Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Madam Minister.
Debates of Feb. 11th, 1998
Topics
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Manitok Thompson Aivilik
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We can pass his request on to the village of Fort Simpson. They have the details. Thank you.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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David Krutko Mackenzie Delta
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If that is the case maybe we should refer this item, or this whole section regarding the block funding arrangement, until we get clarification on how this works. It seems like if the department does not have that information in sight how can we approve something for $1.5 million without knowing exactly what those expenditures are going to be spent on? If we have to go through all the municipalities then, maybe, we should defer this section of the budget in the way of a motion.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair Vince Steen
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. If you are contemplating making a motion to that effect, I will recognize you at a later time. I have on the list Mr. Rabesca and Mr. Miltenberger, so I will recognize Mr. Rabesca.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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James Rabesca North Slave
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am still concerned about page 4-18 regarding the retrofit fire pumper in Snare Lakes. My concern is when might this equipment be delivered to the community? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Manitok Thompson Aivilik
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will ask my assistant deputy minister to give some feedback to that. He knows more about this. Thank you.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Christensen
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. What is proposed is to take a fire truck that can be reallocated to another community and do a major retrofit on the vehicle. To make the vehicle like new for Snare Lakes and have the vehicle moved in on the winter road next spring. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Michael Miltenberger Thebacha
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would just
like to ask some questions to clarify this block funding process. When I first was elected, the town of Fort Smith was in the process of negotiating a block funding agreement with Municipal and Community Affairs, which I believe was three or four years in length. Some of the negotiations, according to my recollection, were based on what was in the capital plan, what were some of the perceived or potential anticipated needs in the community for future development? I think there is probably a year or two years left and then you are going to have to go through that renegotiation process. In actual fact, this $927,000 is not going to go on forever. There is a specific term. I will get the Minister or deputy minister to make sure I have the right understanding of this process. Thank you.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Ballantyne
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, that is correct. The block funding agreements are set to be three to a maximum of four years in length. As we come up to the end of that agreement, negotiations take place to put a new block funding agreement in place. It is very important to note that in each of these block funding agreements there is a clause that allows the department to reduce the amount of funding available to the community if the department's budget is reduced. This is important because we cannot give away money that we do not have. For example, when our budget was reduced a couple of years ago that required us to go to the city of Yellowknife and tell them that we would not be able to provide the committed amount of funding. That is another safeguard the Legislative Assembly has to put some controls in place here. If our budget as voted is reduced then we have to go back to the block funding communities and inform them that their block funding will subsequently be reduced. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Michael Miltenberger Thebacha
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The assumption could be made then that the same process was followed in Fort Simpson, Hay River and Inuvik. Fort Simpson is just starting theirs, we are just finishing ours and I am assuming that Inuvik will be back at the table soon as well? Thank you.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Ballantyne
Yes, that is correct, Mr. Chairman. We are also in discussions with the town of Iqaluit and Norman Wells, as well. Thank you.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Michael Miltenberger Thebacha
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Could the Minister or deputy minister also clarify how this funding is allocated over the three years? It is not necessarily that there is $927,000 every year, but there could be projects targeted in the first year of the agreement that would result in a larger figure than the second or third year, or is it a consistent figure? Once again, my recollection was I thought there was a number of capital projects in Fort Smith, for instance, that required a fairly larger amount than they did this year or last year. Could I get clarification please?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Manitok Thompson Aivilik
Thank you. Mr. Vern Christensen is more involved with that area and he will be able to give the details.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Christensen
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The block funding agreement for Fort Smith negotiated an amount which is uniform from one year to the next over a three-year period. However, perhaps what the Member is thinking of, is in the case of Fort Smith, they had a very expensive capital project, being their recreation complex, in the capital plan, which was not typical of the average expenditure on capital projects over a longer period of time. The amount that was determined as the annual allocation took in that specific project. When the amount is negotiated for subsequent years, then the amount might be different because that particular project would not so heavily influence the average amount for the next three-year period. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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