Fort Providence (Oct 24/03) - Deh Cho MLA Michael McLeod spent part of the last session in the legislative assembly calling for business development services in his riding.

McLeod implored Economic Development Minister Jim Antoine to ensure Fort Providence, Kakisa, Enterprise and Hay River Reserve have access to Community Futures programs, which are accessible to most other Northern communities. The issue has been ignored by the government for six years, according to McLeod, who said he first raised it when he was elected MLA three years ago.

"The resources are very, very scarce in terms of business assistance," he said.

Antoine referred to the absence of services as an oversight. In an subsequent interview with the Drum, Antoine said the Deh Cho Business Development Centre's board, which serves Nahendeh riding communities, is looking at expanding its services to cover the Deh Cho communities in question.

"Things are evolving everyday," Antoine said. "But it's really up to the (BDC) board. They may need extra dollars from RWED (Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development) to do that."

McLeod also chastised the GNWT for doing little to help the communities prepare for a Mackenzie Valley pipeline.

"They haven't put a dime towards any training. They've provided some core funding to the APG (Aboriginal Pipeline Group), but that's it," he said. He added that the territorial government has only renamed its existing training and apprenticeship programs to make it sound like they have created new opportunities.

Unfair tax?

During the same legislative session, McLeod challenged Finance Minister Joe Handley for applying a portion of aboriginal people's property tax towards education. He argued that a section in Treaties 8 and 11 already provides for teachers and earmarked funding comes from the federal government.

Therefore the territorial government is essentially double-dipping, according to McLeod.

Handley replied that the only federal money designated specifically for treaty members is for health care, not education.

The rest of the NWT's formula funding is for all of the territory's residents regardless of status, according to Handley.

McLeod said he feels somebody is not honouring the treaties.

"Cabinet is not willing to move on it. It would probably take some kind of a court challenge to resolve it," McLeod suggested.

In general, property taxes on aboriginal people is an "unresolved issue," McLeod told the Drum.

He said he's in favour of a moratorium on such taxes until the issue is resolved.

"There are people in the communities saying, 'Why are we paying taxes on our own land?'" he said.