Madam Speaker. The 19th Legislative Assembly believes our decisions must reflect a full understanding of our communities and regions. It is our responsibility to ensure that the needs of our residents are reflected in the decisions that will impact them. This is especially important when it comes to decisions about the land, Madam Speaker. That's why our northern Indigenous governments and communities are at the heart of our northern approach to establishing and managing protected areas.
The Northwest Territories is a leader in Canada when it comes to conservation plans. We work closely with our Indigenous partners to protect the Northwest Territories' natural and cultural diversity. Today, I am pleased to tell you about a gathering that was held in Yellowknife recently to help advance this work.
On February 26 and 27, 2020, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources hosted this territorial first Conservation Network Gathering. The idea behind this gathering, Madam Speaker, is to share experiences and build partnerships to manage territorial protected areas under the new Protected Areas Act.
More than 100 partners from across the Northwest Territories took part in the two-day gathering, including Indigenous governments and organizations, territorial and federal departments, funders, academics, and conservation leaders from across Canada. Topics discussed included:
new ideas in conservation and stewardships;
the role of Indigenous guardians; and
on-the-land success stories.
They also talked about the financial reality of protected areas and best practices for management and research. "Healthy land, healthy people" is our five-year plan for conservation network planning. It lays out how the Government of the Northwest Territories is moving forward together with its partners to protect the integrity of our northern ecosystems. Protected areas can also provide new job opportunities for small communities. Madam Speaker, the guardian programs, land-based products, and cultural tourism are all ways we can expand and diversify our economy.
Over the upcoming months, Environment and Natural Resources will work closely with our partners to develop a new "healthy land, healthy people" work plan to guide us over the next five years. Madam Speaker, we need to hear from all stakeholders as we determine a path forward. That is why I am pleased to confirm that we have secured federal funding for the next three years to make the Conservation Network Gathering an annual event.
Madam Speaker, we look forward to working together to develop the next made-in-the-North conservation work plan to keep our land healthy for current and future Northerners and visitors to enjoy. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. We all want better health for our families and communities. The choices we make are important for our overall health and well-being. By eating good, being physically active, reducing the amount of alcohol we drink, living tobacco-free, and making healthy choices, we can help reduce the risk of getting chronic disease like cancer.
Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada, and it is important that we talk about it. Over the past few decades, we have learned more about cancer, which is resulting in more people surviving than ever before. This is why it is important to observe cancer awareness months.
Madam Speaker, this month is Colorectal Awareness Month, and it is dedicated to raising awareness about colorectal cancer and honouring those who have been affected by this disease. Colorectal cancer is preventable; it's treatable. Yet here in the Northwest Territories, the incidence of being diagnosed with colorectal cancer is twice the rate than in the rest of Canada. Many people are unaware that they can reduce the risk of getting it with timely screening and healthy lifestyles.
Madam Speaker, the best protection we have against colorectal cancer is early detection. Taking a fecal immunochemical test, or FIT test, is the easiest way for Northwest Territories residents to learn if they are at risk of colorectal cancer. In an effort to improve screening and early detection, "one and done" FIT screening is an effort to improve screening and early detection. It was introduced in 2018. This approach makes it easier for people to collect a sample at home and return it to their healthcare provider. The FIT test, which you can easily do at home, is recommended for residents ages 50 to 74 and should be completed at least every two years.
To increase screening rates for colorectal cancer in our territory, Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority just launched a pilot project in February to mail FIT screening kits to eligible residents. The pilot project focuses on the Beaufort-Delta region. If the approach is successful, it will be expanded across the territory. Our aim is to increase the participation screening rate to meet the national goal of 60 percent.
Madam Speaker, we have also distributed community cancer awareness kits to community health representatives. Health care staff can use these comprehensive kits in their communities to raise awareness and have conversations with residents about the importance of early screening and healthy living.
