Debates of October 20, 2006 (day 12)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Premier and it gets back to my Member’s statement from today in terms of intergovernmental relations between our territorial government and Ottawa, the federal government. I want to say quite clearly that I find what happened with the recent raft of federal cuts quite disturbing from an NWT perspective that is, Mr. Speaker. I don’t believe it’s fair that Ottawa continues to take our resources day in and day out, and it’s at about the present tally about $400 million a year and if the pipeline happens $9 billion later it’s going to be over a billion dollars a year that the federal government is going to take from the residents and the territory. Mr. Speaker, I do find this quite disturbing because we are on a fixed income here in the NWT. We get $800 million from the federal government every year. We have not got the means nor the ability to replace the dollars like a province could. I don’t understand why we weren’t consulted. I don’t understand why our government didn’t take a position, or if they did take a position how come they didn’t communicate it with us, the Regular Members? Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Premier, what has the Premier done to communicate to the federal government that the recent round of cuts, and for a variety of very solid reasons, should not have included the dollars that are flowing into the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Return To Question 153-15(5): Federal Government Budget Reductions

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I agree with the Member; all of us were offended by having these cuts just announced. The federal government told us that this was treated like a budget, that it was all done in secret, and we weren’t the only jurisdiction. All jurisdictions across Canada were not given any information on it. It was a surprise to everybody the day it happened.

Mr. Speaker, since that time we have been trying to get clarification on all of the different budget cuts and some of it we still don’t know because there’s no detail when it comes to things like cutting departmental efficiencies in DIAND. We don’t know what that means and we’re still seeking information. Some other areas we have a little more information.

Since that time, Mr. Speaker, we have expressed our concern. I’ve done it personally with the Minister of DIAND. The Minister of ECE has written with regard to literacy cutting and the Minister of MACA has talked to his counterpart. Mr. Speaker, I am sending a letter to both Minister Prentice and to the Prime Minister emphasizing our concern about these budget cuts.

The Member is right; we are on almost like an allowance, but the big issue is that we don’t get our fair share of the resource revenues. While the cuts are important, it’s the big picture of resource revenues that we need to get our share of money from our resources. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 153-15(5): Federal Government Budget Reductions

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m wondering if when the Premier spoke to…And I thank him for his response. Can we use what has happened to us with these cuts as a leverage or another example to the federal government of why the Northwest Territories is different? We’re not a province; we’re a territory. We’re being treated unfairly. We’re being taken advantage of on a daily basis and until we’re treated fairly, we should be treated differently at the very least. Again, we’re not a province. We’re on a fixed income. I know the Premier had mentioned that he’s going to communicate that in writing and I’d like for the Regular Members on this side of the House to get a copy of that letter. I’d like to see it and I’d like to see that letter state quite clearly that we are not going to accept these types of things happening to us until we’re dealt with fairly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 153-15(5): Federal Government Budget Reductions

Mr. Speaker, I will commit to making a copy of the letters that I’m sending both to Minister Prentice and to Minister Harper available to the Members. Mr. Speaker, Ottawa’s a long ways away and they sometimes just don’t understand that the situation is different for us. I find it frustrating when I hear the Minister of DIAND talking about the per capita amounts that Ottawa gives us at $17,000 compared to $8000 in Newfoundland, as if our costs were the same across the country. We know, and I’m sure that he knows very well, that our costs are much different here given our big geography, the challenges we have in the Northwest Territories. So there’s a lot of these kinds of issues that we’ll continue to push away at, but, Mr. Speaker, I don’t want us to get caught in just talking about the cuts. I want to keep our eye on that big picture because that’s what’s going to make the difference, is we get our fair share of money through the resource revenues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 153-15(5): Federal Government Budget Reductions

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Premier, in that letter perhaps he could include something to the effect that we want to see all the money that was cut from programs here in the Northwest Territories reinstated. And I’m talking every last dollar reinstated until our government gets a deal with the federal government in terms of resource revenue sharing. I think that is fair and that is what’s fair to the residents here in the Northwest Territories, and that’s what they’re asking us to do and to represent them and I think that’s fair and that has to be in that letter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 153-15(5): Federal Government Budget Reductions

Mr. Speaker, I will certainly do that. I’m not sure of the exact wording we’ll use, but we will do it and make the point that we don’t have adequate funding. As I mentioned in the sessional statement, the current situation just simply is not sustainable and we have to get that message to the federal government, whether it’s through reinstating this money or a combination of this plus, as I say, the resource revenues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.