David Krutko

Mr. Speaker, again, I believe the Minister said yes. I’d like to thank him for the $500,000, and I look forward to building my road.

Laughter.

I think it’s important, Mr. Speaker, that the Minister realizes that programs and services we do have are consistent and that they are also fairly distributed. I know we are looking at other communities. I know Tuk is asking for a similar arrangement. Again, I think the emergency we’re under is because of the effects of global warming, shore erosion, the amount of floods that we’re starting to see — they’re increasing — and the effect on capital, Mr...

Mr. Speaker, in regard to my Member’s statement about the road to the gravel source in Aklavik and also about not having it — it’s an essential service — I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation…. In the last couple of years there has been some work that's ongoing between the Department of Transportation, the community of Fort McPherson and the residents of Aklavik for an all-weather road to connect the community of Aklavik to the Dempster Highway. Yet nowhere in the information I’ve been reviewing is there any capital investment in this idea.

I’d like to ask the Minister of...

Mr. Speaker, the committee has been considering Bill 1, Interim Appropriation Act, 2008-2009. I’m glad to report progress.

I call the Committee of the Whole back to order.

Is the committee agreed?

In regard to capacity in communities, one of the biggest challenges we’re facing in our communities is finding professionals to run and maintain our communities: the SCOs, the financial officers, even bylaw officers in some cases. I know we had the Community Capacity Program where we used to train people through MACA, Housing and whatnot.

I’d like to ask the Minister: will we continue with such a program so we can have homegrown individuals who can take on these jobs in their home communities?

Mr. Speaker, in regard to the new deal, it is a new initiative. I know that it does have some hiccups in the way it will be implemented, but I would like to ask the Minister: will there be a period of time, say within the next year or so, where we can do an evaluation or assessment to see what is working and what is not and adjust it so we can make this program successful?

Mr. Speaker, the community of Aklavik also has this in the strategic plan they developed last August. Again, the community is fully supportive of this. Knowing we are looking at alternative funding sources — we have the municipal infrastructure funding, and we’re talking about the Building Canada Fund — I’d like to ask the Minister to ensure that we do have our opportunity to have access to these program dollars sowe can take on this initiative. Thank you.

Government Accounting, not previously authorized: $3,962,000. Agreed?

Government Accounting, $3,962,000 approved.

I too have questions in regard to the expenditure of $493,000. I’d like to know the total cost of that transportation of the court circuit in the fiscal year.