SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Nahendeh MLA Shane Thompson and Deh Cho MLA Michael Nadli are scheduled to be in Yellowknife as of Feb. 18 for the second sitting of the recently elected legislative assembly.

Nahendeh MLA Shane Thompson will be heading to Yellowknife this week for the second sitting of the 18th Legislative Assembly. - NNSL file photo

The session begins at 1:30 p.m. and is expected to focus on the government's budget and fiscal challenges, as well as the government's mandate for the next four years.

"Government cabinet and bureaucracy have painted a pretty gloomy picture but I don't think it's as gloomy if we get creative and look at alternative solutions besides austerity," said Thompson.

He added austerity measures, such as job cuts, could ultimately have a negative impact on the economy, especially if cuts drive families to leave the territory in search of a lower cost of living, which could jeopardize parts of the territory's federal funding transfers.

In order to avoid austerity measures, Thompson said he will encourage the government to consult with public service employees, who may have a better bead on how departments can save money.

"(Saving money) requires a creative way of looking at things. It's everybody working together - that's the bureaucracy, public service, MLAs, cabinet and the union all working together to understand we're in difficult times right now," he said.

Aside from working through current economic hardships, Thompson said this sitting of the assembly will also deal with some constituency issues.

For the Nahendeh, that could mean proposals to Dehcho First Nations and Acho Dene First Nation regarding their land claims processes.

"Once we have (those) done, we have some clarity and certainty within the region, which then brings the opportunity for future employment," he said.

Fort Simpson's health centre is also on his list for this sitting. In October, the health centre's construction was pushed back to 2022-23. It had originally been scheduled for 2017.

Thompson says it is too soon to determine what will happen with the health centre in light of the current fiscal situation.

"We're trying to find out the status of the health centre and where that is," he said.

"There's an opportunity to move things around but again we're in this financial crunch and these are the challenges."

One such challenge, he said, is addressing the debt levels piled up from past governments.

"We're trying to find out how ... the previous two governments have put us in this situation, where the Deh Cho Bridge is now a debt we have to pay for, that's still costing us money, and Stanton Hospital in Yellowknife is going to cost us money as well," he said.

"Previous governments have put us in a situation where now we're the bad guys - we're the ones who have to make the hard decisions."

Thompson to be chair of Social Development Committee

Although the position needs to still be approved by the legislative assembly, Thompson confirmed he is the chairperson for the social development committee.

That involves dealing with housing, education, homelessness, health and social services and anything else that falls under the social envelope.

"It's a lot of things that were a part of my platform (during the election)," Thompson said.

"These are challenges for Nahendeh."

In the interest of informing the community and gathering information on constituency issues, Thompson appeared before Fort Simpson village council on Feb. 15 to give them a briefing on what he expects to come out of the assembly's sitting.

At that time, he also extended an invitation to councillors to bring up any concerns and questions they may have. He said he is doing the same for other communities and bands throughout the constituency.