This is page numbers 1631 - 1674 of the Hansard for the 15th Assembly, 3rd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was communities.

Return To Question 512-15(3): Issues With Air Carrier Service In Fort Simpson
Question 512-15(3): Issues With Air Carrier Service In Fort Simpson
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1643

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

Mr. Speaker, I would assume the Member should go talk to the airline carrier that is serving this community where the issue arose. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Return To Question 512-15(3): Issues With Air Carrier Service In Fort Simpson
Question 512-15(3): Issues With Air Carrier Service In Fort Simpson
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1644

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Supplementary To Question 512-15(3): Issues With Air Carrier Service In Fort Simpson
Question 512-15(3): Issues With Air Carrier Service In Fort Simpson
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1644

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much. The other part of this concern is that I would like to talk to somebody who cares.

---Laughter

---Applause

Will the Minister help me address this concern with the applicable airlines that are flying in my region? Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 512-15(3): Issues With Air Carrier Service In Fort Simpson
Question 512-15(3): Issues With Air Carrier Service In Fort Simpson
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1644

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 512-15(3): Issues With Air Carrier Service In Fort Simpson
Question 512-15(3): Issues With Air Carrier Service In Fort Simpson
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1644

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We would gladly arrange a meeting with the airline that the Member is referring to. Providing we get that information, we could arrange that and have the Member have that discussion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Further Return To Question 512-15(3): Issues With Air Carrier Service In Fort Simpson
Question 512-15(3): Issues With Air Carrier Service In Fort Simpson
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1644

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1644

Groenewgen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Premier. Mr. Speaker, it would seem that there have been some decisions made and some rearranging done in the Justice department over the last while. It has not netted the best results in the interests of even the taxpayers or the people who are served by the system, and I would like to ask the Premier if the government is very convinced that these latest anticipated changes are well based and are sound decisions, if that could not be borne out by an independent look at some of these anticipated changes, taking into account the numbers and answering all the questions in a way that everyone can understand. Would the Premier support an independent review of the proposed cuts in Justice? Thank you.

Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1644

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Return To Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1644

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, I'm told that the Minister of Justice has asked the Minister responsible for the Audit Bureau to have the Audit Bureau take a look at the methodology to make sure that the way they've arrived at their number is a fair way of doing it and I understand that that is being done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Return To Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1644

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1644

Groenewgen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That sounds like a very internal kind of exercise and I would like to know how stakeholders and interested parties could participate in that so that they could have the confidence that the outcome is fair and balanced. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1644

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1644

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, I think the first step has to be to have our Audit Bureau have a look at it. The Audit Bureau maintains a professional standard in terms of what they do and is certainly not part of any government department that they would be taking a look at. So I think we have to trust that our Audit Bureau is going to be fair. They're professional people, they're going to come up with an assessment that says whether or not the methodology that Justice used is accurate. I think that can be done fairly quickly and when that's done, then we can determine how we move ahead with this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Further Return To Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1644

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1644

Groenewgen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this will be a discussion between people who work in Justice and other people who work in the Audit Bureau and it will be very internal, between departments. I am not satisfied that all the information that needs to be brought to bear in this evaluation could be attained by that. I'm not questioning the credibility of the Audit Bureau, I'm questioning the independence and the scope of the questions that would be posed and answered. I would like to know how we could get that independence through outside participation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1644

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1644

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, the Audit Bureau is a unit that is made up of people who are professional auditors. They are going to look at the methodology. They're not going to go out and do a review and look for input from everywhere, Mr. Speaker. They are looking at the methodology that was used by Justice in arriving at this. So this is not a review of all the information that people might have out in the public or by others to add to this. It's a look at the methodology that Justice is using. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Further Return To Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1644

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1645

Groenewgen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, why didn't the Minister of Justice disclose this action and his plan when I questioned him about this in the House last Friday? I haven't been informed of this. Obviously I would say I would be a key person with a keen interest in such a thing as an Audit Bureau review. Can I participate? Can I speak to the auditors? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1645

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. A couple of questions there, but, Mr. Premier, I'll let you answer them. Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1645

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, this issue came up following question period on Friday. After question period, the Minister of Justice talked with the Minister of Finance, who is responsible for the Audit Bureau, and made this arrangement. So that's why he wasn't able to answer. So it was a follow-up to the questions that were asked that day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Further Return To Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Question 513-15(3): Independent Review Of The Department Of Justice
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1645

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Villeneuve.

Question 514-15(3): Taxation Assessment Process For Communities
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1645

Robert Villeneuve

Robert Villeneuve Tu Nedhe

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs with respect to the new deal. Mr. Speaker, in the new deal there's a big emphasis on a lot of the benefits or the taxation revenue for the smaller communities. My question to the Minister is in respect to the communities that have been improperly assessed by the assessment department versus communities that have been properly assessed with their physical inspections being done according to the PATA act. How is this fair and balanced funding arrangement between the GNWT and the communities amongst themselves going to be reached when we have that imbalance in the base of the funding mechanism to begin with? How is he going to balance that out? Thank you.

Question 514-15(3): Taxation Assessment Process For Communities
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1645

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Return To Question 514-15(3): Taxation Assessment Process For Communities
Question 514-15(3): Taxation Assessment Process For Communities
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1645

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The new deal for community governments plan put together by our department, Municipal and Community Affairs, has a component that we'll return some of the funding, or the amount collected through property taxes in each community, to the community for the communities to use towards capital projects or other projects in the community. If the community is not collecting or is not able to collect those taxes, then only the amount that is collected for that year will be transferred over in the form of a grant. If there is a problem in recovering or collecting the taxes, we, as a department, have committed that we will continue to work with the communities to ensure that a solution is worked out. There are some communities that have had problems for some time, and the community that the Member represents, Fort Resolution, is one of them. We've offered to go in to do a new assessment, because, at our meetings with the community, there were a lot of issues that came forward, including that they didn't understand the whole property taxation assessment. There was also a concern that it was not being assessed properly. There was also the concern that the aboriginal government should not be in a position to have its members taxed through property taxation.

So there are a number of issues there that we are continually having to look at. We wanted to go in this year to do an assessment. The chief has indicated to us that he's not willing to allow us to come into the community to do an assessment. We also, at a public community meeting, offered to work with the Deninu K'ue First Nations to look at options, and up to now we have not had any feedback on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.