Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on Friday my colleague, Mr. McLeod, expressed his frustration with the capital planning process. I share those same frustrations. A gap exists between communities expressing their needs to MLAs and government officials, and the decisions being made by deputy ministers which do not reflect the input of Members and residents of the communities, despite Cabinet's assurances that the input of Members and the communities are taken into consideration. This input is not taken into account when dollars are actually spent on projects.
Mr. Speaker, on Friday the Minister of Finance said that as part of the government's long-term planning, a 20-year capital needs assessment is done. He said that this is a needs assessment, not a plan. He stated that it's not a capital plan that the government is committed to for the next 20 years, it's simply assessing what the long-term needs are. Although he says that it is not a plan, sometimes projects are selected and we are told that they are picked because they are in the 20-year plan. At other times, projects are removed from the books without any consultation, and the reasoning is because it is only in a 20-year assessment, not a plan.
I am sure that we can all sense how confusing, disappointing and frustrating this must be to the communities such as Gameti who are expecting an upgrade of their school. At the recent community meeting on capital planning, no one from MACA could explain why the plan for the school had changed. Neither the MLAs, nor the community, nor government staff were involved in the decision, nor do I know why it was no longer in the books.
Mr. Speaker, the current process of selecting capital projects needs to be clear. The input of the community members and the MLAs must be included in the plans, and also the Minister. Not only the deputy ministers should be involved in the selection of projects. This is what we have been elected to do, and by involving all parties in the decision-making process, the government will be both accountable and responsive to the needs of all Northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause