Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. I would like to follow up on some of the comments he made in his Minister’s statement today. I would like to, first of all, commend the communities that were involved in the pilot projects, the communities of Fort Liard, Fort McPherson, Fort Good Hope and the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. I agree with the Minister that the New Deal is working, but I am still concerned for community capacity related to capital projects and community infrastructure. I would like to ask the Minister, the Minister stated in his remarks that MACA’s role is to support and mentor community governments to take on these responsibilities. I need to ask him how MACA supports communities that struggle to advance their capital program. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When a community has a project that they are working on, they require assistance from MACA. Our regional staff will go into the community at their request and assist them in working out their capital plans and also advising them of funding and anything else, any other help that they might need, then the community would take it from there. We are available from the regional office to assist the communities. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister for that explanation. I appreciate that the regional staff are there to assist. I am sure they do that on a regular basis, but I am particularly concerned about the lack of human resource capacity to deal with capital projects, specifically the expertise that is required to manage projects and so on. I know that MACA often works with the NWT Association of Communities to address human resource needs at the community level. I know that there is a plan in the works to develop those needs. The technical expertise I don’t think has been addressed. I would like to know if MACA has any plans to fund the NWT Association of Communities for a PY or half a PY to assist communities with their capital projects. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, at this point there is no plan. This is something that we can have that discussion with NWTAC. I do know that the communities that do put forward a lot of projects, there are a few of them that have hired their own expertise. There’s a community that’s hired a consultant and their own project manager to bring the project forward. But we’re willing to have that discussion with NWTAC and we’ll go from there. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister again. If communities hire their own expertise to assist with the project to be a project manager or to provide the technical engineering and architectural and whatever assistance, are those costs undertaken by the community? Are they available to be funded through the community infrastructure contribution for capital infrastructure or through gas tax and other funds which communities receive? Thank you.
The Member is correct; the communities do have the option of hiring whoever they want to assist with their project, and that funding does come out of the capital money that’s advanced to the community. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thanks again, Mr. Speaker. Again I’d like to ask the Minister, with the increase in the number of community-owned buildings and infrastructure that is now coming on stream through the money that communities have, there are associated maintenance costs for these buildings. I’d like to know how MACA plans to assist communities with these extra maintenance costs. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, it is true that there is more operation and maintenance required. The operation and maintenance budget is reviewed every two years and if adjustments have to be made, they’re made at that time. The last couple of years, recognizing the fact that there is new infrastructure, the O and M budgets have gone up for the communities and they’re well appreciative of that. But it is reviewed every two years and if adjustments need to be made, then they’ll be made then.
We continue to work with the federal government and bring our case for the need for more operation and maintenance along with some of the infrastructure dollars we’re receiving from them. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
