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PoliticsFinance3TuesdayFebruary112014Continuedfrompage1Anestimated120millioningrossresourcerevenuesisonthebooksofwhichamaximumof45millionwillactuallystaywiththeGNWTaftersplittingit50-50withCanadaandsharing15percentwiththeAboriginalgovernments.Resourcerevenueswillnotgotoprogramsandservicesbutinsteadtoinfrastructureanddebtrepayment.Andafterlongdebatetheorigi-nallyproposed5percentofresourcerevenueswillgototheHeritageFundandnotmoredespitepubliccriticism.ItsanissueofdisciplinedchoicesMiltenbergersaid.Wehaveanumberofchal-lengeswehavemodestrev-enuesandexpendituresthatareexceedingthoserevenues...Sonotonlyarewehavingtosavemoneyforthefuturewealsohaveanobligationherewithdevolutionandbuildingoureconomicbasetoputinsomelong-termeconomicin-frastructurethatiscritical.The120millionbasedonave-yearaveragerepresents5percentoftheterritorysgrossexpenditurebasethemaximumtheterritorystandstogainfromdevolution.Toraisethatlimitwillrequireraisingthatbaseorpopula-tionoftheterritory.IncreasingthepopulationAlongwiththebudgetdetailsMiltenbergeran-nouncedthattheGNWTismakingastrategicshiftinfavourofboostingtheterri-toryspopulationby2000peopleoverthenextveyearsinordertosecuremoreTFFfundsfromCanada.Eachnewresidentwillre-sultinanadditional30000fortheterritorytoatotalof50millionifthegovernmentmeetsitsgoalnotcountingtheadditionaltaxesandotherspendingdonebyindividuals.Werenotgoingtoraisetaxesbutweredeterminedweregoingtodoallthethingsnecessarytogrowoureco-nomicbaseMiltenbergersaid.WewantasmuchofitaswecantostayintheNorth.TheGNWThashadpre-liminarymeetingswithbusinesstogetmomentumonrecruitingemployeestotheNorthbutalargepartoftheeffortwillgointoen-suringatleast20percentofNorthernstudentsreturntotheNorthafterattendingschoolelsewhere.WhatwerelosingbynotdealingwithsomeoftheseissuesisinthehundredsofmillionsofdollarsayearinlostrevenuetotheNorth-westTerritoriesMilten-bergersaid.Soitisacriti-calpieceofourplanthisisnotjustanicehigh-prolepoliticalinitiative.Thisisaverysignicanteconomicbase-buildinginitiativewherewerebringinginallthese-niorplayersingovernmentandtheprivatesectortoputourmindstothis.Someofthatmovementisalreadyincludedinthisbudgetwith22.6millionoverthreeyearstoincreasehousinginsmallercommuni-tieswherejobvacancieslie.RaiseddebtceilingcrucialCrucialtotheretentionofresidentsintheterritoryisthegovernmentsabilitytomakeinvestmentsintoeconomicinfrastructurelikeroadsandtransmissionlinesanabilitycurrentlyhamperedbytheNWTsfederalborrowinglimitof800million.ThoughtheGNWTcur-rentlyhasthemoneyforitscapitalplanapprovedlastfallitiswaitingtoseeiflargerprojectscanalsobenanced.Miltenbergerwhoisre-questingthedebtceilingberaisedby1billionsaidtalksofanincreasehavebeenpositiveandwillbenecessaryforthesuccessoftheterritorysscalstrategymovingforward.Wevehadveryproduc-tivediscussionswiththefed-eralgovernment.Theyrec-ognizethatwereawell-runjurisdictiontheyrecognizethatwevemanagedour-selveslikeamaturepoliticaljurisdictionshould...Theresawholelotofindicatorsthatsignalourabilitytomanageanotherbillion-dollarbumpuptoourborrowinglimitshouldthatnegotiationsuc-cessfullyconcludehesaid.Thatsanabsolutemajorissueforus.Ifwecantinvestsignicantlyineconomicin-frastructureitputsusonamuchsmallertracktotrytobuildoureconomicbase.59millionfordevolutiontransfer27millionfornewLandsdepartment14millionfornewresponsibilitiesinEnvironmentandNaturalResources13millionforIndustryTourismandInvestmentresponsibilities5millionforcentralagenciestomanagenewassetsandadministration.102newjobsoutsideofYellowknifemorethanhalfofwhicharearesultofdevolution.5milliontotheNTHousingCorp.toincreasepublichousingstock.2.6millionforthenewAnti-PovertyStrategicFramework.2millionforincreasedearlychildhoodeducation.2.6milliontofundinitiativesrecommendedbytheMinistersForumonAddictionsandCommunityWellness.515000tohiretwofull-timemidwivesinHayRiver.3milliontosupporttheimplementationofboththeEconomicOpportunitiesStrategyandMineralDevelopmentStrategy.1.4milliontodesigna65-kmtransmissionlineconnectingWhatitotheSnarehydrogrid.1.9millionforalternativeenergyprojectsincludingbiomasssolarandwind.11.5millionforincreasinglong-termcareemergencyhealthandhousingservices.Nonewtaxesbutpropertytaxmillratesandfeeshavebeenadjustedforination.BudgethighlightsPopulationboostneededformoretransferfundingFinanceMinisterMichaelMiltenbergerpreparesforlastThursdaysbudgetaddressonopeningdayofthewintersession.TheNWTgovernmentsmaceisbroughtintomarkopeningdayofthewintersessionofthe17thAssembly.PhotosBillBradenPhone867920-49442014SpringTradeShowisnowopenforregistrationsDiscountsformembers.