may be a new chef in the kitchen, but the same old recipe is being cooked up and it's just a different means of cooking up that recipe. I want to ask the Finance Minister in terms of his opening address and on one of the points, his last point was point four in terms of the arbitrating of the $300 million borrowing limit. Our government stated saying we need a territorial political autonomy. How do we get that? You know, Alberta won't stand for that. Other governments won't stand for it. You know, the Territories shouldn't stand for it. So how do we get territorial political autonomy and not be beggars in our own land in terms of getting some of these resources that are meant to stay in the North and to provide programs and services for our people? So what messages can we give to the government in terms of receiving that statement? Thank you.

Right on.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 323-15(4): Reflections On Budget Address

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we've not only in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon and provinces across Canada have raised the issue of fiscal imbalance with Ottawa on a regular basis; in fact, to the point where Finance Ministers have pushed on it so that the Premiers have now become involved and directed through the Council of the Federation that another panel be established. The federal government has recognized it by establishing an expert panel. We need to see what their reports will come out as, and then what will the federal government do with those reports, what will they enact as some of the recommendations that may come out of it. I believe that we've presented our arguments on a solid basis, and I believe that both panels will endorse a number of the things that we've raised and it will be from that point on what our relationship will be with the new federal finance. Thank you.