Yellowknife MLAs Kieron Testart and Robert Hawkins refused to support additional funds for GNWT operations expenditures due to what they feel is excessive spending as the GNWT is very close to its $1.8-billion debt limit.
"I feel compelled to raise a protest to our continued pattern of expenditures well exceeding our revenues despite things like the fiscal strategy put in place to control them," Testart said in the legislative assembly on Feb. 11. "We continue to fail to meet our targets. The messaging is very mixed in public and in this House as to whether or not we have a very solid foundation for our finances or one that's incredibly shaky, and I think that confusion resonates outside of this institution as well."
He pointed to "significant overruns" in the budget, particularly relating to healthcare, and said that fiscal restraint needs to become one of the GNWT's priorities, a message he said he emphasized in the past.
"I do not feel like I can support this budget at this time until we have clarity on our fiscal priorities and a real plan to get our finances in order," said Testart, who represents Range Lake.
Hawkins, MLA for Yellowknife Centre, said he reached similar conclusions about the GNWT's financial situation. He said spending freezes are essentially "just suggestions" and not enforced.
"I worry that debt will become the solution to our future," he said, adding that he's opposed to increasing the territory's debt limit if it's "not good debt," such as backing a major project like the Mackenzie Valley Highway extension or expanding the Taltson hydro project.
Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh MLA Richard Edjericon also voted against the funding bill, but all other MLAs were in favour.
Earlier in the day, Hawkins expressed his concern about the GNWT being $3.2 million from its debt wall once the additional operational expenditures are accounted for, which he noted puts the territory at 99.8 per cent of what it can borrow from the federal government. He deemed it a "major stressor" among Northerners.
Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek said the GNWT has introduced 'Restoring Balance' as its overall fiscal strategy to reduce expenditures and increase revenues. The territorial government is about $106 million ahead of where it was at the start of the 20th Assembly in terms of increasing revenues and decreasing expenditures, she said.
She also acknowledged that this is "a challenging time for residents," particularly amid extraordinary circumstances such as low water on the Mackenzie River disrupting barge deliveries to some communities.
Wawzonek also said the GNWT was unsuccessful in its most recent attempts to have the federal government increase the territory's borrowing limit. Nevertheless, the GNWT doesn't expect to hit its debt wall this fiscal year, she said, adding that the territorial government is looking forward to having more financial breathing room in 2026-27 to achieve its priorities.
On Feb. 6, Wawzonek tabled a $2.4-billion territorial budget with an operating surplus of $170 million.
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