Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, this department is perhaps most important to all the communities in the territories, because it is the delivery agent for community programs. Certainly, it is the department that most affects the day to day life of the residents in the smaller communities, whether through funding or recreation programs, or provisions of basic services such as water and sewage.
Mr. Chairman, I stated many times in this House, and also in the Standing Committee on Finance, that the first priority for this department, and indeed the government as a whole, should be provision of basic infrastructure programs and services to all communities. While I speak of basics, I mean access to such things as good and clean water, and also proper sewer systems, etc. I am concerned that the services provided to some communities is less than that provided to others.
Mr. Chairman, I know that there may be other sources of funding that the government may access to improve water and sewer services in communities. What I would like to ask the Minister is, has his department looked at accessing the Green Plan funding to improve water and sewer systems in some of our smaller communities?
Mr. Chairman, I am also concerned that the department is not doing enough to assess existing infrastructure, to see if it meets the needs of the communities. I believe that it is very important that existing infrastructure is assessed, and if it is inadequate, to include improvements in the capital plan for the department. Another question that I would like to pose to the Minister is whether his department has assessment mechanisms in place to look at the existing infrastructure to see if it is adequate, and if it is not adequate, to include it in their capital plan?
Mr. Chairman, basic infrastructure also includes community access to recreation facilities and programs. I have always believed that it is very important for all communities to have adequate recreational facilities and programs. With that said, Mr. Chairman, I am very concerned that the department is reducing financial contributions to communities. This reduction means that communities will not be able to maintain the level of recreation programs that are currently being offered.
I would like to know why the financial assistance for recreation programs is being reduced? Is this government simply, as my other colleague indicated, off-loading this responsibility to community governments?
Another area that I want to touch on, Mr. Chairman, is a concern also raised in the Standing Committee on Finance, and I also feel very strongly about this reduction in the budget. It is for travel for municipal officers travelling to communities. This reduction will mean a substantial decrease in the training and support the department provides to communities.
I do not think, Mr. Chairman, that the department should be going that route. Mr. Chairman, given that we are now talking about transferring more responsibilities to community and regional governments, it is essential that we provide more, not less training in administrative, and management support to communities.
Mr. Chairman, I want to pose another question to the Minister. What justification, could the department have for reducing these budgets when they know that service to communities is going to be affected?
Mr. Chairman, I have other specific concerns, but I will wait until we go activity by activity in the budget. I will be raising further points later on. So I will conclude my general comments for now.