Question has been called. All those in favour, please signify. Thank you. All those opposed? Thank you. The motion is carried.

---Carried

Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I'd like to present the final report of the Special Joint Committee on Non-Tax-Based Community Affairs.

The Special Joint Committee on Non-Tax-Based Community Affairs started its work in April 2002. Its purpose was to identify the actions that the Government of the Northwest Territories can take to improve the quality of life in these communities. The committee held community consultation workshops for representatives from three different groups of communities: the eleven smallest communities, the nine mid-sized communities and the seven largest hamlets and charter communities. The committee also initiated several research projects to increase their understanding about the GNWT programs and services in these communities.

Twenty-seven of the 33 communities in the NWT are communities which are of interest to the committee. These 27 communities differ from the regional centres and Yellowknife in more than just population. They have a larger percentage of aboriginal residents than the regional centres. More of their residents participate in hunting and fishing activities and speak their aboriginal language. However, the residents in these communities have lower levels of educational achievement and have higher unemployment rates than residents in regional centres. Although these 27 communities are growing more slowly than the tax-based communities, they have higher crime rates. The GNWT programs and services that are delivered in these communities seem to be delivered at lower standards. The GNWT facilities are getting old, but the new corporate capital planning process does not seem to be able to accommodate the needs of these communities.

Based on the consultations with community leaders and on the results of the research projects, the committee Members have proposed changes to the GNWT's corporate capital planning process. The GNWT cannot explain how it plans for its new facilities or how it makes project funding decisions. Many people think that the GNWT is not keeping up with the capital funding needs of the smaller communities, because it is building new large facilities in the regional centres, such as the correctional centre in Yellowknife and the hospital in Inuvik. The committee Members also heard from many community representatives about the importance of prevention and development programs in their communities. They were told that the funding arrangements for these programs do not support a comprehensive or sustained community effort. The committee has proposed a new approach for these programs. The Members have asked the GNWT to organize its service standards more clearly and to increase access to housing in these communities. The GNWT should also increase its support for the community constable program. To conclude our report, the committee identified some changes that could be made to the GNWT organization so that it could provide better support to the small communities.

Three consultation workshops were organized as part of the committee's work plan. Representatives from the 11 smallest communities were invited to participate in a workshop session at the North Nahanni Lodge. Representatives from the nine mid-sized communities were invited to a workshop in Wekweti. The seven largest hamlets and charter communities sent representatives to a workshop in Tuktoyaktuk. In all, 19 of the 27 communities sent representatives to participate in the workshops.

The community representatives are concerned about:

• • Insufficient capital funding.
• • Lack of clarity about capital project selection and management.
• • Complicated administration and uncoordinated contribution funding for small projects with short-term funding.
• • Ensuring continuing support from the GNWT for developmental and preventative programs. Their view is that these programs are at least as important as the programs dealing with treatment, crisis intervention and problem management.

Their experience is that many headquarters and regional GNWT employees don't have the skills to be able to provide practical hands-on assistance and useful expertise in small communities.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask my colleague, the Honourable Vince Steen, to present the next portion of this report.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The chair recognizes the honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The committee Members understood that the government was interested in hearing from the committee as soon as possible. They wanted the government to have time to consider changes, which could be incorportated into the GNWT budget for 2004-2005. The Members also wanted time to distribute the report and hear back from community representatives.