In February, the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority also launched two educational cancer videos. Part of the seven series, these videos aim to help residents better understand cancer and the importance of screening in the NWT. These videos were created in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Services and the University of Alberta's Indigenous and Global Health Research group. The videos were developed through community consultations in the Northwest Territories, incorporated feedback from community members in Fort Good Hope, Inuvik, and Yellowknife. Residents can view them on the website, cancernwt.ca. The videos were also distributed to the health centres for use and will be promoted on social media.
While it is important to improve screening rates and to communicate directly about cancer with Northwest Territories residents, it is also critical that we support those patients who are battling cancer right now. We know that the emotional and physical effects of cancer can make it difficult for patients to process information. To help support patients and families, the NWT Health Authority has hired and trained two full-time cancer Nurse Navigators. The Nurse Navigators are specially trained to help patients and their families through their cancer journey.
In closing, Madam Speaker, I want to encourage all residents, particularly those aged 50 to 74, to speak to their health care providers about getting screened. Let us work together to promote healthy living, reduce the risk of colorectal cancer and other cancers, and support those who are living with it. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Supporting the housing needs of seniors is very important to our people in our communities. To do this, a key approach to support our elders is to recognize their desire to have friends and family close by as they age and to remain in familiar surroundings.
Having those strong networks of your long-time friends and family around you has impacts on your health and your age. Having the support to age in place in your home community will improve the quality of life for seniors and may prevent early admission to long-term care facilities.
I am pleased to advise Members that we will be ready to open the new Fort Good Hope Seniors' Centre this spring. This centre is the last of five centres that were designed in conjunction with the Department of Health and Social Services, taking into consideration local guidance and input. The development of these units has improved the lives of seniors in Aklavik, Fort Liard, Fort McPherson, Whati, and soon Fort Good Hope.
These complexes feature eight units that will be occupied by seniors and one unit will be designated as a caretaker unit. An on-site caretaker improves the safety and security of the building. As part of these designs, these buildings feature common areas where therapeutic and lifestyle programming can be delivered for seniors. The designs include non-step entrances to suites, wider doors, and common spaces that are used for delivery of Health and Social Services programming.
Madam Speaker, seniors are the bedrock of our lives. They have been there for us since the day we were born. They have given so much to us. Their knowledge, their guidance and their love. As such, we needed to take the time and use the necessary resources to ensure that these units were built to the best standard available. It is important that we give back to the ones that have given us so much. I look forward to opening this facility and celebrating with elders and their families as they move in to their new home. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Madam Premier.
Madam Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Katrina Nokleby will be absent from the House today and tomorrow to attend the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Conference in Toronto, Ontario. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. In light of Starlight Investments and KingSett Capital's recent intention to purchase Northview Real Estate, thus making the two largest landlords in Yellowknife. One, I wanted to read an open letter to CEO Jon Love of KingSett Capital and CEO Daniel Drimmer of Starlight Investments.
Congratulations on your intention to purchase Northview Real Estate Investment Trust for $4.8 billion. I wish to inform you that, upon closing this deal, you will own a small city in the subarctic called Yellowknife.
Yellowknife also happens to be the capital city of the Northwest Territories. I invite you to come and visit sometime. It's a beautiful place. In case you were not aware, Northview presently owns the majority of rental apartment units in Yellowknife, and when combining their commercial stock with KingSett's current Yellowknife stock, you will own the majority of commercial leasing space, as well. I have attached a picture of our downtown core to show you all the buildings you will own, one of which KingSett has managed to keep vacant for almost a decade. It recently had its siding fall off; I have attached that picture for you, as well.
Additionally, congratulations on your intention to purchase a company which is our city's leader in residential tenancies violations. When you come visit our town, I hope you will visit the various Northview apartments that have been left in disrepair due to rent money flowing south to fuel other capital investments. Before you purchase our city, I wanted to ensure that you are aware of the fact that the majority of Yellowknifers have, at some point, lived or worked in one of the buildings in this deal, and I have yet to ever hear a single positive thing about that fact.
My apologies, Dan. I know you have significant amount of investment in Northview, but I hope, as our new landlords, we can start a fresh and do some work to repair the relationship with our residents.
