Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too have sat on council for 15 years, so this has always been a topic in my agenda, and I ran on it with my elections. I'm sure you all are aware of that. But I would like to thank the Members for bringing this motion to the floor today. I agree with the Members on the important role of municipal governments and the importance of funding communities appropriately.
I want to take the moment to share some information on what funding MACA provides. MACA currently provides over $120 million in annual funding through community government funding policies. This funding supports community governments in delivering core municipal services, including administration, recreation, public safety, and public works. An additional $2.5 million will be allocated for operations and maintenance. An additional $1.3 million will be allocated for water, waste, and sewer, pending the approval of the 2024-2025 Main Estimates. I believe that the Members will be pleased to hear that MACA is working towards implementing revised funding allocations as part of the updates of the community government funding policies that were approved in October 2023. The revised calculations will ensure that funding is distributed equitably across the community governments based on core services expected to be available in the communities.
In closing, Mr. Speakers, I want to acknowledge that funding sustainability, sustainable community government services is a shared responsibility of all levels of government. The GNWT remains committed to working in partnership with our community governments and to advocating for more funding from the federal governments in ways that will best serve municipal services' needs and the NWT residents. Cabinet will abstain from this vote for this motion and will prepare a complete response within 120 days as requested.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.