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LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Only one resident attended a public meeting in Fort Simpson to gather comments on how non-renewable resource revenues should be spent.

Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger visited Fort Simpson on Oct. 7 as part of his tour to consult with residents about a management plan for non-renewable resource revenues. - Jeanne Gagnon/NNSL photo

The current debate lies on how to spend the money coming in from devolution.

Under the devolution agreement effective April 1, 2014, about $67.3 million a year goes into the base budget to take over all the transferred programs and responsibilities the federal government currently delivers. The other big pot of money is the resource revenue sharing agreement, where the GNWT will receive 50 per cent of resource revenues – what would have equalled out to about $65 million this year, said Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger. A quarter of that money is shared between the aboriginal governments.

Resource-revenue sharing is not "free money," said Miltenberger, who headed the meeting in Fort Simpson on Oct. 7.

Miltenberger's visit follows those made last year in seven NWT communities. He said nine people came a year ago when he visited Fort Simpson.

"As an MLA, when I get a small turnout, I always tell myself, 'It's because people have no real major issue and they're pretty comfortable with what's going on,'" he said. "Because I know, and as Kevin (Menicoche) knows, if people are upset, then you have a meeting – the place tends to be full."

Menicoche, MLA for Nahendeh, was also present at the meeting. Fort Simpson Mayor Sean Whelly was unable to attend as the meeting was scheduled at the same

time as village council. However, he did get a chance to speak with Miltenberger earlier in the day to outline the community's priorities. Whelly said Fort Simpson needs more funding for village operations and new infrastructure.

"We continue to get about $1 million in funding for infrastructure – like to build new buildings, swimming pools, fire halls – but they don't up our operations budget," he said. "When you build a building, you've got power costs. That comes out of your operations side of the budget and (the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs) hasn't been increasing that side of the budget to keep pace with the new infrastructure the community has been building."

Miltenberger said putting resource revenue money into the main budget would not be wise, as there are many infrastructure projects to be completed throughout the territory.

"We have a whole list of needs and that money is going to help us try to meet some of those current, unmet needs. And we're going to have the debate because some folks want to put it into general revenue and spend it on programs and services," he said. "I, as finance minister, I'm saying it would be a very bad idea to put that resource revenue money into the main budget because it fluctuates."

Norway has done it the "right way with the big heritage fund and enormous amounts of money put aside," Miltenberger said, adding the Scandinavian country has nearly $700 billion of their oil money put away while having a strong economy not skewed by oil prices, which could change at any moment.

"We want to do the right thing, which is put money aside for our children and grandchildren right now and keep it as politically temper-proof as we can for the first 20 years," he said.

Miltenberger explained the government's strategy to deal with the resource revenues developing from devolution of land and water resources to the territorial government from the federal government. Of the money coming to the territory, five per cent will be put into the NWT Heritage Fund, which received $250,000 seed money in both 2012 and 2013. The money will then be saved and, starting in 2032-33, no more than five per cent can be removed at a time as an investment to future generations.

Infrastructure deficit

As for the rest of the revenues, the territorial government wants to split it between paying down the debt and putting money toward infrastructure. The territory has an approximately $3 billion infrastructure deficit, said Miltenberger, citing Highway 7 – the Liard Highway – which alone needs a $250-million investment.

"That's just one example of the big ticket items we're trying to fund on a piecemeal basis because we don't have enough money for infrastructure," he said.

Public meetings took place in Behchoko on Oct. 3 and

Hay River on Oct. 8. Meetings are scheduled for Fort Smith on Oct. 15, Yellowknife on Oct. 28, Inuvik on Nov. 12 and Norman Wells on Nov. 13.

Residents have until Nov. 15 to provide feedback to the territorial government on how they'd like to see resource revenues used.

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