This is page numbers 377 - 404 of the Hansard for the 15th Assembly, 6th 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.

Topics

Supplementary To Question 146-15(6): Bdic Business Program Policy Changes
Question 146-15(6): Bdic Business Program Policy Changes
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 391

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in terms of level I communities, the amalgamation exercise that took place with the Business Development Corporation, with that and the new programs that are available, what has improved for level I communities, which is a community I represent? Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 146-15(6): Bdic Business Program Policy Changes
Question 146-15(6): Bdic Business Program Policy Changes
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 391

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 146-15(6): Bdic Business Program Policy Changes
Question 146-15(6): Bdic Business Program Policy Changes
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 391

Brendan Bell

Brendan Bell Yellowknife South

Mr. Speaker, the amount of our loan portfolio continues to grow. I don't have a specific number here, but I believe the portfolio under the BDIC is in the $40 million range. That is up significantly, so we are getting more money out to our communities. The Member, in her statement, talked about the personal limits set now at $2 million for any one business or ownership group. We've had a lot of discussion around that. Our concern is we want to be sufficiently diversified. If one business runs into financial difficulty and we have a loan default, we want to make sure that that isn't such a large part or portion of our loan portfolio that it has a devastating effect.

So we are discussing, and we will continue to review, those loan limits. But the best information I can give to the Member is our portfolio continues to grow; we continue to get more money out into our communities; we continue to work to improve the provision of service as well, related to our programming and the work the staff are doing in the regions. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 146-15(6): Bdic Business Program Policy Changes
Question 146-15(6): Bdic Business Program Policy Changes
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 391

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Supplementary To Question 146-15(6): Bdic Business Program Policy Changes
Question 146-15(6): Bdic Business Program Policy Changes
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 391

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister if they had ever considered a two-tiered lending program where the cap could be larger for existing businesses that are expanding and have a proven track record as opposed to the higher risk businesses that are fledgling, new and just being tested out for the first time? Perhaps a different cap for businesses that have already been operating for awhile and offer some history or track record that would give some level of comfort. Also has there been any more thought given to the patient capital program that was discussed? Has anyone tried to access it? Where are we at with that? Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 146-15(6): Bdic Business Program Policy Changes
Question 146-15(6): Bdic Business Program Policy Changes
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 391

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 146-15(6): Bdic Business Program Policy Changes
Question 146-15(6): Bdic Business Program Policy Changes
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 391

Brendan Bell

Brendan Bell Yellowknife South

Several questions there, Mr. Speaker. I hope that I can keep track and remember them all, but in terms of the patient capital, this is one of the new programs proposed by BDIC. They are out actively consulting. They are around communities in the North. I hope Members are being advised and apprised

that they are in their communities looking to consult with stakeholders on this. I think that can be a successful and new program for the BDIC. So these discussions are underway.

We are also looking at creating some differential rates, loan rates, depending on the level of risk to the business. We may have prime plus one, two, three, depending on the level of risk of the business is another thing that we had looked at, the BDIC is proposing. We were looking to put that into regulation.

Increased cap -- thank you very much to the Member -- there has been some discussion around this and I think our preference at this point would be to see those businesses that have a track record and are bankable, that we would get those loans out from under the realm of the BDIC and into the realm of the chartered banks. They don't really need the BDIC support and we can move them off into the chartered banks. That's what we would like to do and free up more money under our portfolio for new businesses. So there are some things we are looking at. If that isn't really viable, then maybe this is something that we do need to look at and that would be a couple of different tiers of lending. So these issues are very much in a state of discussion and we continue the consultation on these initiatives.

Further Return To Question 146-15(6): Bdic Business Program Policy Changes
Question 146-15(6): Bdic Business Program Policy Changes
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 392

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 392

Bill Braden

Bill Braden Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions this morning are for Mr. Roland, Minister of Finance. It relates to the situation or the increasingly desperate situation that our non-government organizations, especially in the social service sector, find themselves because of financial constraints. Mr. Speaker, in summarizing the overall findings of a recent study of staffing, the author of the report on behalf of several organizations states that unless there is a major rethinking over the next few years, the agencies that are now contracted to handle this kind of thing will not be able to continue to remain a viable economic alternative for government to turn to for support. They are seeking a rethinking of our overall approach to the incredibly effective and extremely good value for money agreements and arrangements that we've had for these organizations, but it is no longer sustainable until we change our approach. Mr. Speaker, are we rethinking our approach on funding these NGOs?

Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 392

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Roland.

Return To Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 392

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think the fact is, as a government, we've heard the concerns about funding to NGOs. The study that was done was initiated through Yellowknife Health and Social Services with the organization partly to look at how they could seek funding from other sources and, as well, for Yellowknife Health and Social Services to address how it would put forward its submission to the department on forced growth. The government, overall, has heard this concern through our business planning process and we've looked at it and looked at the categories of NGOs and how they work with us in delivering programs on our behalf and we've established a number of categories. In fact, category A groups now qualify for forced growth submissions through the business planning process. So we have taken some initial steps in this area. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Return To Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 392

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 392

Bill Braden

Bill Braden Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to see that we are making some progress here, but I don't know that I would say that allowing organizations to allow for forced growth really amounts to rethinking a partnership that we should engage in. Let's connect the dots here, Mr. Speaker. There are homelessness issues, family violence and dysfunction, and mental health issues grow in our communities and become more sophisticated. We rely very heavily on these organizations to be the frontline, go-to places to manage this for us. But even as these issues increase in our communities, we are disabling the organizations that we rely on to do this for us. Mr. Speaker, the report makes, among others, a very clear recommendation and clear benchmark that what we need to do is bring the pay and benefit package for these employees to within 80 percent of what the GNWT offers. Is that going to be a recommendation for the business planners in the coming fiscal year, Mr. Speaker?

Supplementary To Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 392

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 392

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think one of the things we have to do is there are recommendations. In viewing that report and what it's looked at and recommendations it comes out with, first we have to compare apples to apples. The NGOs in this territory, if we are going to do a comparison, should be compared to other NGOs in other jurisdictions and then look at an adjustment going forward for the cost of doing business in the Northwest Territories. If we are going to connect the dots, we should go a long way back to see how some of these organizations were established. Some of these were as organizations brought concerns to the table and governments-of-the-day agreed to try to come up with a program and initiated contracts. I think that's another thing, Mr. Speaker, is there are contracts in place and can be negotiated when we go out for renewals of those. Ultimately, as a government, we have to look at the cost of delivering that service. If we are going to look at getting close to matching the GNWT, then the question has to be is it something the government is mandated to carry out. If it is, then maybe a review should be should the government be doing that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Further Return To Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 392

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 392

Bill Braden

Bill Braden Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister just told us that ultimately it's the cost that this Assembly has to consider. Mr. Speaker, is the Minister at all considering

the need that the people of the Northwest Territories have for the service? Isn't that really our primary job here?

Supplementary To Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 393

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 393

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think this government can speak by action and the fact that if you look at our budget, what we have done in our term to address those costs in the Northwest Territories, establish programs; for example, the Income Support Reform Program and a number of other areas. We have invested a lot of money in that area, so I think our record speaks for itself that we have become more involved. When you look at the total cost of spending on social programs by the government, we have done and carried a fair bit of weight in trying to address those concerns in the Northwest Territories.

Further Return To Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 393

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Short supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 393

Bill Braden

Bill Braden Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we shouldn't allow this to get into such a bureaucratic argument at this stage. I am disappointed to hear that the Minister says we should compare ourselves to other jurisdictions. We should compare ourselves to the contracts and things that are in place. Mr. Speaker, we really need to look forward in a much more progressive and collaborative way and rethink this. I will ask once again, is the government going to instruct the business planners to really rethink the way we set up our partnerships and our long-term business with these organizations?

Supplementary To Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 393

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 393

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the fact is, as a government, we have made decisions on the political level to accept that we needed some change and we have put that into place. The business plan process that we have entered into is, one, prepping the information. We have made suggestions, but ultimately the 16th Assembly is going to have to either accept or change that and relook if it wants to relook at the philosophy of government and how it supplies its programs. That opportunity will exist, but as we prepare this Assembly and have done so far a preparation, we have looked at some of the growth areas and we have accepted, as I have stated earlier, categories of forced growth that we can proceed and go forward with.

Further Return To Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Question 147-15(6): Funding For Non-government Organizations
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 393

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Question 148-15(6): Assessment Of Social Housing Subsidy Program
Item 7: Oral Questions

Page 393

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. It goes back to the transfer from the Housing Corporation to ECE for tenant assessments and the paying of rent. I would like to ask the Minister, this has been something that has been going on for a while now. Has the department done an assessment of the whole transfer and is it working? Thank you.