Thirteen recommendations were made to the GNWT:Capital Planning And FundingA. Provide better support to small community governments and assist them to do their own capital planning, project management and engineering.B. Improve the community consultation process by establishing a meaningful consultation process that is coordinated across departments, regions and communities and provides useful information about capital planning and funding.C. Modify the criteria for prioritizing projects by using fewer and simpler criteria and ensuring that community government facilities are included in the capital planning.D. Document roles and responsibilities for capital planning in clear language, so that it is explained for GNWT staff, community governments and MLAs.E. Increase the capital budget in order to realistically manage the replacement of the GNWT's aging inventory, respond to growth, and make up for previous years' shortfalls.Development And Prevention ProgramsA. Consolidate prevention and development contribution funding into one fund located in one department and increase the available funding. B. Simplify the administration of this funding and ensure that communities are supported in the development and implementation of a sustained community-based effort to create lasting changes in the lives of community residents and improve the well-being of the community.Access To ServicesA. Establish service delivery standards in smaller communities and be accountable for meeting the standards.B. Increase and strengthen access to policing services by expanding support for the community constable program and the First Nations policing program.C. Increase access to the home ownership programs by developing block-funding approaches with local governments and increasing the flexibility of housing program eligibility requirements.D. Emphasize the importance of prevention programs to increase the response to the alcohol and drug abuse problems in small communities.Other TopicsA. Implement changes in GNWT structure, organization and operations to ensure that GNWT regional staff can provide more coordinated assistance to the smallest communities.B. Publish plain language, user-friendly reports regarding capital expenditures, service standards, and programs and services in a timely manner.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague, Mr. Lafferty, to proceed with the report.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. The chair now recognizes the honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The chair now recognizes the honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Education remains a significant concern for the committee Members. Many parents are concerned that education services in the smaller communities are delivered to a lower standard than education services in the larger communities. Poor teachers' housing, high teacher turnover and teachers' lack of experience may be some of the contributing factors which may result in lower educational achievements. The committee Members recommend that there should be an examination of the educational challenges and solutions in small communities.

The committee Members have heard from many residents in small communities about property tax concerns, year after year. It is time for these problems to be tackled and resolved. The committee Members recommend that there should be a review of the property taxation issues in the small communities, where the GNWT administers property taxation.

The committee Members remain concerned about the lack of affordable housing in many smaller communities. The existing government programs have not effectively responded to the need for housing for teachers, community government staff and other community residents.

The committee Members developed recommendations about capital and application-based contribution funding. Their examination indicated that most of the government's funding is not based primarily or solely on population criteria. However, the allocations usually do take population into consideration in various ways. Most GNWT contribution funding is not guided by well-defined allocation criteria. The committee Members recommend that there should be a review of funding methodologies in order to determine options that would be useful for GNWT funding in the smaller communities.

The committee Members found that there was great value in being able to undertake practical research and discuss issues with community leaders. The work of the committee is one of a few ways that the smaller communities can have a voice that is constructive and potentially effective at resolving common concerns for a majority of the NWT communities. Committee Members know that they cannot make decisions for the next Legislative Assembly. They will recommend, however, that the Members of the next Legislative Assembly establish a Standing Committee on Small Communities and that the present government reflect this recommendation in the transition plan to the next Legislative Assembly. Therefore, the Special Joint Committee on Non-Tax-Based Community Affairs recommends that the 15th Legislative Assembly establish a Standing Committee on Small Communities to represent the interests of, and improve the quality of life in, the non-tax-based municipalities in the Northwest Territories.

This report already identifies some of the work that could be undertaken by that committee. The committee could accomplish significant work in order to challenge Northerners to understand and appreciate the needs of the smaller communities and perhaps even assist the government to take new steps and build better tomorrows.

Mr. Speaker, that concludes the final report of the Special Joint Committee on Non-Tax-Based Community Affairs, and I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nunakput, that Committee Report 13-14(6) be received by the Assembly and moved to Committee of the Whole for consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. We have a motion on the floor and the motion is in order. To the motion.

Question has been called. All those in favour, please signify. Thank you. All those opposed? Thank you. The motion is carried.

---Carried

Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me special pleasure today to recognize two people with Matco Transportation Systems. I would like to introduce Mr. Ray Anderson, president; and, Mr. Wayne Wishloff, the vice-president of Matco. Mr. Speaker, I will be very brief. This company, which has been operating in the NWT for 37 years, has been chosen by their peers in the NWT Chamber of Commerce as the business of the year. They were first established in 1966 in Norman Wells and continue to serve the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause