Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, the Honourable Jim Antoine. The formula funding agreement between the Government of the Northwest Territories and the communities has recently been reviewed. Recommendations were made to make some changes to the formula to make it more fair and equitable.
In the case of one of the municipalities I represent, Rae Edzo, funds are provided by Municipal and Community Affairs to provide basic municipal services. These services include general government services, building maintenance, recreational services, and community planning.
Community governments are required to provide these services under the Hamlet Act and Chartered Communities Act. In the case of Rae Edzo, it is pointed out in one of the documents that "unique community features are not always addressed by the funding formula." The example that was given was the dual communities of Rae Edzo.
Mr. Speaker, I am worried that unless an agreement is reached which recognizes the unique situation of this twin community, the two communities will split and apply for funding separately. In this time of tight budgets, I think that it would be more cost effective to reach an agreement. Would the Minister commit to examining this issue?