Thank you Madam Chair. I believe I am on the record a number of times in Hansard, of my support for community empowerment. I would certainly not, in good conscience, deny the rights of residents of any community, to have what I have in my own community. I believe I have got community empowerment. I have a municipal government that generates taxes, makes decisions on my behalf. I could not in good conscience oppose community empowerment, and those same rights for anyone living in any community, regardless of size.
What I am opposed to is the speed that community empowerment seems to be moving at, and the lack of a concrete plan, that everyone can sit down. I think there has certainly been demonstrated here today, the number of questions that remain unanswered. The people that are asking these questions, are people that have been dealing with, and have had access to information about community empowerment. It that number of questions are not clear, or have not been answered for those individuals, I think there is probably less of an understanding outside of this legislature.
What I would like to do, is I would like to see community empowerment done once, and it done correct the first time. I think that could be achieved by a much slower speed than what is proposed. I believe MACA as a lead ministry for community empowerment does presently have the resources and people to work with communities, and get it right the first time, a small number of communities, produce a manual if you will, and go on and increase the number of communities that community empowerment could be extended to.
From my perspective, we hear about such things as "our communities want it". Well, I would turn around and say, well why do the communities not take it? Why do you not take the initiative? Why do you not initiate a tax regime, where you can take control? If you are generating funds in your own community, that is control. And then you can be accountable in your own community. My understanding is that we have only a handful of communities in the Northwest Territories that are tax-based. So community empowerment will not work properly until a community is generating its own taxes, and can be responsible and accountable. I think we are walking around with our heads in the clouds, if we think otherwise. That is the basis for a community. You raise your own taxes, and you get support from another level of government.
I also hear the Minister of Finance and the Premier talk about MLAs having less of a role. My community has community empowerment, Fort Smith, Hay River, Inuvik. I question whether my role and responsibilities are lessened because my community has community empowerment. We hear comments about the day of civil servants in far away places making decisions for people in communities. Have we forgotten that we still have Ottawa? This is a community that is making decisions that affect us. We have input to those decisions by our elected officials, no different than what we have in the Northwest Territories. I still believe that communities can have community empowerment, but they first of all, have to have a tax base, to have some empowerment, to have some control.
I believe that you do not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that if you have three different departments providing a service, for example, maintenance to houses, DPW doing it, Housing Corporation, and another department doing that, it does not make an awful lot of sense, to have that number of maybe half-time people, have one person provide those responsibilities, or privatize or whatever. Those community empowerment initiatives are excellent. But there are still many many more out there that still can be accommodated.
That is all I have at this time, but I certainly will have lots of questions on community empowerment, when we get out of the opening remarks. Thank you Madam Chair.