Mr. Speaker, more and more, there is increasing pressure for community leaders to find innovative solutions to emerging challenges and issues they are facing. As a former mayor for the Hamlet of Fort Providence, I know that decisions made by local councils have an immediate daily impact on the lives of all residents. Now, as Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, my goal is to provide the tools to community leaders so that communities have the authority and responsibility to make sound decisions regarding local governance for their residents.
The Government of the Northwest Territories strategic plan identifies the key priorities and goals for the Northwest Territories for the next 10 years, many of which involve and impact on community governments. It is very clear that there is a reaffirmation by this government of the critically important role that community governments are playing in the political evolution and development of our territory. The strategic plan includes as a priority, support for greater community autonomy through the negotiation of a new deal with community governments.
This commitment by our government comes at a time when the federal government has also recognized the need to address the important role of community governments, and particularly to find ways to address the national infrastructure deficit at the municipal level. Now that the Prime Minister has achieved progress on health issues, he has made it clear that cities and municipal issues are the next priority. So far, as part of its new deal, the federal government has committed to a full rebate of GST for all municipal governments, which will bring an estimated $1.8 million of revenue to Northwest Territories communities this year. There is also a proposal on the table to give a portion of federal fuel taxes to municipal governments. I look forward to meeting with the Minister of State for Infrastructure and Communities, the Honourable John Godfrey, in mid-November with my provincial and territorial colleagues, to review in detail the federal government's new deal proposal.
At the territorial level, I am proposing to negotiate a new deal for Northwest Territories community governments that builds upon work that my department already has underway with community governments, including building capacity, working towards the implementation of aboriginal self-government, and leveraging additional funding for community infrastructure.
However, Mr. Speaker, the new deal also proposes some innovations that will empower community governments to a much greater degree. A cornerstone of the proposal is to move towards providing communities with greater control and decision-making over community infrastructure, including planning and decision-making for capital projects. This has been talked about for many years, and is a concept that was supported by the Special Joint Committee on Non-Tax-Based Community Affairs in the 14th Legislative Assembly. Another innovation is the proposal to provide more community governments with direct revenues from property taxation.
I was able to introduce the concept of the new deal to community leaders at the Northwest Territories Association of Communities annual general meeting this past June. In response, the association established a working group of mayors and leaders to explore the details of both our new deal and the federal government's new deal. I met with this working group in late September to discuss both concepts in greater detail and am pleased to report that the working group indicated broad support for the directions I am proposing. They affirmed that this is the direction that communities want to go in, and while there will likely be some challenges, comprehensive implementation plans that address potential issues will help address them. We agreed that it is critical to proceed
in partnership, in developing our proposal for the Northwest Territories and also in working with the federal government on the national proposal.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Northwest Territories Association of Communities and their working group for sharing their insights and expertise with us as they strive to promote the interest of all community governments. In addition, members of the Local Government Administrators of the Northwest Territories have also been providing advice to my officials and I would like to acknowledge their invaluable contributions.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Governance and Economic Development for their interest in this important initiative and I will look forward to continuing to work closely with Members of the Legislative Assembly as developments unfold.
Mr. Speaker, my department is in the process of finalizing the detailed proposal for the new deal for Northwest Territories community governments and I look forward to sharing this with all Members in the near future. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.