This is page numbers 4621 - 4676 of the Hansard for the 18th Assembly, 3rd 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

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you to the Minister for that response. Can the Minister please tell us how she's going to make childcare more accessible and more affordable?

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

I have to give credit where credit was due. It was under the guidance of the previous Minister of Education, who did a great job actually of increasing the amounts that are paying for subsidies to childcare centres to actually provide services for children. That was a great move on his part. I really recognize that, and congratulate him very much.

The other thing we are doing is that in the Member's speech. We have 11 communities that don't even have childcare centres. Research says early intervention is the key. Out of those 11 communities, we are working diligently. We are trying to get as many of them as possible to actually open up a childcare centre, some kind of early childhood support for their children. We have made a little bit of progress. We are working right now. Out of those 11 only, we are working with Norman Wells and Enterprise, and we are hoping that they will have centres coming in within a short while. We know that we still have nine more communities after that to go, but they are totally on my radar, and I am trying my best, Mr. Speaker to try to support those communities so that they can have early intervention programming for their children.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

I would like to ask the Minister why the mandate tracker says the commitment to creating an action plan on affordable and accessible daycare is fulfilled when we have a 100-person waiting list here in the Yellowknife daycare, and a month of daycare costs almost two weeks of minimum wages?

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Earlier I had said, I need to give credit where credit is due, and I also have to take responsibility where responsibility is due. I did see that as it was fulfilled, and I am not okay with that. We are actually adjusting that. We will have a more complete plan.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

That is welcome news, Mr. Speaker. I am looking forward to additional detail. In the meantime, I'm wondering when the Minister is planning to share the plan that's part of the Canada-NWT bilateral agreement, along with the information that substantiates the professional development being funded with the Standing Committee on Social Development? Thank you.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

I didn't know, actually. I had made the assumption, a wrongful assumption, it looks like, that that was already shared with standing committee, so I will make a commitment that we will share that with standing committee at the earliest convenience. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier today I did a Member's statement on the funding gap for municipal governments. My questions will be for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Can the Minister advise us what amount of the annual funding gap at the beginning of this Assembly, what is the gap? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the Member's concern, and I appreciate his statement. This is a concern that we've been working on and trying to address. We have been working with the NWT Association of Communities to the Member's question. At the beginning of the 18th Legislative Assembly, the funding gap was approximately $39 million; 15 in operations and maintenance, and water and waste combined; and an additional of about $23 million in capital. For the current fiscal year, the funding gap is about 4.5 in O and M, and 4.8 in water and waste, including new costs identified for solid waste management. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

I appreciate the answer from the Minister, and I appreciate the department's work with the NWT's Association of Municipalities. Can the Minister advise what the department has done to close the gap over the last three years?

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

We have seen some increments in the capital funding since about 2014. MACA has been successful, though, in reducing the gap in operations and maintenance funding and environmental service funding by almost about 50 percent.

On the capital side of things, we have seen a significant funding investment through the federal infrastructure programs that has helped us mitigate the gap over the short period of time. We are running some of those projects out to the municipalities over the next year.

One initiative that MACA has started and implemented is an asset management strategy, and we are working with all the communities to develop that and look at ways we can maximize the useful life of their public infrastructure, and not increase the pressure on capital funding moving forward so we can actually stretch our dollar in working with our municipal governments.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

I greatly appreciate the Minister's answer to that, and I'm very excited about the department working on their asset management, getting a longer life out of our facilities, and making sure they work better. I applaud the department for doing that. Has the department done any calculations or projections to determine the cumulative shortfall of the funding gap since 2016, and what is the amount of funding gap right now?

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

To date, the department has not done any analysis on the cumulative shortfall. MACA continues to move forward on an ongoing basis to improve the ways that we do fund communities. As I mentioned, since 2014 we have seen a slight increase in the amount of funding that we do get. We do have to work within a GNWT fiscal framework, but we continue to look at ways we can try to lobby for more funds. Working with the federal government is one way that we've done it. Looking at some of their programs to help us offset some of the costs in our municipal governments, and we'll continue to work with our partners, in particular the NWT Association of Communities, to find ways that we can look at closing this gap, or at least making an impact on that.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much for the Minister for providing that information. I understand the fiscal realities of the Northwest Territories, and I understand that, but we're talking about our municipal government. I would hope that the government would start looking at trying to close that gap even quicker. Will the Minister commit to tabling the department's strategy to fulfill the mandate commitment of 4.55 at the next sitting of this Assembly in February? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

I appreciate the Member does recognize our fiscal situation here within the GNWT, and as we go through our operations budgets as well as our capital budgets, we have to compete against things such as schools, health centres, roads, other types of infrastructure. Then you have to look at all the program services that we provide to residents of the Northwest Territories. We are working diligently with the NWT Association of Communities as well as our municipal government and our leaders across the Northwest Territories to address the concern that the Member has brought forward. It is, as all Members know it is, a tough way to make decisions in this House sometimes, but I will make a commitment that I will table the strategy in the winter session and make sure that we do share it with our stakeholders so that everyone is aware of the strategy that we are looking at moving forward to address the concern that the Member has brought up. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Member for Kam Lake.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm hoping to ask the Minister of Finance some questions around the collective bargaining to put some fears at rest in the community. The looming threat of strike is something nobody wants to hear. Other honourable colleagues have raised this issue, and we know that the mediation has ceased. When does the Minister anticipate the release of the mediator's report? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Minister of Finance.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are soon in the process of talking with UNW, and the doors are always open for further talks. I will say no more than that. Take the question as notice. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

The question has been taken as notice. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment; and my apologies, well, I can't.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Well, you can still raise your question. The Premier is here.