Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I spoke in my Member’s statement about a problem in my riding, a very large problem that’s over a year old. I will address my questions today to the Premier, as my problem, when it blows up, is going to involve more than just one department. As the leader of the government, I am addressing my questions to him.
You know the people in Northland are not looking to be bailed out. They are willing to bear their fair share of a project, but they really need help and they need help in an emergent way.
We don’t have any programs right now to address the situation. I have been told that in the past. But there are things we can do as a government. We invent programs all the time; we bend rules on programs all the time. So in the absence of any action by the federal government, I’d like to ask the Premier what this government will do to assist my constituents and NWT residents. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The work that we have done in support of the Northland community can be said. We continue to support them. In fact, our Minister has sent correspondence in supporting that work and supporting the Municipal Infrastructure Fund through the federal government to the City of Yellowknife, for example, to help with this project. The last communications letter was sent July 18th, and we continue to try to pursue this as looking for one of the pockets of funding through the federal government to flow some of those dollars that are much needed to help with those repairs. Thank you.
I do appreciate the work that the government has done in the past. But it’s been a year and this problem is not going away and this problem is ever more imminent. The failure is ever more imminent as time goes on. I’d like to say to the Premier that my question was for the future. What will we do?
I know what we have done. The residents, the constituents, Members have put forward ideas, they have been put forward by both the condo board and individual residents in an effort to get the project started anytime over the last year. The problem is nobody is listening and nobody seems open to the suggestions.
So I’d like to ask the Premier, I know there are six weeks left in office, so I know something can be done. I would like to ask the Premier if he’s willing to take some action in the last six weeks to coordinate some serious action with other governments, whether they be city or federal, and to start to find a solution to this problem. Thank you.
I’m glad the Member has highlighted working with other levels of government. Clearly, in this case, the work by the City of Yellowknife needs to be front and centre on this, and we, again, believe all groups are supportive of the initial package that went in, and continue to pursue that. Realizing that there has been a delay in the response coming from the federal government, we will need to step up that side of it. I know that we will take our next opportunity to address some of this with the representative for the federal government in the northern development area to see what they can do following up and continuing our support.
Aside from that, we are hoping to sit down with the city to see what they would do in stepping up to deal with this issue, but clearly we have processes in place ourselves as the Government of the Northwest Territories. For example, if it’s capital funding, we would have to work with our plans going in. So to say within six weeks we can come up with a solution is quite difficult.
Clearly, this is a municipal concern. The issue of a corporation is one of those areas that hamper this. So we thought we had found a solution through the joint support to the federal government. We will continue to put the pressure we can on that side of it. I know we continue to watch as this goes on. Cleary, if there’s more to be done, we would need to know where the city is in this initiative as well. Thank you.
I hear the commitment that he’s willing to sit down with the city, and absolutely I will be following up with that. I guess my question was more to the Premier in terms of what will this government do to facilitate a solution, apart from trying to talk to the feds who haven’t been listening for 15 months. What will this government do to try and find a solution, not to give money out, but to try to assist in some of these ideas and suggestions that have been generated? Thank you.
As I was saying in my earlier response, work with the city is going to have to be undertaken to see where they are on this file and how they would see, looking at other options, how they could deal with that.
Clearly, as we’ve just dealt with one emergency, for example, in Norman Wells and the natural gas situation and we heard Mr. Yakeleya stand up and tell us that we shouldn’t have made them go back to their coffers and the taxpayers within that community, but our policy applied and that’s the way we had to look at it.
So we have to work with the city on this and we would look at that communications, opening up communications with the city to see what they would be prepared to do to try to help alleviate the situation. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The time for question period has expired. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to go back to item 8, oral questions, on the agenda so I can have a question today.
---Unanimous consent granted
