Committee, we’ll move on to page 4-8, Municipal and Community Affairs, activity summary, community operations, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $12.138 million. Mr. Krutko.

I just have a question with regard to the Building Canada Fund. Again, I mentioned earlier there is a pot of money that’s there for research and development and also for climate change. I’m wondering if the community is able to access that fund. The only department so far that has accessed that fund, I believe, is the Department of Transportation. So I’m wondering, is that also something that the communities are aware of, that there is research money dealing with

climate change, and is there a possibility that those dollars can also be allocated to the communities.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Aumond.

Again, just on that point from the deputy minister, I think the argument of permafrost and the effects we’re seeing in the community of Aklavik in regard to the shore erosion. Again, we have other communities such as Tuk, we’re seeing that in regard to having the possibility of moving public infrastructure, because of the effects we’re seeing in regard to shore erosion regardless if it’s in the ocean or on a river where a community is next to a river system. So I’d just like to ask if there is any way that this government could make a provision that a certain amount of those dollars will be designated to resolve some of these climate change challenges the communities are facing.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Minister Robert C. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Some of the communities have applied for Building Canada money for specific projects that they’ve identified in their communities. For example, I think Aklavik used their portion of it for the new sewage lagoon and they matched the dollars and some of the dollars came from BCP. They’ve also identified some money for road upgrades through the economic stimulus fund. So the communities will let us know what their priorities are and we continue to work with them on capital plans.

As far as Mr. Aumond said, we’ve shared findings of the report with the communities and we understand that there are some issues facing some of the communities as far as climate change goes, and the Building Canada Fund would have been a good pot of money that the communities could have accessed to deal with some of the issues that they’re facing as far as shoreline erosion goes. Thank you.

Thank you. We’re hearing one thing from the deputy and hearing something else from the Minister. The deputy just stated that the municipalities can’t access this fund, it’s only the Department of Transportation. So, again, how can the Department of Transportation ensure those

research dollars are spent on research in regard to shoreline erosion in communities?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Department of Transportation will be looking at issues related to roads. We also have a broader mandate with some marine, as well and making sure that there’s consultation. With the communities, we recognize very clearly that there are some key communities that are going to be targeted by shoreline erosion, and significant dollars have already, over the years, been spent there. As the polar ice cap melts and they say the water levels are going to rise and the severity of storms increases, it’s going to be an issue that’s going to require more and more attention.

I just get back to the commitment as we look at the long-term planning and we’ve met with myself and the Member, with the members of Aklavik, and the work they’re doing at laying out their plan for the future and some of the things they have to do. Those issues we’d have to work collectively to address along with the departments that have, in some cases, mandates that sometimes would seem to overlap or are definitely closely related with Transportation and MACA. Thank you.

My final question is, can we get a commitment from the Minister of Finance that basically there will be some coordination with the Department of Transportation to look at the whole area of shoreline erosion and try to access some of those research dollars that they have so that you can try to find a way to resolve this issue by some method so we can avoid the melting permafrost and the effects we’re seeing on communities and public infrastructure?

Yes, there will be collaboration. I appreciate the good advice from the Member. There will be collaboration amongst the departments to make sure we have a coordinated approach as we deal with the needs of the communities as well as trying to factor in the effect on specific communities of climate change issues such as shoreline erosion. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I see a proportion of the projects proposed here have been approved by Canada. I am wondering if more have been approved since I was last updated on that. Also, perhaps just for some perspective, have projects just generally been approved in the past? We’ve got a little bit of experience now on this. I am wondering if most of our projects or all of our projects in the past have eventually been approved by Canada. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Aumond.

I appreciate those comments. So have we had any projects rejected by Canada or is it pretty much a matter of negotiating it through to the end, getting approval? Thank you.

We are on page 4-8, Municipal and Community Affairs, activity summary, community operations, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $12.138 million.

Agreed. Okay, let’s turn back to page 4-2. This is Municipal and Community Affairs, department summary, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $40.140 million.

Is committee agreed that we have concluded our review of the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs?