Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier in my Member's statement I talked about what's going on in Fort Resolution, and it's a little bit disheartening to witness what's going on there and listen to the hamlet council and also to the deputy mayor. And I also want to just apologize for not getting these questions to the Minister of MACA sooner, but I but anyway, I just wanted to ask the question. MACA, in regards to how did MACA work to assist the community through its challenges since 2019 to implement the work plan with MACA before pulling the trigger about a month ago? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Tu NedheWiilideh. Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Member for asking these questions. I can honestly say the Member for Tu NedheWiilideh has been in constant contact and doing his job as an MLA. In regards to his question, it's going to be a little bit longwinded, but I apologize now.
In March 2019, Municipal and Community Affairs entered into a comanagement agreement with the hamlet that expired in 2020. MACA's regional superintendent remained in regular contact, almost often daily, with the mayor and SAO to provide ongoing support. In fall of 2022, the interim SAO provided quarterly reports showing a million-dollar deficit. Municipal and Community Affairs regional staff visited the community in 2022 and were able to assist with some financial reporting.
In a letter to the mayor on October 13th, 2022, MACA set out concerns and recommendations related to governance, financial reporting, and critical infrastructure, and SAO recruitment. The regional superintendent was in touch almost daily with the mayor and deputy mayor from September to January 2022, urging council to hire a SAO as it was a legislative requirement.
In February 2023, the regional superintendent and assistant superintendent met with the council to highlight some of MACA's concerns. Council members repeatedly asked for administration at that time and we were trying to work with them administration is our last step, and we were trying to work with them to come out there.
The school community government met with the council to discuss the custom training plan. MACA visited staff visited the community to meet with staff and council in March, April, and May of 2023 to discuss and assist with financial and governance issues. The regional office continues to provide ongoing advice and support to the mayor and deputy mayor after the mayor resigned. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for your response. In your response, you talked about in 2020 the agreement comanagement agreement expired. However, in the deputy minister's press release, it talked about MACA withdrew from the comanagement agreement. And so my question is, Mr. Speaker, why did MACA withdraw from the comanagement agreement despite that $640,000 community deficit was not shared with the elected council? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct. In March 2019, as part of the commitment to implement measures intended to improve accountability and efficiency of their programs and services, the hamlet did enter into a comanagement agreement and work plan with Municipal and Community Affairs. The agreement and work plan included recommendation for operational review conducted in months leading up to the agreement. The agreement expired. Again, I wish to stress it expired March 31st, 2020. And while some of the objectives were not fully achieved, the hamlet was demonstrating a commitment to successfully accomplishing these objectives. It was therefore agreed that Municipal and Community Affairs would continue to work closely with the hamlet on the work plan action and planned action items without extending the comanagement agreement. So that was an agreement with the department and the hamlet. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, Minister, for that. Yeah, I guess the community's been wanting answers for some time, and we had a meeting in May, and we were I attended that meeting in that community and they were still asking the question, you know, where's the Minister, where's the MACA staff, and that kind of thing. So anyways, so Mr. Speaker, it's clear the residents of Fort Resolution are frustrated. Will the Minister go to Fort Resolution and consult with the community members and elected council before taking further action? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just need to clear the air. So mayor and the deputy mayor reached out to me. We had a conversation. They told me that they were going to be on and I believe it was May 10th they were going to have a meeting. I explained that I was travelling already attending an FPT meeting and that however our staff would be available. Our staff we did give them that information and staff was waiting the whole night to get the phone call to be brought in. So we were making ourselves available. I can advise you that I ran into the deputy mayor this week and offered to go into Fort Res and speak to the community leadership as my schedule allows. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Minister. I think now that, you know, it sounds like the administration's going to happen, and there are still concerns with the residents of Fort Resolution in regards to the water rates and sewer rates going up. Can the Minister assure the community that that doesn't happen right now until we have a better hand on what's going to happen in the administration work plan? And I'm hoping that the Minister could probably explain that as he goes into the community once he's notified on the date. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not have a timeline or implementation plan yet. The Minister hasn't even started the required work to address the deficit and outstanding issues. So that work needs to be done. There may likely be some changes required to the hamlet programs and services, including the water and sewer rates. However, we don't know that until we look at it. Municipal and Community Affairs is aware that several hamlet programs and services are not currently functioning at full capacity, and there will likely be changes needed to ensure that residents are receiving these municipal services.
Again, I would encourage the residents of Fort Res to provide support to the administrator as he undertakes the work required to help the hamlet to set work on a stable and financial path. This includes discussions, issues, and concerns with the administrator once he starts on March 5th.
But, Mr. Speaker, yesterday I had an opportunity to talk to a former superintendent for Municipal and Community Affairs, and we were having a conversation about administration and what the role is and how it's going to be done. So we are working on that, and I will work with the Member to explain some of the ideas that we're looking at to make sure this administration is a short period of time. We, I, want to make sure we have an elected council in there as soon as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
