Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

IQALUIT (May 17/99) - Status quo was what he promised and status quo was what Nunavummiut and their elected representatives got last Friday morning as sharply- dressed Finance Minister Kelvin Ng presented the territory's first-ever budget.

As tradition amongst finance ministers goes, Ng was sporting a brand new pair of shoes -- caribou kamiks -- as he tabled the balanced budget in the temporary legislature building last Friday morning in Iqaluit.

"Nunavut will have a balanced budget in the 1999-2000 fiscal year. Our fiscal plan projects revenues of $610 million and expenditures of $600 million. We have a small 1.6 per cent ($10 million) operating reserve," said Ng.

He explained that while the option of borrowing money to finance much-needed government services and projects was tempting, it would be unwise for the new government to begin their first year of operation with a debt hanging over their heads.

"We do not plan to spend money we do not have," said Ng, a statement which overwhelmingly pleased his colleagues.

"He indicated the dangers of borrowing money and I agree with that. I'm glad to see they've taken that approach," said Hunter Tootoo, the MLA for Iqaluit Centre.

Glenn McLean also threw his support to Ng's budget and said that alternative funding sources for projects, like the much talked about P3 initiatives, can be found for the necessary expenditures.

"What's important to me is that it's a zero-deficit budget. It's very, very important that we maintain this," said the MLA for Baker Lake.

Maintaining it is exactly what Ng plans to do, at least for the next two years. At that time the Government of Nunavut is entitled to renegotiate the formula financing grant they receive from the federal government. When the original agreement was signed in October of 1998 by Interim Commissioner Jack Anawak and federal Finance Minister Paul Martin, the pair only had the ability to lock the as-of-yet unformed Nunavut government into the agreement for a period of two years.

Ng explained that steps had already been taken by the government to find out about increasing the amount of federal dollars they receive through the agreement so that more of their needs can be met.

"We think it doesn't address...some of the shortfalls in housing, dealing with the lower economic levels of activity, the lower education levels of the population," said Ng.

When the Legislative Assembly continues its second session this week, the budget is expected to go to committee and to the various departments for debate, but Ng pointed out that there was very little room to move on what had been put in place.

"There's not a lot of room for flexibility at this stage," said Ng.

As he had explained the week before the budget was actually tabled, the figures he handed down were very close to those estimated by Anawak in the preliminary budget that was drafted last December.

With the exception of $55 million taken out of various departments and used to create an overall capital expenditure, the numbers remained more or less the same.

Once the departments settle in and the government becomes more stable, it will be possible for members to start making changes in order to juggle the dollars for the next fiscal year's budget.

As Premier Paul Okalik explained, change cannot happen overnight.

"We couldn't meet everyone's expectations this year. I'm very confident that we can make a lot of progress with the constraints we face."