Underwhelmed SA国际影视传媒� that was Nunavut Finance Minister George HickesSA国际影视传媒� reaction to the federal governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 2019 pre-election budget issued Tuesday.

On the SA国际影视传媒渨elcome newsSA国际影视传媒� front, federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau indicated his Liberal governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 intention of SA国际影视传媒渢ogether with contributions from the Government of Nunavut and Inuit partners SA国际影视传媒� supporting the construction and ongoing operation of a treatment facility in Nunavut.SA国际影视传媒�

Hickes says that means negotiations are ongoing.

SA国际影视传媒淏ut it sounds to me like itSA国际影视传媒檚 a very firm commitment to move forward,SA国际影视传媒� Hickes said. SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檓 looking forward to working with them to complete that project. WeSA国际影视传媒檙e going to work closely with the federal government and NTI on that.SA国际影视传媒�

Independent MP Hunter Tootoo said, while that news is encouraging, SA国际影视传媒渋t would have been nice to see some numbers, an actual dollar figure.SA国际影视传媒�

By far the greatest disappointment for Hickes, as well as Tootoo, is the lack of new funding for housing in Nunavut, especially in the wake of . Inadequate, overcrowded housing is a root cause of NunavutSA国际影视传媒檚 extremely high TB rate, as compared to the rest of Canada.

SA国际影视传媒淗ousing has such a dramatic impact on health outcomes SA国际影视传媒� I was hoping to see more focus on housing. There wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 any new money announced there,SA国际影视传媒� said Hickes.

Tootoo brought the matter up in Ottawa.

SA国际影视传媒淧reviously announced funding, although sounding good, doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 even provide for two houses per community per year,SA国际影视传媒� said Tootoo.

In excess of 350 homes are immediately needed in the territory.

Minister of Indigenous Services Seamus OSA国际影视传媒橰egan replied only that his government is committed to eradicating TB across Inuit Nunangat by 2030.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 disappointing. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 always been the number one ask from the GN,SA国际影视传媒� said Tootoo.

For Hickes, as well as Tootoo, much of Budget 2019 is vague SA国际影视传媒� mostly because the money announced which could positively impact Nunavut Inuit SA国际影视传媒� 85 per cent of the territorySA国际影视传媒檚 population SA国际影视传媒� doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 have a clear avenue to the GN.

Both Hickes and Tootoo noted the Government of Nunavut (GN) is responsible for service delivery.

For example, under the heading Supporting Inuit Priorities, the following funding allocations are listed:

• $125.5 million over 10 years for an Inuit-led post-secondary education strategy
• $50 million over 10 years to continue the important work of the National Inuit Suicide Prevention Strategy (an Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami initiative)
• $220 million over five years to provide important health and social services to Inuit children

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 like theySA国际影视传媒檙e switching to a trend of funding outside the GN. WeSA国际影视传媒檙e the service delivery partner. WeSA国际影视传媒檙e the ones being held accountable by the public on meeting the needs of our residents. I just find it strange theySA国际影视传媒檙e continuing that trend of having the funding flow outside the GN,SA国际影视传媒� said Hickes.

SA国际影视传媒淭hereSA国际影视传媒檚 good news for Inuit in here, but a lot of confusion for the GN,SA国际影视传媒� said Tootoo, adding everything in the budget is shrouded.

SA国际影视传媒淚 think itSA国际影视传媒檚 done like that on purpose. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 an election budget.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒楤etter than we had yesterdaySA国际影视传媒� 

The Gas Tax Fund will be doubled for this fiscal year only. Hickes said that amounts to an estimated extra $15 million to $16 million.

SA国际影视传媒淲e do use that money to provide infrastructure at the community level. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 one small recognition of the infrastructure challenges that we have. I look forward to Community and Government Services rolling out additional projects across the territory,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 better than what we had yesterday.SA国际影视传媒�

City of Iqaluit Mayor Madeleine Redfern was similarly encouraged by the doubled Gas Tax Fund, however, she said more flexibility with existing climate-change related funding would actually help the municipality deal with its ongoing water and pipe issues.

SA国际影视传媒淭he City of Iqaluit, as with all the municipalities, think the Gas Tax Fund is the most flexible and the easiest of the federal infrastructure funds for us to access, unlike some of the other infrastructure funds, which are much more challenging,SA国际影视传媒� Redfern said.

She says that at last count, there were more than 25 climate-change funding programs.

SA国际影视传媒淭he criteria are often difficult for municipalities to meet. To give an example, the issues weSA国际影视传媒檙e dealing with, breaking pipes, which is due to permafrost, and less precipitation in Lake Geraldine SA国际影视传媒� those havenSA国际影视传媒檛 always met the climate-change mitigation/adaptation funding criteria,SA国际影视传媒� said Redfern.

SA国际影视传媒淲hile itSA国际影视传媒檚 important that greenhouse gas emissions get reduced to address future climate-change issues, the reality is in the Arctic weSA国际影视传媒檙e dealing with climate-change issues now.SA国际影视传媒�

IqaluitSA国际影视传媒檚 underground infrastructure needs upgrading, with significant portions needing replacing. The Gas Tax Fund canSA国际影视传媒檛 address those deep needs.

SA国际影视传媒淲e also need to look at innovative solutions, and we need to work with suppliers in research and development to find the best longer-term solutions,SA国际影视传媒� said Redfern, adding engineering studies are also required.

SA国际影视传媒淪o that every year weSA国际影视传媒檙e not doing the same fixes.SA国际影视传媒�

Regarding Internet, the feds announced plans to have 95 per cent of Canadian homes and businesses with access to minimum download speeds of 50 megabits per second and upload speeds of 10 megabits per second by 2026, and 100-per-cent coverage at those speeds by 2030.

SA国际影视传媒淭here wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 anything specific to Nunavut within that, so ISA国际影视传媒檓 curious to see how thatSA国际影视传媒檚 going play out through discussions on how weSA国际影视传媒檙e going to be able to access some of those funds to make sure we can get up to par with the rest of Canada. I would have appreciated a nod SA国际影视传媒� SA国际影视传媒楲ooking forward to working with Nunavut,'SA国际影视传媒� said Hickes.

Redfern, who is a fierce advocate for affordable and stable communications for the territory and the capital, also notes the lack of detail on how the feds will accomplish their goal.

SA国际影视传媒淚n the North it would make a lot of sense to look at how it is possible to invest in a scalable way in multiple platforms to bridge the divide. Right now thereSA国际影视传媒檚 a tremendous disparity in the cost and the quality of telecommunications between the south and the North,SA国际影视传媒� said Redfern.

Tootoo did say a number of programs seemed to be targeted toward the Kivalliq hydro-fibre link project.

SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檒l have to do more looking and questioning,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

He expressed disappointment that language money was not specifically targeted to help develop bilingual education in the territory, never mind the disappointing Indigenous Languages Act, which has passed second reading in Ottawa.

Hickes said his staff will be working over the next week to figure out what exactly this federal budget means for the territory.

SA国际影视传媒淚 do look forward to further work, especially in the telecommunications and housing area. I was hoping for a little bit more for mental health and seniors. WeSA国际影视传媒檒l have to figure out exactly what pots of money are available to us,SA国际影视传媒� said Hickes.