Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to be very clear: I don't fault the department for this gap. We have heard a great deal from this department over my time in the legislature about how they struggle with their appropriations at times and that Members are asking for additional resources that they simply do not have. I see this more as a political decision. It is a decision to fund other priorities, and I think that the Minister has said something similar to that. My big problem with that is that this is not a request that has come forward. This is not a third party or a major infrastructure project that people are asking for that doesn't exist. This is an outstanding commitment that the GNWT has committed itself to in funding this formula. I am really confused as to why it is so hard to get that across. You have a funding formula that you worked very hard with community stakeholders to produce that says what the appropriate funding is per community throughout the Northwest Territories, and it is not being funded at that level.
The only appropriate course to take is to either fund it, to fund it incrementally, so that we know when the gap is going to be plugged, or to rebalance the formula so that it is more realistically achievable through the means of this government. Saying that when our revenues increase, we will be able to fund communities appropriately according to our own formula, well, I mean, you could say that when our revenues increase, we will build all of our infrastructure projects as well. That's obvious. We have an obligation. We have committed to filling that obligation, and we are simply not doing it. $8 million out of $40 million is not very much in the grand scheme of things, and these dollars, especially the infrastructure dollars, go directly to stimulating local economies, and not just in larger centres, but in smaller communities as well. This is money that is vitally important for the health and well-being of our local economies, and they employ people, create jobs, and create prosperity. It is crucial that we plug this gap and not just keep talking about it. We have been talking about it for three years. It is a priority. It is more than a priority; it is the fiduciary responsibility of this Minister and this government.
A strategy is not going to cut it for this Member. I don't think that a strategy is going to cut it for the communities that are looking for this additional funding. We need to do a better job, and this budget fails in this regard. Nothing further. Thank you.