Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Director Schauerte.

Thank you, Director Schauerte. Ms. Bisaro.

Thanks to Mr. Schauerte. I guess I’m trying to understand, it’s based on a formula, that I understand, but if it’s forced growth, how does the formula address forced growth? I mean, generally if there’s a formula, you’ve got a pot of money and you apply the formula and divvy it up to the communities, but this explanation suggests to me that the communities are indicating forced growth and, therefore, the pot of money increases, so I’m just trying to reconcile how this works. Thank you.

Thanks to Mr. Schauerte. That’s great. That’s all I have.

Thank you. Committee, we’re on page 6-39, activity summary, regional operations, operations expenditure summary, $80.980 million.

Page 6-40, activity summary, regional operations, grants and contributions. Ms. Bisaro.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I have a couple of questions here. The first one, the grants-in-lieu of taxes has increased quite a bit, about $600,000. Could I get an explanation of the rationale for the increase in this? Thanks.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Director Schauerte.

Thank you, Director. Committee, we’re going to look at page 6-40 and 6-41 together, activity summary, regional operations, grants and contributions, $75.336 million. Sorry, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks to Mr. Schauerte for the explanation. I understand, I think it was in the Minister’s opening remarks that the formula for funding community governments is being evaluated. There have been a couple of apparently very productive meetings and I’m very glad to hear that there’s an in-depth look at the formula funding for communities. On this page we have contributions for a number of things. There’s community government funding, there’s then additional funding and then water and sewer funding and recreation funding. So, as the formula for communities is being revisited, are all of these formulas being revisited or are they all funded on the same formula? Like, there are four or five different pots of money here, so are they all allocated by the same formula, and if not, is every one of the formulas on this page being revisited? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Deputy Minister Williams.

Thanks to the deputy minister. My last comment in this area is that I hope, as the water and sewer funding formula is being revisited, that Yellowknife will get a little more than what it has gotten the last number of years, which has been zero.

My last question is on page 6-41, Children and Youth Resiliency Program. This is new money. I can see that and I appreciate that, but I wondered if I could get a bit of an idea or a few examples as to what sorts of programs this is intended for.

Thank you, Deputy Minister Williams. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just following up on that last one, I’d say especially if they’re outdoor programs, and I mean that, especially for the mental health aspect of it. From time to time I’ve brought up the need for eco-literacy, which is, simply, traditional knowledge, I guess. You know, some understanding of the

outdoors and familiarity and comfort with the outdoors can have huge benefits in that area. Just a comment there.

I just wondered how much of the $15.9 million for water and sewer services is going to Yellowknife this year, if that information is handy.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. None of the money is going to Yellowknife this year.

That’s pretty clear. I certainly hope the formula changes too. For the recreational funding that goes to communities here, my community of Ndilo is in an awkward position as they’re considered part of Yellowknife, and the community of Detah, which is really an extension of the Ndilo/Detah community is funded separately, I believe, from Ndilo. Is there any consideration to working with Ndilo on this awkwardness and predicament it puts them in? It’s sort of difficult for them to compete for Yellowknife funds, and Detah funds were meant for Detah, so it’s difficult for them also for the Ndilo situation.

My understanding is there have been some preliminary discussions with the City of Yellowknife, but then here again is another opportunity for our group that’s reviewing the whole formula funding to take this particular situation into consideration. We have a good cross-section of folks from across the Northwest Territories, big communities, small communities. I think all our largest communities are represented on this group and the City of Yellowknife has representatives on there. I think this would be a good topic of conversation for them to have, and I think our deputy meets with them every so often when the do get together, so it’s an issue we can bring up and see where they go with it.