Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, after trying to get some basic financial information about my region from the government, I was told that the GNWT did not budget in this way and that the information I wanted could not be provided. I decided to do my own work, and I can say it has been an eye opening experience.
Mr. Speaker, if we were to break down the $2 billion operating budget based on population, it amounts to almost $45,000 per person living in the NWT. Based on this estimate, that the Tlicho's share of the operating budget should be about $135 million per year. When I look around Tlicho communities, however, I wonder where is this being spent. According to the sources of information I have, I estimate the amount of money being directly spent in my region to be approximately half of that amount.
The question I keep coming back to then, Mr. Speaker, is what happened to the other $60 million on an annual basis that should be flowing to the people and communities in the Tlicho regions?
Mr. Speaker, the Minister's email provided some insight to this. It talks about work being done that benefits all NWT communities, like the Executive, Indigenous Affairs, education modernizations, curriculum renewal, and MMIWG. There are many more of these types of projects across government, and I'm not saying that these are bad projects or that work should not continue. But using half of our money, or $60 million, to work on GNWT priorities, many of which are out alignment with what is actually needed in my region, is really unfair.
For example, Mr. Speaker, if the GNWT was really interested in improving educational outcomes in my region, changing the Education Act will not have the same impact as addressing the social economic conditions like poverty and housing. A change in education legislation is not going to fix the housing crisis.
When you have eight people living in a three-bedroom unit and children do not have a good night's sleep or no quiet place to study, how do you expect these children to have good attendance and to focus on their education when they are worried about basics like food and shelters? Fixing this problem will do far more to improve educational outcome than some legislation changes.
Mr. Speaker, this government says it wants to work in partnership with Indigenous governments, and it says a lot of the right things. But the way it spends money tells a different story.
The fact that $60 million is allocated to territorial projects without any community consultation sends a message that the GNWT knows better than local leaderships. To add insult to injury, organizations then have to apply for funding that have a lot of restrictions placed on them. The Minister of Health often has spoken about unused pots of funding. Maybe the reason organizations choose not to apply is because of all the restrictions placed on the funding, making it difficult for them to achieve an outcome.
Mr. Speaker, funding restrictions are just a tool that colonial government use to control Indigenous government. If the GNWT is serious about working with Indigenous government, they need to come up with a new fiscal approach that is built on mutual respect and trust instead of control. Just as the federal government trusts this government to make decisions, we need to show Indigenous government that same trust.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot support this budget as it is out of alignment of what my riding really needs. I would like to see the budget change to reflect more small community needs. GNWT is using a large portion of our funding, or $60 million every year, to support territorial projects when my region's basic needs are not being addressed.
My riding priorities are to fix the housing crisis, work on mental health and addictions, and to fix aging infrastructure, infrastructure as previously mentioned. Even if a small portion of the $60 million GNWT is using for its territorial projects were spent towards our priorities, the housing crisis could be resolved over the next couple years.
I believe that all other small NWT communities are in the same situation and are paying a huge price tag for territorial projects that have little benefit for small communities. That is why we continue to see outcomes for people living in small communities. Communities get worse and the widen gap when compared to those people living in the capital or large regional centres.
If you are from small communities, you would understand our struggles and challenges yet we do not hear this from this Cabinet most who are from small northern communities. We feel no one is advocating on our behalf. Remember, there are 32 other communities outside of capitals that matters. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.