Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to present the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs’ Main Estimates for the fiscal year 2008–2009.
MACA has a very broad mandate, which focuses on community governments but also includes providing a range of programs and services to individuals and other sectors of society. MACA is responsible for administering 23 different pieces of legislation, many of which require departmental staff to carry out regulatory or statutory functions and to deliver specific functions and programs.
The department is requesting $114.782 million in operating expenses for the 2008–2009 fiscal year. This represents a slight increase of $126,000, or 0.11 per cent, from the department’s 2007–2008 operating expenses budget. This increase primarily reflects the net impact of increased funding of $4 million for forced growth and $830,000 associated with strategic initiatives offset by decreases associated with the scheduled sunset, as well as decreases related to program and position reductions.
Historically, MACA’s budget includes approximately 80 per cent in funding that is in the form of grants and contributions. The bulk of this funding flows directly to our key stakeholders — the community governments. Funding to communities is used to provide special services to every resident of the Northwest Territories.
Analysis done over the past few years has demonstrated that even with current funding levels, communities are challenged to meet all their obligations, especially in light of increased pressures posed by regulatory requirements, liability issues, competition for staff and inflation. Thus when considering how to meet budget targets for this fiscal year, MACA’s first consideration was to protect core funding to community governments.
As a result, I’m pleased that MACA has been able to maintain stable funding for community government operations and maintenance, water and sewer services funding, and capital formula funding. A total of $75 million is included in the budget to provide for these core funding programs.
The budget includes a small increase to the water and sewer services funding and includes $33.6 million in capital funding, an increase of $1.4 million from 2007–2008.
Twenty-eight million dollars will be provided to community government through the capital funding formula. This represents an increase of more than $5 million from 2007–2008, which will go directly to communities to provide for their own infrastructure priorities. The balance reflects projects cost shared through the Municipal and Rural Infrastructure Program, which remain on the department’s capital plan until they are completed.
Another priority in developing the budget was to maintain programs and services that support implementation of the New Deal for NWT community governments. While 2007–2008 was the first year of formal implementation of the New Deal, MACA and communities have been working in partnership for two years prior to that on the development of the initiative. Some communities are experiencing transition issues while others are adapting more quickly to their new responsibilities and accountabilities. We must ensure that the core funding and programs and services that support communities through this transition are maintained.
To meet assigned budget targets, the department has had to make difficult choices about where levels of services can be reduced and where we can look to alternate service-delivery approaches to address our mandate. Reductions have been posed to programs that support community governments in delivering their responsibilities in a range of areas including community development, planning, emergency management and financial management.
Positions are being eliminated where it has been determined that a function can be eliminated or changed, or that fewer resources can be dedicated to a program area. This budget contains a net reduction of 20 positions, when the full impact of strategic initiatives, forced-growth sunsets and reductions are taken into consideration.
MACA’s 2008–2009 budget includes funding to provide for one-time salary and severance costs of those employees whose positions have been proposed for elimination. As a result, while the department and stakeholders may feel the program impact of reduced staff in 2008–2009, the full financial impact will not fully be reflected in the department’s budget until 2009–2010 fiscal year.
As part of the budget-development process, funding has been made available from reductions and is being re-profiled to support strategic initiatives. The department’s 2008–2009 budget includes a total of $830,000 in funding for new investments as part of our Building our Future initiative.
MACA’s budget includes funding to support those community governments that are currently providing ground ambulance and highway rescue
services. Funding to continue the department’s activities related to implementation of the Drinking Water Quality Framework supports the Managing This Land Strategic Initiative.
Funding for two new School of Community Government positions will be located in regional offices to help support a new decentralized approach to capacity building and development activities of community governments.
In addition to the strategic initiative funding, MACA’s 2008–2009 budget also includes $4 million in forced-growth funding. This includes salary and northern allowance benefit increases related to the collective agreement and funding to allow the department to continue the Youth Centres Initiative, which was implemented in 2007.
Funding is also included to provide the general assessment and general taxation area that is required as per provision of the Property Assessment and Taxation Act.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity both to discuss the context the department used to develop its 2008–2009 budget and also to highlight the major increases and decreases included. I would be very pleased to discuss the budget in further detail and to answer any questions you may have. Mahsi.