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12TuesdayFebruary182014FederalbudgetbringsgoodnewsforNWTministerByMEAGANWOHLBERGWithextensionsgrantedonhealthandinfrastructurefundingfortheNorthernter-ritoriesNWTFinanceMinis-terMichaelMiltenbergersaidthe2014federalbudgetbringsgoodnewsfortheterritory.Whileitwasclearthefed-eralbudgetaimedatbalanc-ingthebooksby2015wasntgoingtobeabigspendingplanMiltenbergersaiditdoesaddresssomecriticalinfra-structureneedsintheNorth.ThebiggoodnewsstoryforusistheBuildCanadaFundforwhichourshareissomewhereintheneighbour-hoodof250millionover10yearssoitwillbe26millionayearthatwecanaddtoourcapitalplanfordifferentproj-ectshesaid.Communitieswillgetsomeofthefunding.ThemajorityoftheBuild-ingCanadafundingwillgototransportationinfrastruc-tureMiltenbergersaidfromroadstobridges.HesaidtheGNWTisnowanxiouslyawaitingdetailsonwhenBuildingCanadafundingwillbeginowingandhowmuchwillbeonthetablethisyearbutsaidnoneofthatmoneywillbetakenforgranted.Givenourfiscalpru-denceweregoingtobereadytotakefulladvantageofallthatmoneythatcomesavailablehesaid.ThelasttimeitcamearoundinthelastgovernmentoverthreeyearsweputoverabilliondollarsofinfrastructureonthegroundintheNorthwestTerritoriessothisisgoingtobeaboonforus.Theotherpositivehesaidisthatthefundingpartner-shipwiththefederalgovern-mentissplitat2575whichallowstheterritorytomakeitsmoneygofurther.TheNWTalsogotanun-expectedthree-yearextensionontheterritorialhealthsystemsustainabilityinitiativefund-ingwhichwassupposedtohavebeenphasedout.The70millionoverthreeyearsissplitbetweenthethreeterritoriesgivingtheNWTaround7millionperyearinadditionalfundingtoboosthealthprogrammingwhichhasledtoanincreaseinnursepractitionersandmidwives.Miltenbergersaiditisawelcomeextensionthatal-lowsmoretimetoreadyforthecomingphase-out.Thatgivesusthreeyearstoplanforanexitstrategybecausetheyindicatedthatthatwasithesaid.Mostoftheprogramshavebe-comeveryimportantandtheyrenotthekindofpro-gramsNorthernerswouldliketoseerolledupsowearegoingtobelookingathowdoweshiftsomeofourresourcesoverthenextfewyearstomakesurethattheresnolossinprogramsandservices.AdditionalmoneyfortheP3Canadafundingwillalsolikelylendsupporttotheter-ritorysmajorinfrastructureprojectthe350-millionrenovationslatedforStantonTerritorialHospital.Enhancedannualfundingforthe60-millionNutritionNorthprogramwillalsoben-ettheterritorysremotecircumpolarcommunitiesMiltenbergeradded.Evenwithalltheprob-lemswiththatparticularprogramIthinkthatsgoodnewsforusaswellhesaid.Explorationtaxprogramextensionsfortheminingin-dustrywillhavesomeposi-tiveimpactstoohesaid.BudgetshortondetailsMPWesternArcticMPDen-nisBevingtonsaidthisyearsfederalbudgetseemedsparseindetailsmainlyreiteratingfundingfortheNorththathadalreadybeeninplace.Thatsaidhenotedthathelooksforwardtohearingmoredetailsoverthecomingmonthsonthespecican-nouncementpledging305millionfortelecommunica-tionsupgradestoremoteandruralcommunitiesacrossCanada.ByBevingtonscalcula-tionsheforeseesaboutone-seventhofthatfundinggoingtoallthreeNorthernterritoriesifitisdividedequallyamongstthe280000nationalhouse-holdsnotedinthebudget.Ifthatsthecasethemoneyisnotlikelytobead-equatefortheYukonNorth-westTerritoriesandYukonhesaidbasedonNorthwes-Telsrecent233-millionplantoupgradebroadbandservicesintheNorthalone.Oursharemightamountto8-10millionoverveyearssplitbetweenthethreeterritoriesBevingtonsaid.Thatsaidiftheressomeotherplaninplaceandwegetthelionssharethenthatwillbeverygood.HeritageFundcontributionsuppedto25percentFinanceministermovedbyspiritofconsensusafterMLAsobjectByMEAGANWOHLBERGWidespreaddissatisfac-tionbyregularMLAsoverthedepartmentofFinancesdecisiontoallocateonly5percenttotheterritorysbur-geoningHeritageFundhassincepushedtheministertoboostcontributionsto25percentofincomingresourcerevenuesfromdevolution.Amaximumof5percenthadbeensetoutinthe2014-15budgetannouncedFeb.6withtheremainderoftheanticipated45millionperannuminrst-timeroyaltiesgoingtowardsinfrastructureanddebtrepayment.Butafterstaunchdisap-provalfromseveralMLAsFinanceMinisterMichaelMiltenbergerannouncedtoapplauseonTuesdayafter-noonthat25percentofrev-enuesfromnon-renewableresourceswouldbeputawayforfuturegenerations.WhilepublicreactiontothebudgethasgenerallybeenpositivemembershaveclearlyindicatedthattheydisagreewiththeproposedallocationfortheHeritageFundMiltenbergertoldtheHouse.Wehaveheardthesecon-cernsandinthespiritofconsensusgovernmentwillbetakingmemberswishesonthismatterintoaccountbyallocating25percentofresourcerevenuestotheHeritageFundbeginningin2015-16whenrevenuesbegintoowtothegovernment.Miltenbergersaidthede-cisionwhileaccommodat-ingtheinterestsofMLAswillhaveanimpactonfu-turebudgetsmeaninglessmoneyforinfrastructureasthegovernmentsscalresponsibilitypolicylimitstheamounttheterritorycanborrowforprojects.Withmanyinfrastructureprojectsonthebooksfund-ingwillhavetocomefromelsewhere.WewillhavetorevisitourscalstrategyMiltenbergersaid.WewillneedtondoffsettingreductionfromtheOMoperationsandmain-tenancebaseandprotecttheinfrastructurebudget.MiltenbergersaidthechangeinproposedHeritageFundsavingswillseeanestimated10milliontakenfromotherpartsofnextyearsspending.Theincreasedallocationwillseeover400millioninHeritageFundsavingsin20yearsiftheGNWTcapturesthemaximumrevenuesof54millionperannumata5percentrateofreturn.Converselytherewouldhavebeen100millionsavedintwodecadesatthesamerate.Budgetconsultationscarriedoutlastfallheardavarietyofinputfromresidentsacrosstheterritory.Thoughsomeagreedwiththegovernmentsorigi-nalplantoallocate5percentwithsomesayingallrevenuesshouldgotoinfrastructurethemajoritycalledformoresav-ingsonarangevaryingfrom25to100percent.ItwasthatpublicfeedbackthathadFrameLakeMLAWendyBisaroparticularlydisappointedwiththedepart-mentsdecisiontosticktothe5percentplan.BothsheandHayRiverNorthMLARobertBouchardledthechargethedayafterthebudgetwasre-leasedcondemningthedeci-siontoignoretheunitedfrontofregularmemberscallingfor25percentlastfall.AllinputexceptthatofCabinetwasignoredandyesterdaysbudgetplannedaround5percentofthere-sourcerevenuesgoingtotheHeritageFundandthatde-cisionwasmadelongbeforeanyconsultationwithresi-dentsorMLAstookplace.WhybothertoconsultWhybothertospendthemoneytoconsultWhybothertogiveresidentsandMLAshopethattheiropinionsmatterBisarosaid.Similarspeechesmeanttocriticizethe5percentweresubsequentlyputasideonTuesdayintheHousethoughMLAscontinuedtochideMiltenbergerforhisip-opwithRangeLakeMLADarylDolynnycallingtheannounce-mentnothinglessthanalastminutegongshowbeforereg-ularmembers.SarahDaitchanNWTrepresentativeofthenationalpublicpolicygroupActionCanadalaudedthechangeintonefromMiltenbergerasthegroupsrecommendationsforthefundweretabledinthelegislatureonTuesday.ActionCanadawhichre-leasedareportontheNWTHeritageFundintimewiththebudgetcalledformorethan5percentandmadeseveralotherrecommendationsforensuringthetransparencyandsoundmanagementofthefunditself.MinisterMiltenbergersannouncementof25intotheHeritageFundishugestepforwardforfuturegen-erationsofNorthernersshevoicedonlineviaTwitteraddingthattheannounce-mentshowsthatconsensusgovtcanbeeffective.DaitchsaidnowitistimefortheGNWTtofocusongoodfundgovernance.PoliticsFinancePoliticsFinancePhotoBillBradenPhotoBillBradenTerritorialMLAssitdownforthestartofwintersessiononFeb.6.NWTFinanceMinisterMichaelMiltenberger