Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, June 16, 2008, I will move that Bill 13, An Act to Amend the Legal Profession Act, be read for the first time.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, June 16, 2008, I will move that Bill 14, An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act, be read for the first time.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, June 16, 2008, I will move that Bill

15, An Act to Amend the Workers’

Compensation Act, be read for the first time.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, June 16, 2008, I will move that Bill 16, Write-Off of Debts Act, 2008–2009, be read for the first time.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, June 16, 2008, I will move that Bill 17, Forgiveness of Debts Act, 2008–2009, be read for the first time.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Item 17, motions. Item

18, first reading of bills. The

honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Bill 12 has had first reading.

Motion carried; Bill 12, An Act to Amend the

Human Rights Act, read a first time.

Item 19, second reading of bills. Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Bill 8; Bill 11; Committee Reports 2-16(2), 3-16(2), 4-16(2), 5-16(2), 6-16(2), 7-16(2); Tabled Document 37-16(2); Minister's Statement 62-16(2).

By the authority given me as Speaker by Motion 10-16(2), I hereby authorize the House to sit beyond the hour of daily adjournment to consider the business before the House, with Mr. Krutko in the chair.

I call the Committee of the Whole to order. We have Bill

8; Bill

11;

Committee Reports 2-16(2), 3-16(2), 4-16(2), 5-16(2), 6-16(2), and 7-16(2); Tabled Document 37-16(2); Minister's Statement 62-16(2). What is the wish of the committee? Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yesterday when we left off, we were on general comments for Municipal and Community Affairs. We'd like to continue with that today. We would like to then move on to the Department of Transportation, and time permitting with extended hours, we would actually like to make it to the Department of the Executive today as well.

Does the committee agree?

With that, we will take a short break and continue on.

The Committee of the Whole took a short

recess.

I'd like to call Committee of the Whole back to order. Prior to the break we decided to continue with Municipal and Community Affairs.

At this time I'd like to ask the Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs if he will be bringing in any witnesses. Mr. Michael McLeod.

Yes, I will, Mr. Chairman.

Is it agreed that the Minister bring in his witnesses?

Sergeant-at-Arms, escort the witnesses in.

Mr. Minister, if I could please get you to introduce your witnesses.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have with me today Debbie DeLancey, deputy minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, and Laura Gareau.

Thank you. When we finished last night we were on general comments, and I believe Mr. Krutko was next on the list. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In regard to Municipal and Community Affairs I believe we’ve gone a long way toward empowering communities by giving them more responsibility for the operation of municipal affairs. I think we still have an obligation to assist whenever we have to, to help communities with capital projects. I know that we’re

focusing saying: You’re going to get the gas tax; you’re going to get the other types of tax revenues. But I think when you’re looking at a population in small communities such as Tsiigehtchic or other communities, where you’re getting a little under $100,000 in taxes, there’s no way you can build any major infrastructure using chipseal or whatnot on the community roads. I think we have to realize we can’t neglect that responsibility.

As a Member of the 14th Assembly, I think we

previously established a committee to look at how small communities cope with the challenges they face in dealing with capacity issues, such as trying to get people in the community to deliver the fundamental programs and services, from SAOs to financial officers to planners. I think that challenge still exists out there. Also, there was the issue in regard to capital. I think there was a whole bunch of recommendations that came out of that process. I think those recommendations still stand today in regard to dealing with these challenges we face in the small communities. By simply saying, "We gave you the legislative authority,” we’re walking away. I don’t think we can walk away from some of these communities, especially the smaller communities. It’s something I feel quite strongly about.

Also out of that committee report came a recommendation to look at the Main Street Chipsealing Program to deal with the health issue around dust control. That program has been in place for a couple of years. Again, that program no longer exists. I think it’s one of those programs that MACA, Transportation and the communities were able to use to improve the quality of life in our communities. When we talk about the priorities of the 16th Assembly, that’s one of the priorities I was

looking at — that type of program continuing on. I think it’s important we do assist when those types of capital investments are being made, but more importantly that we have the capacity to help them on the larger capital investment side but allow them to maintain and operate it through their tax revenues and whatnot.

