Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. During the questioning earlier, I heard one of my colleagues bring up the term "designated communities." I just wanted to get a definition of what these designated communities are, just to expand on that a little. Thank you.
Debates of Oct. 28th, 2020
This is page numbers 1443 - 1480 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd 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 housing.
Topics
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1471
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Young
It's a term that we use, but essentially just to recognize the difference between those communities that are created under territorial legislation, such as hamlets and cities and towns and villages, versus the communities where it is a First Nation government, where we have a contract for the provision of municipal services. It's not a legislated arrangement; it's a contract arrangement. At the end of the day, in terms of the way we calculate their funding and the infrastructure that is provided for the provision of municipal services, we calculate it the same way regardless of the type of community that exists. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh
Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for that response. Just to expand it a little more, how many of these communities are designated communities and which communities would that be? Thank you.
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Paulie Chinna Sahtu
Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't have a list, and for the number, I don't have that with me right now. I will just revert this to Ms. Young. Hopefully, she has the list. Thank you.
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Young
I do. Thank you, Madam Chair. I will run through it quickly. It's 10 communities. It's Colville Lake, Detah -- sorry, I'm just running down my list very quickly, here -- Jean Marie River, Kakisa, K'atlodeeche, Lutselk'e, Nahanni Butte, Trout Lake, and Wrigley. I believe I've got them all. Sorry. Although it's not a designated authority, we do count Deline in that for the same reason. It's not territorial legislation; it's its own self-government agreement. It is just not under municipal legislation, and that's why we are calling it that for that purpose only, recognizing that it is a full self-government. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair Lesa Semmler
Thank you, Deputy Minister. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Do you have anything else?
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh
Thank you for that. It's good to know who of that list who are in my riding. I have nothing further. If I have anything else, I'll probably do it in writing. Marsi cho.
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake
Thanks, Madam Chair. The mandate commitment from Cabinet is to reduce the municipal funding gap by $5 million. I'm just wondering, the $5 million, is that the total funding gap, or is it just on the capital side, the O and M, the water and sewer, which I guess I was calling environmental? Where is the intention to make up $5 million? Thanks, Madam Chair.
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Paulie Chinna Sahtu
Thank you, Madam Chair. What Ms. Young had explained is that this was not a part of our budget that we last had put forward. We did speak about this just prior. I'll have her just elaborate on the $5 million and how it's calculated and what funding would be used for. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Young
Thank you, Madam Chair. The intention is to reduce the total gap by $5 million, and then we've engaged with the NWTAC, as I've said, for the first portion of that, the $2.5 million that was approved in April, to have a conversation about where to put the priority. Just for sake, we mentioned the number of $20.4 million in the capital gap, that's roughly 60 percent of the gap currently. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake
Thanks, Madam Chair. What is the total funding gap right now, then? I'm sorry. I don't have a calculator in front of me. Thanks, Madam Chair.
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Paulie Chinna Sahtu
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll revert this question to Ms. Young again. Thank you.
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Young
Thank you, Madam Chair. The total gap is currently $40.4 million per year.
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1472
Committee Motion 43-18(3): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Health and Social Services - Deferral of Department (page 29), Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1473
Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake
Thanks, Madam Chair. Wow. That's a lot of money. Forty point four million dollars a year that we're shortchanging our community governments and we have a mandate commitment to help reduce that by $5 million. Not terribly ambitious, in my point of view. I was in the last Assembly. I know the work that went into the municipal funding gap review. There were GNWT people on it; there was NWTAC; there were people from the tax base communities, the non-tax base communities. There was a lot of work that went into that, too. Try to move us away from a per-capita funding formula to something that's more evidence-based and needs-based. We've got to change the policy that's in place. The question for the Minister is: all we're going to achieve in four years is to reduce the funding gap by $5 million when it's actually $40 million? We can't get a little more ambitious than that? Thanks, Madam Chair.