Now I recognize that by design real estate is first and foremost an investment for your companies and the fact that people live and work in your property is secondary; but I would hope you both put something extra in for exceptional cases such as this.
As I am sure you are aware the North is an exceptional market. The capitalization rate for Northview's Northern Canada holdings is 9.17 percent which is 55 percent higher than its overall capitalization rate and 40 percent higher than its next most profitable region. Of course KingSett, as a private equity fund for institutional and ultra-high net worth investors, does not have the transparency of an exchange-traded REIT like Northview, such that similar information is not publicly available for Kingsett's current holdings in northern Canada.
Madam Speaker, I am seeking unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
I also note that Northview's current market power, combined with Kingsett's market share, is an index that will make Yellowknife one the most highly concentrated real estate markets in Canada.
Dan, Jon, we all know this deal is not really about Yellowknife. There are so many assets in your combined multi-billion-dollar portfolios that I wouldn't expect you to ever know them all by city. I am hopeful that this letter, despite its sarcastic tone, can start a conversation. There are a variety of remedies available that will ensure the acquisition of Northview can allow some competition to once again exist in our northern capital. I have brought this market share issue to the Competition Bureau of Canada's attention on multiple occasions. I encourage you to reach out the them and divest some of Yellowknife assets in this deal, ideally on a small enough scale to allow local ownership in a city which is desperately in need of competition and local developers. At the very least, perhaps you could try and do something about that 10-storey vacant tower that you own.
Yours truly, Rylund Johnson, MLA for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Member. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Madam la Presidente. In June 2019, the Assembly passed historic changes to the Access to Information Protection of Privacy Act that had been in the works since 2012. The then-Minister of Justice worked well with standing committee, and we now have very good legislation; in fact, it may be the best in Canada. There was extensive consultation with GNWT departments, public bodies, the Information and Privacy Commissioner, as well as the general public. Feedback received during the course of these consultations, including the Information and Privacy Commissioner's extensive submission, and recommendations identified by the standing committee were thoroughly considered and informed the development of the bill. Mandatory exemptions were reduced, the jurisdiction of the Information and Privacy Commissioner was clarified giving that officer the ability to issue binding orders, and the act will apply to municipal governments, as suggested by several parties over many years.
What is not clear is the Minister's plans for implementing the recommendations as documented in the November 2016 "what we heard" report from public consultations. These issues included fee reductions, training, identification of classes of records that do not require an ATIPP application, and many more.
When I asked the former Minister of Justice about fee reductions on June 6, 2019, he responded by saying:
the initial fee for general requests would be dropped from $25 to $10;
there would be 10 free hours of processing for general requests;
photocopy charges would be dropped to 10 cents per page; and
personal information charges would be kept at $25, but the number of free pages would be increased from 100 to 200.
Madam Speaker, we're still waiting for these changes. I will have questions for the Minister of Justice on the next steps of implementing the amendments passed in the last Assembly to the Access to Information and Protections of Privacy Act. Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member. Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. My statement today is about P3 Projects in the Northwest Territories. Following the public technical briefing on the new Stanton Territorial Hospital, which took place on February 11, 2020, officials within the Departments of Health and Social Services and Infrastructure confirmed a series of pervading issues that have been plaguing the new building since it opened in May 2019.
Madam Speaker, for clarification the initial amount designated for the new hospital was $350 million, according to the media release of October 1, 2015. This project over the 35-year period, which includes the old Stanton Legacy Building, will now cost $751 million plus. The operating and maintenance contract is also included in this P3. Boreal Health Partnership and Dexterra are the main proponents in this agreement. According to the officials of the Departments of Health and Social Services and Infrastructure this agreement/contract is being defended as a good agreement despite it putting our future governance and our people of the NWT in a very crucial financial deficit because of a very dysfunctional agreement, decisions and final signoffs being done improperly on behalf of the people of the NWT. However, as an MLA who is concerned about P3s, I think the figure that the Department of Finance provided is neither concrete nor precise and that it will cost much more than that. As all MLAs have experienced, we have had a couple of supplements in this 19th Assembly already.
