Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. When I spoke previously, it was as the chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations, and now I speak as the Member for Kam Lake. I have spoken with Kam Lakers about this very issue, and many of them are torn because they do care about the environment, they care about climate change, and they want options, but they are also faced with the reality that the North is already a very expensive place to live and work.

I have heard from businesses, as well, who say they cannot afford another cost and encouraged me to work to improve whatever this bill would ultimately...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again, this is a way to ensure that the tax is being monitored for effectiveness and that any rebalancing of grants and rebates to offset any drawbacks from our local economies or territorial economy can be properly assessed by making necessary changes to the carbon pricing scheme. This motion is calling for or recommending that that be done in a formal and public process by the time the carbon tax reaches its full amount of $50 per tonne. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As per my Member's statement, the state of community funding in the Northwest Territories has a major problem, and we have known about this problem for a long time. I would like to know what the Minister responsible of Municipal and Community Affairs has done to properly address the deficits and shortfalls in the municipal funding formula. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move the chair rise and report progress. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think the point that the Member is raising is fundamentally around the role of Members who are participating in committees such as this one to determine the merits of legislation in a detailed clause-by-clause review and proposed amendments, which is an inherent privilege of Members and an inherent role of the House in exercising its own independence, so the House is allowed to pursue its duties that are important for the passage of laws. To have outside interference either in the form of a consideration that has been raised by a third party that is, in fact...

Thank you kindly. Speaking to the motion, I think that there is, of course, a real need for independent regulators in any jurisdiction, but these annual reports are important for the public's right to know about what regulators have been doing. I know there has been some concern that a prescriptive list is somehow impinging on the independence of the regulator, but I don't think that's, in fact, true in this case. As the honourable Member for Frame Lake said, this is laying out the decision points that are already in existence in the act and ensuring that there is guidance in the issuance of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Committee would like to consider Bill 37, An Act to Amend the Oil and Gas Operations Act; Committee Report 24-18(3), Standing Committee on Social Development Report on the Review of Bill 48, Post-Secondary Education Act; and Bill 48, Post-Secondary Education Act. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The federal government comes through with the gas tax funding; it comes through with additional money. This is not a federal issue. This is our issue. We created this formula, and we are not funding it. That is the issue here. This gap is entirely the responsibility of this government, no other government. I am sure the municipal governments respect what the Minister is bringing forward in support to get those federal dollars, but it's not enough. We need to plug it here, so has the Minister met with the newly elected mayor in council since the last election, and the NWTAC, and heard from them...

Well, this is not just something that Members are getting pressure from now. It's something that Members have advocated for for four years, since we got elected, and to hear that it's going to be the next government's problem is a naked example of passing the buck to our successors. What can be done in this sitting to address these issues?

---Laughter

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In 2016, at the start of the 18th Assembly, the GNWT continued to acknowledge that there exists a gap between the core funding and needs of community governments. The government has set a target of nine years to close this gap, and here we are, four years later. MACA's 2018-2019 Business Plan says we're still nine years away from balancing this deficit.

The NWT Association of Municipalities identified a $40-million deficit in funding. In the attached report prepared by the Conference Board of Canada, which was included with their submission, it stated that closing the...