Mr. Chairman, thank you. I wonder if we could get some additional clarification on the question. Is the Member referring to the population to be eligible for capital infrastructure?

Thank you. Mr. Steen.

Mr. Christensen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To be eligible for funding under our capital assistance programs, there is no population per se that makes a community eligible. It is whether or not they have been identified as a community within the policy document itself. It lists all of the communities that are recognized as eligible for funding and similarly, under the settlement capital assistance policy, it lists those communities that are settlements or unincorporated communities that are eligible for capital funding. It isn't a population figure, but rather it is whether or not the community is identified as being eligible pursuant to the policy. There is a list of communities attached to the policy in each case. Thank you.

Thank you. Contributions, Inuvik, total region. Mr. Steen.

Thank you. Madam Minister.

I will also refer that question to Mr. Christensen.

Mr. Christensen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The group of communities that are identified as being eligible are those communities that the Government of the Northwest Territories has traditionally recognized as communities. There are some very small communities in that list that are eligible for capital funding. To repeat again, there is no minimum community size. The merits of including those communities as eligible under the policy were considered on individual merit and are specifically identified for clarity within the policy itself.

Thank you. Mr. Steen.

Madam Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If a community is established with human beings in it, then we, as a government, have the responsibility to make sure the community people, whether it is a small or large community, have the same facilities as any other in Canada. The communities, just because they are small, it doesn't mean they should be discriminated against. I understand what the Member is asking; that small communities should get smaller amounts of funding for water and sewage. I will refer the question to Mr. Christensen. I would just like to say that even if it is a small community or a large community, if it has anything to do with the safety or health of the people in the community then, as a responsible government, we should be assessing the needs of that community and helping them in any way we can. I will refer the question to Mr. Vern Christensen on the details. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Mr. Christensen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On the question of whether the capital plan reflects what people want versus what the government thinks they need; as a department, we have conducted the capital planning process in close consultation with the community governments and have tried to identify what the needs are in the community with the community councils. Hopefully, that is reflected in our plan as to what they want and also what the Government of the Northwest Territories is prepared to invest in in terms of community infrastructure. It is a lot of money to improve the water supplies in some of these very small communities. The unique features of those communities are such that that requires that work to be done if we are to provide a safe drinking water supply to them.

Colville Lake is further back in terms of the development of its local infrastructure. It is one of the communities that has been approved for funding under our settlement capital assistance policy. In the department's capital forecasting plan, we do show similar improvements for Colville, in spite of the fact that they are a small community, in years four and five in our capital forecasting plan. So we are treating the communities consistently, but it is a significant investment to improve these water supplies in these small communities.

Thank you. Community development. Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Madam Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to thank the Member for this information. The money had already been committed and there are assessments made at the community level for what their needs are. For some communities in the Territories, it is harder to get water for them. Therefore, it might be more costly than other communities, whether they are small or large. It depends on where their water supply is. Before any funds are committed to a community for services, everyone knows that there have been assessments made at all levels before the funds are committed. At this time, we aren't able to take that money from that community and give it to another community. This was done before I was Minister of this department.

With regard to McPherson, I had said that we will be sending staff up there right away to deal with the situation and to give the community some options on their water supply. I will ask Mr. Christensen to answer how the funds are allocated. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. I would like to remind the Members that there have been many committees before but that the Minister is still the lead Minister at the present time. I would like to try and refrain from referring to a previous Minister of any department. Mr. Christensen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In terms of the reference to the allocation of funding for Trout Lake and Nahanni Butte versus the funding for the water improvements in Fort McPherson, the intention of the department was to, first of all, do a planning study in 1997-98. Because of the uncertainty and what the outcome of that planning study would be, in the kinds of improvements that might be indicated as a result of that planning study, there were no additional amounts indicated in the capital forecasting plan of the department. The project that would be identified as being required as a result of that work would be budgeted for as a result of the study that was done.

In defence of what the department has put in its capital budget, there was a need identified that was associated with the water supply in Fort McPherson. However, due to the uncertainty of what might be the outcome of the investigation, resources weren't allocated as such. In response to the more current need that's been expressed, the department has agreed to advance that planning work so that we have that information earlier rather than later and can respond appropriately. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Total region. Mr. Steen.