Moreover, Madam Speaker, the terms and conditions of the Stanton project are not clear either. Once again, not enough attention was paid to the details of this agreement. When detail is not properly taken into account and politicians signed off on these types of agreements, these projects can and will have a major impact, both on the people of the Northwest Territories as well as the future of our government. This is exactly what happened with the P3 agreement of the new Stanton hospital along with the legacy building of the old Stanton hospital.
Could I have unanimous consent to continue my statement, Madam Speaker?
---Unanimous consent granted
Madam Speaker, accountability and transparency are extremely important when dealing with public money. The money that is being used belongs to the people of the NWT. Most of the P3s are contracted with southern companies and the money flows south with little benefit to people of the NWT. P3s can be a positive way of doing business if we're dealing with northern companies or Indigenous groups and the detailed agreements are firm, signed off properly, and all the monies stay in the North. I will be asking questions to the Minister of Finance on this issue. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member. Members' statements. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to talk about seniors, and more specifically, to those seniors residing in the care facilities operated by this government.
Madam Speaker, prior to her passing, my mother lived in one of those facilities for a number of years. She was somewhat reluctant to move in at first, but once she was settled and realized that some of her friends were there, it became easier to adjust. While living in the facility, she was always visited and surrounded by family and friends. This was very important to her.
However, Madam Speaker, not all seniors have family and/or friends, and thereby find themselves alone. Although my mother is no longer in the facility in Hay River, I still try and visit the people there and take some of the foods that they probably shouldn't have, because it is about respect for our seniors, their quality of life, and it is the right thing to do.
Madam Speaker, when I visit these seniors, some may or may not remember me, but one thing they all have in common is that they are pleased to be able to have a conversation with someone. They all have stories to tell. They all have family members somewhere, and they will let you know how much they miss those members, and how proud they are of them.
We expect our staff to interact with the residents. They are busy as well, however, the staff have tasks they have to accomplish throughout their shift during the day. There are activity coordinators on site who also interact and provide the residents of its facility with recreational opportunities. The number of staff is not sufficient to provide the personal interaction time the residents need.
I'm not asking for more staff as it is important that in addition to families, we should look at engaging the community. It may be as simple as encouraging the local seniors' society, students, or businesses that would be willing to offer a few hours of their time to visit, which I know the seniors would find rewarding.
Madam Speaker, the seniors in these facilities or who may be at home alone need that social interaction. They need to be physically active. They need to feel like they can still contribute. They need to be shown they matter, and most important, they need to know they are loved. Madam Speaker, we have to slow down and reflect on what is important to us, and remember exactly why we are here. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. The process of land transfers to municipal governments is not working. It prevents municipal governments from having the authority and autonomy to make timely land use decisions within municipal boundaries and impedes business development. In addition, YKDFN is now trading land with the City of Yellowknife, essentially removing the GNWT from the process.
Twenty-five years ago, MACA helped community governments develop land use plans and administered lands within municipal boundaries. MACA has long since devolved the responsibility for developing community land use plans to municipal councils, but the planning and administration process remains regressive and paternalistic.
The Community Planning and Development Act explains that a community plan guides the physical growth and development of the community. Under that act, a municipality must submit its plan to the Minister of MACA for approval before it has any force and effect. The act requires the plan be developed in consultation with a professional community planner so, Madam Speaker, why is the Minister's approval still required?
If an individual or Yellowknife business owner needs land, they must approach the city for a parcel of land within city boundaries. The city must then turn to the Department of Lands to seek access to that land through fee simple title transfer or land lease.
The current turnaround time for land transfers between Lands and the City of Yellowknife is an average of six to 10 months. During this time, if an application is declined or a secondary piece of land is suggested, the process and timelines start over. If the project requires new or conditional zoning, then there is an additional processes the city must go through.
