SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs had a chance to respond to some harsh words by the auditor general of Canada on Tuesday about what he called its "inadequate" support to NWT community governments.

Auditor general of Canada Michael Ferguson shares the key findings of his report on community service delivery in the NWT on Tuesday at the legislative assembly. - Kirsten Fenn/NNSL photo

Michael Ferguson was at the legislative assembly in Yellowknife to answer questions from the Standing Committee on Government Operations about the findings of his scathing October report on the department.

"Overall, our audit found the department's support to community governments was inadequate and that it did not do enough to help them improve their delivery of some essential services or to mitigate risks to residents when service delivery was inadequate," he told the committee.

Ferguson said improper waste management, lack of fire protection services and out-of-date emergency plans in 22 communities were concerning findings. While the department did well maintaining safe drinking water in communities, it lacks the information to know what communities' most urgent needs are, Ferguson said.

The auditor general produced 13 recommendations for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) as part of his report. The department has agreed to implement them all.

On Tuesday afternoon, MACA deputy minister Eleanor Young and a team of representatives from the department presented a 36-page action plan on how the department will address each recommendation.

Included are plans to implement a new drinking water database, change the department's water and sewer funding policy to include funding for solid waste management, update the Fire Prevention Act and Civil Emergency Measures Act and provide web resources for fire training.

The department will also work more closely with Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada to co-ordinate responsibilities and build capacity among community governments, as well as review how it verifies information provided by communities through the NWT Community Government Accountability Framework. The framework questionnaire with more than 200 points, designed to monitor service delivery in the communities.

While some items in the department's action plan are set to be completed in 2017, many were given a timeline dating to 2018 or 2019, something MLAs raised concern about at the meeting.

But Young said she is confident in the department's plan.

"I believe we can complete what we've committed to here and do a good job of it," she said.

She added the department is now "starting to find our way" in terms of understanding its role in providing support to communities after they became responsible for their own service delivery in 2007.

Before MACA's afternoon presentation, Ferguson encouraged the committee to ensure MACA stays true to its action plan.

"At the end of the day, the goal here is to make sure the communities are delivering the essential services - the services that are required by legislation," Ferguson said. "The department is the eyes and ears of the government and the legislative assembly on what's happening and whether those communities are delivering those services."

Standing committee chair Kieron Testart said the committee will review the auditor general's report and MACA's action plan before presenting on them in the legislative assembly during the upcoming session, which starts Jan 31.