Thank you. Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just have two questions. One of them, and the first one is, I'm sure that the municipal funding gap is a major concern not only for all of us in this room but also for all the communities and regional centres. And I'm just wondering is the formula based on per capita of each community? Madam Chair, I'd like to know if that's the way the calculation of the formula is?

Minister of MACA.

Thank you. There's a number of things but per capita is one of them. Actual cost is another. And then for the other ones, we'll have to get back to the other breakdown on it. So it's just there is a number of components to it, just not per capita. Thank you. Community location I think as well.

Thank you. Member for Thebacha.

So the criteria is not equalized across the territory, Madam Chair?

Thank you. Minister of MACA.

So the formula is community specific and, again, it's not -- some communities get more money than the others and then again -- like, it's -- per capita is one part of it. Like, where the location of the community is, actual costs are. So, again, depending on location and size and that, then that would be your number. Thank you.

Thank you. Member for Thebacha.

I know my colleague asked for a list of how much money goes to each community, and that should be public knowledge, Madam Chair. I think that -- I think that the Minister -- that those are public funds, and I'd like to see a copy of how that is allocated according to unequal criteria. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Minister of MACA.

As I provided to the other Member, we will provide that information. Thank you.

Will it be public?

Yes.

Thank you. Member for Thebacha.

Madam Chair, you know, the municipal funding gap is a major problem for small communities and regional centres. And I want to know what the Minister and his department is doing for innovative and creative solutions to ensure that the municipal funding gap, at some point in our lifetime, whether it be the next ten years or whatever, that everything is at equal basis? So I'm just wondering what his ideas, his views on ensuring that this happens. You know, you have three -- two out of three staff that are located here in the capital, and it's a large bureaucratic empire and we have very few at the regional level, and yet we're funding that staff to micromanage these small communities and regional centres. Instead, we should be cutting that in half and putting that money to the municipal funding gap. Like, you got to start thinking of creative ideas in a business sense to make sure that this works. More bureaucratic positions doesn't solve the problem for the municipal funding gap. That affects small communities and regional centres. I'd like to know his views on this. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Minister of MACA.

So the bureaucracy that the Member's talking about is 109 regional and headquarters staff. So the work that we are doing is -- the Member tells us to think outside the box. We've reached out to the NWTAC, and we're working with them. We're reaching out to the federal government. We're reaching out to our colleagues from the Yukon and Nunavut. I've actually had conversations with the federal minister.

We also have other -- we encourage the communities to get sole sourcing -- or sole source funding. But for other details that the communities are able to do, I'll turn to the deputy minister. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Deputy minister Gareau.

I don't have any other questions, Madam Chair.

Questions for regional operations? Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I just have a couple quick questions. And so -- and this is something that we have talked about, you know, probably every year as we go through the budgeting process. But the government does incremental budgeting and so we don't often see large jumps here and there or -- because we don't do zero based budgeting at the end of the day, which is something that I know that Members have asked for and that hopefully we'll see some of it through government renewal. But one of the things that I'm wondering here in regards to the municipal funding gap is, has MACA sought forced growth for community funding over the life of the 19th Assembly. And if we -- like, we've seen that, for example, in collective agreements -- or in salaries, sorry, in compensation and benefits throughout the main estimates. But I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to whether or not that has happened specific to community funding and if not, why not. Thank you.