If the city had fee simple tenure on land, the City of Yellowknife could sell or lease city land to the individual or business without the six to 10 months required for GNWT approvals, therefore allowing businesses to be more responsive to economic development opportunities including remediation projects from the federal government and tourism development driven by the GNWT. If efficient community planning is our concern, then, it is not clear to me what is gained by the MACA Minister needing to approve the city's community plan every year along with any revisions.
The Minister of Lands has indicated a willingness to make progress in this area, and I look forward to continuing this conversation with them. It will require leadership, collaboration between the departments of Lands, MACA, and EIA, along with a clear terms of reference and guidelines and timelines, as well. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Members' statements. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Madam Speaker. [Translation] Madam Speaker, I want to talk about senior citizens. We want the best for our seniors, and that's why we are speaking up, and the Premier had just given out the priorities, and one of them is elders. Sometimes, the elders' private home furnaces don't work. We want to make people aware of that to help them. [Translation ends]
Today, I would like to walk the talk and discuss something that is very important to me, and that is carrying for our seniors in the Northwest Territories; more specifically, my region. Madam Speaker, On February 7th, the Premier tabled the 2019-2023 Mandate for the Government of the Northwest Territories. That mandate included 22 priorities for this government to focus on for the next three and a half years. One of them happens to be allowing or enabling seniors to age in their place with dignity. Under that priority, this government committed to increasing supports for seniors to stay in their homes and also in their communities. This government also committed to funding actions to remove community-level barriers to aging in place.
Madam Speaker, many seniors in our communities are having difficulty maintaining their homes, and I believe that we need to step up to assist them more so that our seniors can, in fact, age in place with dignity.
Madam Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Housing Corporation at the appropriate time. Masi.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. On January 1st this year, a new and unprecedented piece of federal legislation came into effect. Canada is now legislating Indigenous child welfare in an area that is a provincial and territorial responsibility. The purpose of An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Metis Children, Youth and Families is to recognize the inherent right Indigenous people have over child and family services and to set national standards in this area. In short, Indigenous children should grow up with their families, immersed in their culture and language.
Madam Speaker, I am going to review some of the highlights of this legislation as context for asking the Minister of Health and Social Services how this act aligns with the standards of the child and family services legislation in the NWT. The federal government started consultation on this act two years ago, following an acknowledgement that Indigenous children and youth are overrepresented in care. In fact, it is often repeated that there are more children living away from their families in care now than there were in residential schools.
Madam Speaker, the act applies to all Indigenous children with Section 35 rights, no matter where in Canada they reside. It speaks to the importance of reuniting children with their families and communities. It details the principle of the best interests of the child and requires primary consideration of the child's safety and well-being as well as preserving an ongoing relationships with family and the culture to which the child belongs.
Madam Speaker, the federal government has established mechanisms for Indigenous government organizations to become self-governing in child welfare. If there is no Indigenous child and family law in place, workers need to make "reasonable efforts" to keep the child within the family or extended family and to place the child with an adult from a different Indigenous group or any other adult as a last resort. It also provides for ongoing reassessments, with specific timelines, to determine whether it's appropriate for a child placed outside the family to be reunited with them. All of this sounds good, but much depends on implementation and funding, both of which need to be sorted out.
Madam Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.
---Unanimous consent granted
Madam Speaker, this is an area of historic conflict. I hope that with 1,000 Indigenous children in care in the NWT, Indigenous government organizations will lead the way in self-government in child and family services. I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Mahsi cho, Madam Speaker. Today, I would like to talk about financial security and the high cost of living in the Northwest Territories. Last week, on Friday, February 28, 2020, the NWT Bureau of Statistics released a report on the state of financial security for residents of the NWT. The findings were based on the results of the 2019 NWT Community Survey. Overall, the results were pretty bleak, in my opinion, for many people across the territory.
Madam Speaker, 20 percent of households, that's one out of every five households across the NWT, have reported they had difficulties in making ends meet for their household expenses in terms of transportation, food, clothing, housing, and other expenses. The data also states that 23 percent of households reported that they were either "often" or "sometimes" worried about having enough money for food at any given time over the previous 12 months.
