Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I was the Chair the other day when the issue of community empowerment was discussed, and I had made a few notes, and I would just like to share a few thoughts on community empowerment.
I think it was a good exercise. I am glad it was moved into committee of the whole. I think it is good to talk about it, and to talk it over.
One of the issues of concern to me is one that has not been talked about a lot. But it has to do with liability of this government. When we turn programs, funding, responsibilities over to communities and if there is a failure to deliver that program to the level that is required to meet the needs of the residents, I am wondering about the ultimate responsibility of this government, and how that might be addressed.
Several people mentioned that communities can take on responsibilities at whatever pace, and as quickly as they feel they can manage them. But the valid point has been made that a lot of the personnel involved in departments which serve as support and back-up for those communities has been, or is going to be taken out of the picture. If we do have this kind of incremental approach to community empowerment, and different communities are at different levels of assuming responsibilities, in fact, a parallel system is required by this government. I am wondering how cost-effective that is, and if in fact we should not have something a little bit more organized, and set targets whereby a certain department would try turning over certain phase of responsibilities to different communities that were ready at the same time. So that we do not end up with a real patchwork.
There has been talk about saving money, by putting the dollars into programs as opposed to the administration of programs, and I think everybody agrees that there has been seemingly an uncontrolled growth in the area of bureaucracy in our government. We say that, but I just would like to point out that we sure like those government jobs in our communities, in those larger communities. So we talk about breaking down bureaucracy and we talk about community empowerment, but people have to realize that those jobs are not going to be there. I hope that is not a contradiction.
When we talk about the diminished role of the central government, and running communities at the community level. A lot of those people that work at that level, are volunteers. If we are going to diminish the role of the central government, I am wondering if we are looking at some form of compensation to those people. Are we going to share out pay cheques with them? Are we going to sit less, pay MLAs less, and pay people at the community level more money?
---Applause.
Even in a town the size of Hay River, we have a mayor that basically performs almost a full-time job for $16,000 a year.