SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The territory's finance minister is calling on the federal government to resolve reductions in territorial transfer payments following the parliamentary secretary to the federal finance minister's visit to Yellowknife over the weekend.
Francois-Philippe Champagne, parliamentary secretary to the federal minister of finance, right, greeted members of the media Northwestel Tower, Sunday. Champagne, with NWT MP Michael McLeod, held federal pre-budget talks community leaders to learn what the territory's financial needs are. - Simon Whitehouse/NNSL photo |
Robert C. McLeod met with Francois-Philippe Champagne, parliamentary secretary to federal finance minister Bill Morneau on Sunday to get a sense of Northern priorities for the coming budget.
The consultation was part of a nationwide effort to hear from Canadians.
Yellowknifer learned in December federal transfer payment to the GNWT were being reduced by $34 million - to $1.236 billion for 2016-2017 - due to a change in the way the annual payments are calculated.
"It is very important that it gets resolved," McLeod said. "The economy in the NWT is slow at the moment with Snap Lake closing ... It is very important that we get at least some of that money restored."
Champagne said he was aware of the issue but had no updates on whether the money might be restored.
"We all know that Statistics Canada has been making changes into the formula and this is based on international standards," Champagne said. "We have tasked officials in Ottawa to talk to their counterparts in the Northwest Territories to find a way forward ... I am hopeful people will find a solution to that."
NWT MP Michael McLeod said addressing the funding will be a continued topic of discussion between Northern MPs and the finance minister.
"There are different issues that challenge us when it comes to cost of living, the economy and the population," he said. "We flagged the point that we can't recognize any funding coming forward on a (per) capita basis. It just doesn't work for us."
McLeod admitted there are serious decisions yet to be made on the topic.
"We have to really ensure that the impact of the cuts are something that we can work with," he said. "Is there a way to prop this up or is there a way to find a solution to having changes like this made in the Stats Canada review?"
Champagne met earlier with about 10 community organizations on Sunday at the Northwestel Tower to identify other priorities for the budget.
"We heard about infrastructure, housing and also digital infrastructure," Champagne said. "This includes not only building airports and roads and highways but also about connectivity. We want to make sure people are engaged in the new economy."
"We understand that what is happening in the North is different. We want to make sure that when we talk about the North and Northern issues, we realize the difference of moving up North."
Mike Bradshaw, executive director of the NWT Chamber of Commerce, attended the meeting.
He said a key point he wanted to get across was the difference in Northern economic needs versus those of the south and how Northern needs can fit into the overall budget.
"We spent some time talking about the infrastructure deficit and the new 10-year capital commitment of the new Liberal government," he said.
"It is important to get a clear understanding of Northern priorities, so from our standpoint the meeting was useful."