Madam Speaker, we as a Legislature need to start addressing these issues, and better sooner rather than later because, as I've said once already in a previous Member's statement, there are many folks across the NWT who live on very tight and fixed budgets. The results of this survey only confirm what I've said before.
Madam Speaker, there are no simple solutions to reducing the cost of living for our people. This is a multi-faceted issue that will need discipline and political will to properly addressed them and overcome them. This daunting issue will be addressed with a whole-of-government approach, starting first with the home, with prudent budgeting of household finances; followed by actions by local leaders, businesses, and us as legislators.
You've seen the like in news reports before, about the high cost of foods and stuff. I would love to see a show like the Price is Right come up here and to really highlight how much our food costs. I would like to see the Price is Right to go up to Tulita and say, "Oh, my god. There is a watermelon here. It cannot be $40 for a watermelon," just to drive home the point that a lot of us are trying to make. It's just too much to make ends meet for a lot of our residents, and I am hoping we can do that.
In closing, Madam Speaker, our goals must be simple, measurable, and achievable: lower costs of living, keep people in the North, and aim for people to thrive and not just to survive. Mahsi cho, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. This morning, I woke up and I said, "Why, why am I here?" I am here, Madam Speaker, for my constituents in Nunakput and to make a difference across our territory. I am here for our elders, our youth, all residents in the territory and the Beaufort-Delta. I am here to serve Nunakput, Madam Speaker. I listen and try to make a difference in our constituents' lives, that we could try to make a change and help them with their tough tasks that they have ahead of them, which sometimes feel like mountains, so big that they can't change, but we are here to change it. Anyone who asks for help from us, we are here to serve. That is our job. We are here to serve. We are here to listen.
When you take a look back, the jobs that we lack, we have to stimulate our economy. We need jobs. We need housing. The cost of housing, rental scale, everything, that has to be looked at, lower cost of living, income support, elders' facilities so we can take care of our elders in our home communities, supporting our local governments to make their jobs easier and not stretching them so far that they cannot provide service.
I will do my job to hold this House and this government accountable, Madam Speaker. I will hold them accountable, but I will work together with them to make a better NWT. We have to take a step back and look in the mirror, every one of us, and ask ourselves why we are here. We are here to work together to serve the people, and we are put in a position that we are blessed to be here, to serve all 33 communities across our great territory. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
I would like to recognize my husband, Jozef Carnogursky, today. He is here to visit me. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Madame la Presidente. I want to recognize my good friend Chris O'Brien, who splits his time between Yellowknife and Toronto. He and I filed the first and only successful request for an investigation under the Environmental Rights Act on April 22, 1991, into air pollution from Giant Mine. Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to welcome my beautiful wife, Jenny, and my son Joseph into the House today. I am so blessed to have them down here. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Merci, Madam la Presidente. The Member for Yellowknife North has set a high standard for the replies to the budget address, so I want to recognize his passion and insights. I'm not sure I can come anywhere close to that performance, but I do wish to encourage all my fellow regular MLAs to use this opportunity to set forth their views on the budget, our fiscal situation, and how to translate our priorities and mandate into action through this first budget of the 19th Assembly.
I will use my reply to the budget address to set out some thoughts on the following:
A quick summary of the 2020-2021 budget;
High-level observations on the process for the 2020-2021 budget;
Comments on the fiscal strategy;
What is not in the 2020-2021 budget; and
Concluding remarks.
