Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I was speaking about highway infrastructure in the Northwest Territories. In the last Conservative budget they did speak about $150 million investment in the Northwest Territories. However, I’m of the opinion that it should be for the whole of the Northwest Territories. I’d like to ask the Deputy Premier how does this Government of the Northwest Territories plan to respond to the results of the recent federal election and their budgeting process.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Deputy Premier, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I must humbly ask the Member to repeat the question. I was otherwise occupied and didn’t catch the question. I will either answer it or I will refer it to the appropriate Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Repeat your question please, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Deputy Premier, given the results of the recent federal election that’s all over with now -- we have a majority Conservative government -- I’d just like to know how our government plans to respond to the results of the recent federal election and their budgeting process. I understand that the old budget that they released in March is now dead. We’ll be looking at some new budgeting figures.
Once again I apologize to the Member for not catching the question the first time. It’s a very good, important question.
In the life left in this Assembly we have a number of priorities, as I indicated in my fiscal update. One of the key ones for us, of course, is going to be to get clarity on our borrowing limit. We also, like other jurisdictions, would like to know what’s going to be in the budget. We understand that they’ve committed to taking $11 billion out in terms of their efforts to fight the deficit and debts that they have as a federal government. We hear already that programs are being affected in the North because of that, so we have to track that very clearly, because it’s going to impact our ability in a whole host of areas depending on what those cuts are.
I know the Premier has already been in contact with Ottawa about establishing contact and opportunity to sit down with Prime Minister Harper. As well, as soon as the Cabinet is announced, Ministers here will be as well doing that with their counterparts. Either the Ministers will be confirmed or there will be a change in portfolios. But regardless, as soon as confirmation is there, we will be moving to have that discussion with the Members that are going to be responsible for those federal portfolios. Thank you.
The Deputy Premier did well in answering those questions, and that’s exactly what I was looking for. I was looking for how is our government, how is our Minister going to engage with the new federal government to let them know our needs, especially our infrastructure needs. So just with that, Mr. Speaker, how is this government going to engage with the federal government to get resources for our NWT highway systems, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.
One of the strong messages from Prime Minister Harper, when he was here, as reiterated by Minister Bob McLeod, was his commitment to look at a package that will assist the pipeline, but tied to infrastructure and other supports. So that will be one way. We all as Ministers have our work that was ongoing with the federal government that was put on hold as a result of the election. Indications from officials that we’ve been in contact with indicate that they’re still waiting for their confirmation by the Prime Minister of who’s going to be Cabinet Ministers in the government, and at that point things will start rolling again. We have all the issues we have had on the table prior to the election we will re-engage on. As well, we will be tracking some of the changes now that there’s a majority, what that may mean. There’s been a clear focus on deficit reduction. We have to find out what that will mean specifically. So we recognize that there’s going to be a turning away from stimulus to looking at deficit reduction and trying to balance the books. So we have to recognize that we’re not going to see $1.1 billion over the next three years anytime soon. So we’ll do all that work that I’ve just outlined. Thank you.
I think it’s very important for us to get in early and meet with the new federal government, and I would like our government to have a strategy to plan to be down there, our Ministers to be down there, our Premier to be down there, and let him know our infrastructure needs. The Conservative government had high commitment for our rural and remote communities and I would like our government to convey that as the federal government begins their process on working on their new federal budget, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Deputy Premier his strategy with regard to that, as well. Mahsi.
We are fully committed to that process. We have a Federal Engagement Strategy that the Premier has laid out. We will re-engage as soon as we know who the players are going to be to in fact do that. We have four months left.
I indicated one of the keys for us going forward to manage our own affairs is going to be the clarity and the conclusion of the committed to process to resolve the borrowing limit. The broader issue of the federal budget, we will be there… We have to be very strategic in our asks. We can’t go there with a long list. We have to look at what our one or two or three top priorities are going to be. But we take the Member’s concern and we will be pushing to make sure the Northwest Territories is considered front and centre. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Your final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. That’s exactly what I’m urging this government to do, is as we’re meeting for the next couple of weeks in their Cabinet strategy sessions, to put that on their agenda just to see how it will all unfold. I too am looking forward to whoever the Ministers are, because then we’ll exactly know who’s got experience in the North and who can hear our specific needs here in the Northwest Territories, especially with rural and remote communities and our aging highway infrastructure systems. So that’s why I would like our government to make it a priority as they develop their Federal Engagement Strategy for this new government. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. I don’t know if I heard a question there. Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to support what the Member’s saying, as well as to indicate one of the other things that I think everybody’s keen to do, is to forge a stronger working relationship with our Member of Parliament to use all the tools in the toolboxes that are available to us collectively to push the agenda of the North. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