Like I say, they’re going to receive those extra revenues, but it’s not enough to make a capital investment such as a major chipsealing program in a community or building any big public infrastructure like a water treatment plant, things like that. You’re talking millions of dollars, which a lot of communities can't carry.

In regard to the issue around the School of Community Government, I was a full supporter of that. I know from going to a couple of their graduations that we had individuals graduating not only from Municipal and Community Affairs. We had people there from the Housing Corporation. We had people there from the band councils. We had people there from the different charter communities. I think that program has assisted communities to

build home-grown capacity by way of financial officers, band managers and community administrators. I think that has to continue. It’s critical that we aren’t seen as offloading that responsibility to the community level now while we still have challenges with capacity issues. More importantly, the accountability that we expect from municipal governments and the program officers is…. One of the guiding principles of governing yourselves is to be accountable. If you don’t have the capacity, how can you expect them to be accountable and also give them that authority?

I’d like to leave a question with the Minister. What is going to be there to replace the School of Community Government and, more importantly, to continue that assistance with communities, especially in regard to small community projects?

The other area I believe we have to seriously take a closer look at is…. One of the things we hear a lot about is the different committees that have been established through the ministerial committees. There’s very little buy-in by way of municipal communities. When I talk about the energy committee and groups like that, most communities are developing their own energy plans. They are looking at how they can save energy, how they can save cost, especially if they can save in the area of operational maintenance. For most of them, they can reduce the cost to operate their water treatment plants or the cost to transport water from point A to point B. They’re also able to save money by way of generating power by way of power distribution, expanding systems like residual heat, looking at other types of new energy technology to put in place for communities, so they’ll be able to expand that capital infrastructure but also deal with community planning and whatnot. Where do we want to see our communities in the next 10, 15, 20 years? We have to start developing these energy plans in regard to communities today for the expansions in the future.

The other area I’d like to touch on in regard to Municipal and Community Affairs is granular resources. As we all know, it’s been an issue in this House for a few years, and continues to be, with very little support from the other side. Communities have to realize that the incidents we had by way of emergency measures — floods in Aklavik; we had the flood in Hay River this year — are going to become more common occurrences. The ocean levels are rising. We’re seeing shoreline erosion in parts of the Tuk. We’re going to see the effects on coastal communities more and more than we’ve ever seen before. With the extreme weather patterns we’re seeing by way of changing from major storms to megastorms, which we plan for, we have to have systems in place so communities have access to ground resources to be able to prepare themselves for emergencies, prepare

themselves for these types of disasters and not wait for them to happen.

In regard to the granular resource in Aklavik — the project I’m talking about — I know, working with MACA, the community has looked at that site. I am compiling information on that particular gravel source. That site has some 20 million cubic yards of gravel. That’s even bigger than the Frog Creek source, which is one of our bigger granular sources in the Mackenzie Delta. The government has to find ways of not saying, Sorry; you’ve got your gas tax now, and you can do it through your gas tax. That is $126,000 a year. You’re not going to be able to build that type of capital investment with $126,000 a year. Again, I think this department still has that obligation to ensure that granular resources are accessible to communities and not to wash its hands of it like other things that seem to be happening here.

The only issue I have around MACA is the area where they’re — I hate to use the word — offloading. I know that was an issue in the 13th Assembly when we had the title “community empowerment.” Back then that was the biggest fear of communities. Is this the way the government is offloading programs and services to communities and then walking away and leaving them holding the bag?

I think that through these new arrangements we have with communities, we still have a responsibility to ensure they have the ability to access our services and programs and to be able to sustain some land administration, School of Community Government, granular plans, and those type of things where we have the expertise they don’t. We have to continue on with those types of program responsibilities. With that, Mr. Chairman, I’ll leave it at that.