A summary of the 2020-2021 budget and fiscal context. The 2020-2021 budget is a refreshing change from the budgets and practices of the previous Assembly and Cabinet. Although the framework for this budget was set by the previous Assembly, there are no new cuts to programs and services to fund infrastructure. This budget is pretty much status quo, with only $94 million of new spending, or about 5 percent of the total budget, most of the new spending is tied to matching federal funding and forced growth through increases arising from the recent collective agreements. I agree and can support most of the new spending in this budget including the following:
Increased funding for mental health and new long-term care beds at the old Stanton hospital;
More funding for the Arctic Energy Alliance for energy conservation and use of renewables;
An increase in the funding for Environment and Natural Resources after continuous and devastating cuts of 10 percent over four year. This increased funding often comes from the federal government, but is welcome support for caribou and protected areas;
Funding to turn the integrated case management pilot into a permanent program, which I strongly support;
Creation of a specialized territorial support team to assist with youth mental health and additional funding for the successful Northern Distance Learning program;
Negotiation of a co-management regime for offshore oil and gas, even if there is zero prospect and interest in this activity; and
A small increase in funding for the NWT Housing Corporation with its growing gap in core housing needs across the Northwest Territories.
About the budget process, Madam Speaker, I can say that the relationship and negotiations with Cabinet over this budget have been cordial and respectful, a much different and welcome change from the last four years. The real crunch has yet to happen in terms of what is to be put forward in a supplemental appropriation to begin to deal with the mandate and the priorities of regular MLAs.
It was difficult to jump into main estimates without more detailed business plans this time around. MLAs were asked to approve millions of dollars of expenditures without adequate justification or explanation in some cases. I do look forward to an approach of four-year rolling plans that will allow greater transparency and accountability.
Some comments, now, Madam Speaker on the fiscal context. Despite the attempts by the Finance Minister to paint a picture of financial stability and sustainability, there are very dark clouds on the horizon. The Minister said that we will exceed the federal borrowing limit of $1.3 billion by 2020-2021. The operating surpluses, which are required for spending on capital projects or infrastructure, will crash dramatically from $203 million this year to only $3 million in 2023-2024. This drop is due to declining revenues, and, in my view, over-spending on capital projects initiated by the last Cabinet, which put roads over people.
The Finance Minister has promised creativity, innovation, and systematic evaluation of programs and services. This will take time and extraordinary focus. It cannot possibly make up the fiscal shortfall, or make a complete strategy moving forward. Put simply, we need more revenues to continue to provide the current level of programs and services, let alone the promises made in the mandate. The Finance Minister has said we have $25 million to work with to begin to make progress on the mandate over the next four years. That's only about a quarter of the new spending in the 2020-2021 budget alone. The Finance Minister has not shared a costing of the mandate items, despite having been asked that several times. What we do know is that each of the large infrastructure projects, Taltson expansion, the Slave Geological Province Road, and the Mackenzie Valley Highway, will cost a lot more than $1 billion each. We have to stop fooling ourselves and the public that these can be done at the same time as we simply cannot afford them, even if the federal government gave us, or other potential partners, all the money. There would be lots of costs in simply managing these projects and the required O and M, as we have seen with the Stanton hospital with its ever-increasing operational costs, some of which are found in this budget, too.
What we do need, and I will continue to push for, is some realistic and detailed economic evaluations of the big three projects against other ways of investing public funds in terms of the number of jobs created, the location of those jobs, building of local capacity, how our labour force matches with job opportunities and other ways of more objectively examining value for money. If I had to choose between investing a billion dollars in the SGP road or Taltson expansion, and getting all of our housing out of core need for $500 million, and having 20 years of universal childcare, Madam Speaker, it's a no brainer. We would create more jobs, especially outside of Yellowknife, with an investment in housing and childcare, and help our residents to better participate in our economy. Our government needs more money. This was something that the last Cabinet refused to take seriously. We are in a financial and fiscal crunch now with too many big projects being promised, even with matching 75 percent federal funding. The GNWT 25 percent share still comes at a cost that stops, or slows down, other initiatives and investments, especially housing and diversifying our economy.
I pushed the Finance Minister to take the initiative to begin a serious public debate around revenue options and she seems ready to take up that challenge. We need to get the federal government to allow us to keep more, if not all, of our own source revenues to begin to build sound fiscal sustainability. An increase in our borrowing limit is only a partial and short-term solution. Again, we need to raise more money and get to keep it. It is a very serious problem when we raise more money from tobacco and alcohol than we get to keep from the extractive sector. Corporate taxes are a less than ideal way to capture revenues from non-renewable resources. Our one-time natural capital needs also be shared with future generations. A resource tax or capital tax should be seriously examined as a more equitable way of retaining the benefits of resource development. If you don't believe me on this point, look no further than the international expert hired by ITI, who evaluated our management of non-renewable resources and found we should be retaining more revenues. We also need to look at other ways of generating revenues including a high-income personal tax bracket, which other jurisdictions have added, including the federal government, reviewing the fees associated with the post-devolution resource management, raising tobacco taxes that were last increased in 2017, and other means. I welcome this public debate.
What is not in the 2020-2021 budget. I recognize that this budget is status quo and that the mandate will require additional funding, partly through supplementary appropriations. The budget address was virtually devoid of any discussion of the commitment to, and need for, additional resources to ensure completion of the ongoing Indigenous land rights negotiations, and implementation of the agreements already in place. To assist with these efforts, our government will also need to seriously move forward with implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. If we are to achieve more than the one agreement-in-principle at one of the negotiating tables in the last Assembly, more resources and a fresh approach are needed.
There was no mention in the budget of the potential for benefits from the billion-dollar remediation project, here in Yellowknife, around Giant Mine, or the work required to reclaim the Norman Wells fields, or other areas such as Cantung Mine. The remediation economy is the equivalent of at least one of the big projects, and it won't cost us very much, if anything, to get this work by the federal government or the private sector, but we also have to work very hard to ensure that Northerners will benefit from that work. Of course, we must also put in place a proper post-devolution system to identify and manage environmental liabilities before they come back to this government and taxpayers. This is something the last Cabinet failed to do, as we have seen with the Cantung mine, Cameron Hills, and the rollback of mandatory financial security in the Public Land Act. The Finance Minister must stop this bleeding now, working with her Cabinet colleagues.
There is little to no mention of the untapped potential of arts and culture to diversify the economy. This is another no-brainer and there isn't even a whisper of it in the budget. Where is the promised arts strategy that should be used to help identify opportunities for investment and a supplementary appropriation that puts that into action?
There are many other commitments from the mandate and elsewhere that will require attention and investment, likely well beyond the $25 million that is available under the current fiscal strategy. This includes addressing the municipal funding gap; completing the network of the single-window service centres in all our communities; more work to protect caribou habitat; building food security, including an increase to the Community Harvester Assistance Program; other food production initiatives; and last but not least, housing. Without affordable, suitable, and adequate housing, and 42 percent of our population does not have that, people cannot meaningfully participate in our economy.
In conclusion, Madam Speaker, the decisions of the last Cabinet and the majority of the last Assembly have clearly boxed us in, in terms of our fiscal situation and budgetary options. The cuts to programs and services to fund big infrastructure projects has pushed us closer than ever to the debt wall, resulting in more short-term borrowing and increased debt servicing costs. The infrastructure from the last Cabinet continues to lead to increased O and M costs and has generally failed to bring the anticipated benefits, whether it is the Mackenzie Valley fibre link that has not tied in communities, the failure to support tourism in Tuktoyaktuk, the lack of northern workers on the Tlicho All-Season Road, or the deficiencies in the Stanton Territorial Hospital building.
I am pleased to see this Cabinet beginning to promote a more balanced approach to our mandate and this budget with its people-focus. We need to spend more on our basic needs, whether it is housing, healthcare, or education, for the long-term outcomes our citizens deserve, and find the resources to do that. This means more revenues and new fiscal arrangements with Ottawa.
I sincerely thank my Cabinet colleagues and their staff, and my committee colleagues, for much hard work in getting us to this point. I have the feeling that the chances for change, transformative change, are greater now than any other point during my time in this Assembly. Madam Speaker, I may actually vote in favour of this budget, which has not happened for quite a long time. Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
