This is page numbers 4627 - 4656 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 communities.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are addressed to the Minister of Finance and I would like to ask some questions in regard to the Deh Cho Bridge. Over the last month the government has made a number of announcements with regard to the bridge. They seem to indicate, or at least they do to me, that in terms of management changes and responsibilities within the project changing they indicate that the government is taking over this project. I’d like to ask the Minister what the financial implications are for this change in management of the project and responsibility for the project. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Minister of Finance

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s all within the budget figures that have been shared with the Members. I believe it’s $182 million for the total project costs. Thank you.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you. To the Minister, yes, I am aware of those costs, thank you very much. I’m trying to perhaps provide some information to the public on what kind of an impact this change in project management is going to have on this government, because I think it affects our residents. So this $181 million, to the Finance Minister, could he advise me what kind of an impact that’s going to have on our budget as we go forward? Thank you.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Minister of Finance

Thank you. The Member is aware, fully aware of the steps we are taking in terms of making sure that the bridge project goes ahead and on solid footing to get the project complete. We are currently underway with some of those steps and we’re going to continue to work on those, and in due course we’ll be coming forward with a full plan and opportunity for a full public review and be made aware of all the steps that have been taken to make sure that this project succeeds. Thank you.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you. To the Minister, I can understand the reticence to discuss specific finances at this time, but I did hear him say that they would come forward and I don’t want to ask the Minister for a response of in the fullness of time, but I’d like to ask the Minister when might it be that the public could become aware of the financial implications that this bridge project will have on our GNWT finances. Thank you.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Minister of Finance

Thank you. We’re collectively working to a time that hopefully by the end of this month we’ll be in a position to bring clarity to all. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister for that answer and I appreciate that timeline of a month or so. Could the Minister advise how he intends to “publicize” this information? Will it be a news release? Will it be another media briefing or what? Thank you.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Minister of Finance

Thank you. First, of course, we’re going to continue to work fully with all the Members and then as the days move forward here through this month we’ll be mapping out the full communication plan as we nail down the issues and steps that have to be addressed prior to the end of the timeline. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about the NGOs in the Northwest Territories. According to my information, there are 472 in the Northwest Territories. We spend about $20 million on NGOs and certainly these NGOs do a lot of hard work and there’s a number of NGOs around the Northwest Territories. As a matter of fact, I mentioned that there are 219 in Yellowknife and there’s nothing in the Sahtu. I wanted to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services how she can help the Sahtu communities, the health boards, the communities or the bands to establish NGO programs and how can we get those kind of programs such as family support or emergency shelters for women or children.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The NGOs are just one form of organizing a group of people together with like-minded philosophies and goals and desires to advance the causes that they work for, whether they be environment or women’s issues or family violence issues or a whole number of areas that NGOs are involved in.

In terms of being able to access program funding or tap into government programs, this government considers applications from groups other than NGOs, because we are very well aware of the fact that small communities don’t necessarily have these NGOs. So we often work with local societies or band councils or municipal governments or regional corporations. In that regard we give as much consideration to groups that are not NGOs from communities.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

The Minister indicated there are other sources that can be tapped into of NGO-type of funding by the band councils or regional corporations. I want to ask, I know there was a request by the band council of Tulita for emergency shelters to the Minister, but we just couldn’t get $10,000 for the community and now we have to wait again for another fiscal year. These type of situations that we run into we have to get our foot into the door with NGOs. I asked the Minister about working with the health boards in the communities to establish strong NGO support in our communities where we can get the type of services that we get in other regions to help our people.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

That is a good example. I need to state clearly that the reason that application was not able to be approved was not because it was not coming from an NGO but because the funding for that specific fiscal year had been fully

subscribed. We are considering that application for the next fiscal year, which is coming up on April 1st .

I can also advise the Member that we have had applications from other communities like Fort Resolution and we worked with people interested in accessing that funding to find a sponsor in that community who could apply for funding. We are totally able and we will work with the community to make sure they can find a suitable body. The band council is fine, and municipal governments as well, to have that application considered. We will be considering that for the next fiscal year.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

I ask the Minister to also consider the complexities of NGOs when they have to request for funding, administer the funding and report the funding. One instance in the Sahtu where the band was running the drug and alcohol programs, there was so many complexities and the band did not have much support so they gave the money over to the GNWT and things changed in the funding and support and benefits. Would the Minister look at how to work with the small communities to have simpler programs to report and administer while staying within the guidelines to abide by the funding criteria for NGOs?

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Yes, absolutely, and we do that already. I believe when we were in Tulita, the Member and myself, the grand chief in fact recognized us for having streamlined the funding proposal process and they were able to access funding. On a daily basis our staff does work with band councils or municipal governments to help them with the application process so they can access the funding that we offer.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do thank the Member for the reference of my home community of Tulita. I also represent four other communities in the Sahtu where there is certainly much need for these types of programs. For example, the family support centre in Hay River receives $430,000 to reduce the incidence of family violence. The Alison McAteer House receives $600,000 for their programs. The NWT Council for the Disabled receives $300,000. We want to look at those types of dollars for the Sahtu in order to coordinate these types of dollars for families in the communities to help with the goals and the safety of our communities. How do we do this type of work? That’s what I’m asking for all the communities in the Sahtu.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

On that specific file the government has recognized that there are only a few shelters that are funded in a specific way. We recognize there are other communities without shelters that need outreach and support. Not everybody wants to be able to or wishes to take advantage of a shelter, but we have people in the

communities who need the support on family violence issues. We have put in money to do the outreach work. I’m not sure where we are with that money for the Sahtu region, but I will make a commitment to get back to the Member as to how we are reaching the communities on that.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are directed to the Minister of the Housing Corporation. In light of the switchover from the rent supp from the Department of Education to the Housing Corporation, we’re still getting calls from our communities that depend on a fly-in income support worker who goes into the community to do the assessment and then flies back out. What we’re finding is people are still being charged economic rent. In some cases the whole community is charged economic rent until the income support worker arrives. I think that through this transfer back to the Housing Corporation I was hoping we could avoid this.

I’d like to ask the Minister of the Housing Corporation if there is a possibility for those fly-in communities that the income support worker has to fly in or drive in to, if the local housing authority could receive the rent supp so that they can administer it in the local housing authorities.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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