Madam Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 22, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), 2021-2022, be read for the third time. Madam Speaker, I would request a recorded vote. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Madame la Presidente. I recognize that I'm one of the few things that is standing in the way of a much-needed break for us all, so I'm going to try to keep my remarks pretty short here. There was a very significant announcement by the Minister of Finance in the House yesterday. It's largely gone unnoticed by the public and media. That was some changes that the Minister agreed to make moving forward as a result of our discussions around the 2021-2022 capital budget. There was $15 million added to the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation budget over three years to help leverage the federal co-investment fund, $60 million carveout. We also agreed that there should be a $2.5 million one-time increase in the municipal infrastructure funding for 2021-2022. I want to sincerely thank all my Regular MLA colleagues for our work together on these priorities and to our Cabinet colleagues as well. Moving forward, this is the kind of collaboration I want to encourage and work towards. This is how consensus government can and should work.
People know that I tend to be a fairly stubborn, principled MLA. I want to make some remarks about the capital budget itself. Of course, it's the largest ever, and I'm quite concerned with the direction that it is taking. I don't think even the Finance Minister is entirely happy with it. I think this is really what I might categorize as a bad hangover from the last Assembly of overspending on capital, and capital not necessarily in the right areas. I support a lot of the spending in the bill, but we need to find a better balance between the programs and services and for our people and the large infrastructure projects. I don't think we've achieved that with this capital budget. Therefore, I will not be voting in favour of the bill, but I look forward to a better balance in the next capital budget. I'm happy to be part of a more collaborative process moving forward. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. To the motion. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Perhaps I'm a little less stubborn than my colleague from Frame Lake, but I share many of his sentiments. Ultimately, I will be voting in favour of this capital budget. I think there are a number of problems, but I believe our Cabinet and our government are aware of them. One I would like to see addressed is some of the smaller infrastructure at times. I'm happy to see that $2.5 million for our municipal funding gap, but we know there is plenty of more work to do. The Department of Infrastructure's deferred maintenance budget is growing every single year, I think, sometimes, as politicians, shiny, new, large infrastructure projects can seem very attractive, but if we're not making sure the existing infrastructure we have is properly maintained, that's ultimately going to cost us in the long run.
Additionally, I think there is a lot of work to be done with procurement, but I'm confident that this Cabinet will go out and do that work. Therefore, as we roll out this capital budget and we catch up on those carry-overs and we get this money out the door, it will truly employ Northerners. Lastly, I think all of us in this House are happy to see more money for housing and more money for our communities. I think both of those items are essential to our economic recovery and to the prosperity of our citizens. I would like to thank everyone for their work on this capital budget, and I look forward to continuing in the new session on the next one. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. To the motion. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Madam Speaker. Again, we can always make compromises and I think this was a good example in the last couple days how all 18 of us worked together and looked for solutions to find ways to pick away at our mandate items. We have some lofty goals, and we're doing this through a pandemic. I'm really happy that we earmarked some allocation of funds for housing and for MACA. I'm very glad to work with our colleagues. It was good to see that chemistry happen and make those things happen. I'm very happy for that.
In terms of the appropriation act as a whole, again, it's one of those things that I don't want to say upsets me; I'm disappointed. We need to see more for our small communities. There needs to be more evenness throughout our infrastructure items. I said in the House before, in the last, I'd say over 100 years ago, 80, 90 years ago, there was a depression. The Great Depression happened and what a lot of the governments did, too, is they put money back into their infrastructure projects to keep people working. Again, I'm starting to see that trend again happening. I'm hoping that happens here because this is going to be a tough time for the next while, and we're going to find ways to keep people working, keep people housed, keeping the food on the table and not just in the larger centres and our regional centres but in our small communities, as well. That's what we need. With that, I won't be supporting this motion, but I just wanted to say that, moving forward, I'm hoping we can find more equity. I want to say marsi cho to all my colleagues.
Thank you. To the motion. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'm going to vote in favour of this motion. We have to work with what we have. We have a lot of issues out there, and I think a lot of them were raised and addictions was one of them that I think that we as a government really have to take seriously and put some effort into and some financial backing. I look at housing in Hay River; there is a real shortage, so I'm glad that there is money going into that so we can access some of that co-investment dollars, rapid housing and so on. The other thing when I think about this budget, I think about Hay River requiring a new waterline or at least a waterline repair. We also need a new water plant. We need new pipes in the ground. Some of them are probably as old as me, so there you go. I think that what we did here is we compromised. It was consensus government maybe not at its best, but I think it worked. I think we should be proud of what we did here and move forward. I'll be voting in favour of the motion. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
To the motion. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I wanted to speak briefly to the collaboration that was already described, and I appreciate that. The collaboration sometimes to the outside, to the public, isn't necessarily obviously or transparent. It's one of those things that we don't want it to be seen as something that happens behind closed doors; it doesn't. It happens between MLAs. It happens between the people who have been elected here and the conversations that are being had between Cabinet and between all of the Regular MLAs. Those conversations started all the way back in the summer. There have been presentations between the department, multiple departments, in fact; there have been multiple conversations, both in terms of individuals coming to me and then, of course, on behalf of committee. I do want to emphasize that collaboration, it really is quite a meaningful thing. There were a lot of conversations that were had, and that was what ultimately made this capital estimates better, made it strong, and it made it more representative.
Madam Speaker, we cannot possibly do all things all at the same time. That is not possible, and it's not financially feasible or not fiscally responsible. We have to recognize and remember that there are needs across the whole of the Northwest Territories. We lag behind. The age of our infrastructure and the simple lack of infrastructure is a fact across the entire Northwest Territories, and we cannot let that hold us back. We cannot let that hold back the future prosperity of the Northwest Territories, and that prosperity depends in turn on having healthy people, educated people. I am happy to say that the capital estimates include funding for schools; for health centres; for the fish plant in Hay River; lots of investments in parks; include transportation corridors, including in MLA Norn's riding, we have advanced a project. This has really been an opportunity to look across the needs of the territories and try to find ways that we can collaborate and do the best we can with what we have.
It is ambitious, Madam Speaker. It is ambitious. Fortunately, we do have the procurement review that is going to be taking place in advance of the timing of these capital estimates so that, hopefully, we can make the dollars that far going to be spent here more sticky into the Northwest Territories, if that is how the procurement review unfolds, and also ensure that, when we have this plan roll out, we are really delivering on all of our promises to ensure prosperity in the Northwest Territories, as I say. I am very happy, again, that we are able to vote on this today. I am looking forward to support, and I am also wanting to reflect that it was, at times, difficult but, ultimately, a consensus process that brought us here today. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. To the motion.
Question.
