Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Question for the Minister of MACA. Will the Minister commit to providing funding to the community to resolve this issue.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you. And I give the Member credit for keep on asking the question. I've had numerous emails. I've had conversations with the Chief and that.
We give money through gas tax, CIP, and we work with the communities. Through the new deal, communities make decisions on where it is. We don't have any other money. There's no slush fund out there. So the answer, quickly, shortly, no. Thank you.
Thank you. Does the Minister think it is fair to give community gas tax funding of a million dollars in 2007 and not provide any funding for a 40yearold water pipe liability costing over $10 million. Will the Minister commit to seeking out unused funds from other departments to respond to the emergency? Thank you.
I think there was about four questions in there, but I'll try to answer them all, and if I miss, I apologize.
So the first is the funding in regards to each community have their infrastructure. In 2007, the Municipal and Community Affairs came up with a new deal. The new deal, the money is allocated by a funding formula and so since 2007 to 2022, the department gave Behchoko, in the community public infrastructure money, of just over $15 million, the gas tax funding of just over $10 million. And communities make decisions. They make priorities. So they have to make decisions on what they think needs to be done for the community, and they make choices. Unfortunately, this situation is 40 years old, as the Member has said. Community has the choice to prioritize this over other projects that didn't happen. Other communities are in the same boat. So we don't have any new money. There is no new money. The departments don't have any money. We're $1.5 billion in debt as we try to operate moving forward.
So as I tried to explain to the Member numerous times is we don't have any money. If we had the money, there's other communities that have other issues as well, I'd be more than willing to do it if we had the money but we don't have the money. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Well, that wasn't the answer I was looking for but I think I don't think he really answered my questions too as well. So the Minister talks about $40 million. Some of this funding includes money for daily operations. People have to live and eat and work. So some of them goes to the operations, and this money is not for capital replacement like he is talking about. What money is available needed to maintain the existing infrastructure and not do a major capital plan replacement. So what money is available? That's what I'm asking him. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I tried to explain to the Member, there's CIP; there's gas tax and their water and sewer. On top of it, the community gives $30 million since 2007 for the operation of it. So they have this year, they got $2.27 million for the operation of their community. So on top of it, that's where the money is. Is there new money available? No. What the community has been able to do and as of today, and this is going to take a little bit of time and I apologize it might be a Minister's statement, but MACA staff have met with the Behchoko SAO, assistant SAO, and water superintendent to discuss the water and sewer infrastructure situation. Work as with Ace Construction to identify and fix a number of leaks in Edzo. Four houses now have temporary aboveground service lines. They have issued public notices to help identify leaks. The treatment water reserve is now up to 50 percent capacity, and the water treatment plant is able to make water faster than it is being consumed. Work on the 20yearold replacement plan identified in the 2019ADCO report has not begun. MACA has since reached out to them about updating and that report and respect to costing and priority.
So Mr. Speaker, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is doing everything we can do with the community to help. We don't have any additional money. I've said that publicly. I've said it in the press. I've sent numerous emails to the Member. I've said it to the Chief. We don't have any money. We give the money that we get from Municipal and Community Affairs, 80 percent of it goes out to municipalities. There's no new money. There's no new slush fund. So as I tried to explain to the Member, if there was a slush fund it would be great, but the municipalities, we don't have that type of money. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Final supplementary. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Okay, I know he made numerous reference to the $40 millions and to the 2007, and I think I know what this Minister is trying to do, is that he is trying to discredit the community government and playing blaming game. I won't have time for that. So I think that's what he's trying do.
Point of order.
Thank you, the Minister is seeking a point of order. Minister of ECE.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is imputing motives to the Minister, saying that he's making comments in an attempt to discredit the municipality. I think it's a pretty clear one. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. You may continue with the point of order. Member for Monfwi, please withdraw and apologize to the House.
What's that?
Please withdraw your remarks and
Okay, okay. Then I'll
apologize.
say that. Not to discredit or the community government, okay, I'll withdraw with that statement. But I think in 2007
Apologize.
Apologize to the House, and thank you.
I apologize. I'm sorry, Mr., whatever. Okay, okay.
In 2007, when he made reference to 2007, and I think in 2007 when the decision was made to take out another project, that was with good intention. And there's a lot of things that we have done. But there was nothing that for all the years that I was there too, we never I don't want to say discredit again but I know they do get our financial statement. And if they knew that there was something wrong with our water pipe system 40 years ago, why didn't they address it back then and tell us. And years later, when we're experiencing this problem now. That is the reason why I said what I said before. But he keeps referring to 2007. Something must have happened in 2007 when I was not there when the other leaders are not here to defend themselves. So that's why I said that. But I would like to know if the Minister of he didn't answer my questions too. Will the Minister commit to seeking unused funds from other department to respond to this emergency? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said, the new deal started in 2007. So what was happening before that it was the government of the Northwest Territories were making decisions on what infrastructure was going to go into the communities. The new deal allowed the communities to make decisions. I fully support that. I think the communities make the good decisions based on the evidence they had.
In 2013, the department wrote a letter to the municipality saying you need to look at some of these decisions; here's a potential future problem that could happen. These things happen. We understand that. We, as government, make decisions and then we look at it and go whoops, that wasn't right but we're stuck with the decision we made. I respect the decisions that council made. However, the Member has asked me to go to the other departments and get money for stuff that if I do that, there is I have to do that for 33 or 32 other communities. There's priorities and needs there in the communities.
Another thing is we don't have leftover money to give to projects like that. I have reached out to the federal government. We continually reach out to the federal government to have those conversations. We support the community by having our staff in there. 40 years ago, the lines weren't a problem. They are a problem now. We're having this situation now. That's why you budget and we do things that way. And the department is more than willing to work with the community to deal with this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
