This is page numbers 5493 - 5530 of the Hansard for the 16th Assembly, 5th 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 territories.

Topics

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Minister of Finance

I’m not a federal parliamentary expert but my understanding of the Private Member’s Bill process is that this process will take years. It will take until sometime in the new year to even get back before the House for further discussion before there’s even any decision made.

I can indicate to this House that there was correspondence from the Premier to the Member of Parliament on October 20th confirming what I’ve

stated to this House, that we thank them for contacting us, but indicating that we have a process that we are engaged in with the federal government and the other territories to review our borrowing limits and that we will fully engage in that process to its conclusion.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that. I guess for me the bottom line is whether or not -- and I said this earlier -- we’ve never discussed in any meeting I’ve been in during the seven years that I’ve been here, a percentage on our expenditures as a borrowing limit. It is the first I’ve heard of it and I’d like to again ask the Minister if this Cabinet endorses 70 percent of our expenditures as a borrowing limit for this government.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Minister of Finance

Let me state once again for the Member and the general public, that we have indicated to the Member of Parliament for the Western Arctic that it’s his right to pursue a Private Member’s Bill. He has our interests in mind and in his opinion he’s using the processes he has. But we have made it clear that we have embarked upon a process with the federal Finance

department and the other two territories to review our borrowing limit. That’s the process we’re engaged in. That’s the process we are committed to. That’s what we are paying attention to. That’s where we see the issues with our concern of the borrowing limit being addressed and it’s the one we’re fully engaged in.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I was talking about the housing problems and issues that we have in Paulatuk. I would like to ask the Minister of Housing what is holding up the Housing Corporation’s work to solve the problem of unfair arrears in the community of Paulatuk.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We had a good trip into Paulatuk and we had a good public meeting. There were a lot of concerns raised by the residents of Paulatuk. We received a great number of correspondences as to some of the problems that we’re facing. I did commit to them that we would have a look at the question of arrears. There was some question there as to the amount of arrears and the time it was taking to get assessed. I did commit to them that we would work with them.

As it stands right now, the LHOs are starting to do the assessments again. For the assessments that were done prior to Housing Corporation getting the responsibility for assessments back from ECE, tenants have the ability to go into their LHO, provide the proper documentation, and the LHO will then work with ECE and if there’s a need to, the reassessments will be done. The onus is again on the tenants to bring in the verification of income and we’re hoping to do that across the Territories. We have heard the question that there has been a lot of arrears accumulated during that time. This is a process that is going to take awhile. We are working with it and will continue to work with it with the residents in Paulatuk.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

What has the Minister done about the arrears problem in Paulatuk since our last visit?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

I just explained to the Member the process that we are undertaking right now in helping deal with the arrears. There was a question of extremely high arrears in Paulatuk and we heard some of the stories from some of the residents there. We are undertaking the process again. The LHOs are doing the assessments

currently, since the transfer back as of June 1st , for

the assessments prior. Tenants have the opportunity to bring in their verification of income into Housing and they will then work with ECE to try to do the reassessments if it’s needed.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

It is a big mess that ECE left behind in the communities and all across the Territories. Has the Minister told the LHOs how to resolve the problem? Will the Minister try to come back into the community? We had about 65 people in attendance at the meeting for the questions that we did have. Is the Minister, with the correspondence he does have, how is the department making out with regard to answering the community and myself?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

We just recently, or this fall, I believe, we were up in Paulatuk and I made a commitment to the people of Paulatuk that were at the meeting. It was a well-attended meeting. I did make a commitment to deal with a lot of the issues that they were bringing forward. There were a lot of individual issues that were brought forward by way of letter to myself and we are responding to those individually. If time permits, sometime this spring, having been given an opportunity to try to work out some of the issues that they raised in Paulatuk, as time permits I’d be glad to go back in.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Jacobson.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hope it’s before April. I’d like him to come before Christmas or let one of his staff come to the community with me to meet with the community. When you’re getting the mayor of the community calling me regarding the issues and the way things are being handled over there, it’s a great concern to myself that these issues are not being done, because it’s a satellite-run community out of Inuvik. So nothing is being passed in regard to the paper. Why did NWT Housing Corporation not go back to the program before ECE?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

There were some issues that came out of the whole transfer that we heard of. We are working to try to address some of the concerns that were raised. Paulatuk is just another good example. We have many communities across the Northwest Territories I still have to go into and visit and continue to get the message out there that this is not something that can be done overnight. There has been a challenge as far as the assessments go. We’ve heard that. I can tell you that Paulatuk is not a satellite-run community anymore. We have a management team in place in Paulatuk that is dealing with the situation there. Unfortunately, there was a time when a lot of the operations of the community were run out of the Inuvik office because we were unable to get staff in there. The assessments were being faxed to the Inuvik office and the assessments weren’t being

done in a timely manner. We recognize all that. Now we’re taking steps to try to deal with it. If the opportunity arises and I make it into Paulatuk again, hopefully by then all outstanding issues would have been dealt with and people will understand exactly where they are in the community as far as arrears and assessments and everything else go.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I have questions for the Minister of ITI on the Community Harvesters Assistance Program. Trapping season nears and I have questions for that Minister. Can the Minister tell me what the total CHAP allocation for the NWT is?

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Supporting the traditional economy in the Northwest Territories is a very important priority for our government. As a government we spend approximately $2.25 million to support harvesters. Specifically for Community Harvester Assistance programming we have $593,000.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Can the Minister tell me if there will be an increase in CHAP funding overall for this trapping season that we’re into right now?

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

CHAP funding is only one of many programs that we have in place to assist harvesters. A large part of the funding that harvesters receive is based on their activity and how successful they are in harvesting and trapping. With regard specifically to the CHAP program, the budget for 2010-2011 has been set and the budget has remained the same. I should also point out that through the Growing Forward Agreement that we have with the federal government, we’ve also negotiated provisions in there to assist harvesters as well. On an overall basis, the amount of funding available for support to the traditional economy has increased.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

I understand that the department provides CHAP funding through local wildlife committees. Can the Minister tell me how the allocations are done from community to community?

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

We have 33 communities in the Northwest Territories. Some regions have land claims while others don’t. Some communities have committees that have been negotiated through the land claim and they have responsibility for wildlife harvesting. Other communities that don’t have those arrangements, we recognize those that apply

and it’s based on the number of harvesters, the number of general hunting licence holders. They have to apply to our department and if we recognize them, then we fund them on that basis. For those communities that have no harvesting association or they can’t reach agreement on how the harvesters’ assistance money should be spent, then in some cases the department allocates the funding on behalf of the harvesters.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was interesting to me to go and talk to the trappers who were saying that they can’t afford to go trapping. That must be an issue. With the price of furs being unstable and low, will this government look at reviewing this program in the sense of looking at the subsidies for the program?