Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is with great distress to find out at this stage of the interim appropriation that taxed-based municipalities are taking a reduction in the block funding transfer. The department did not identify it during the interim appropriation. The way the numbers are presented in the documents provided by the department, they start off with a 2000-2001 preliminary planning target in block funding of $3,068,000. The interim portion was $1,020,000, of which there was a lot of discussion around this House that it has been a stand-pat business plan.
We hear now that in the area of block funding to tax-based municipalities, there will be a reduction of some five to seven percent. There is discussion, and the Minister did say, they could look at it as going across the board.
One thing I would like to point out is that some of the block funding agreements vary significantly between community to community. For example, I was aware that in the previous year in Inuvik, I think the block funding agreement was $138,000. I would like further clarification from the Minister or his staff as to what each of the five tax-based municipalities received in block funding agreements. Thank you.