Katrina Nokleby

Mr. Speaker, communities in the NWT have been chronically underfunded for years. Every community in the Northwest Territories has been challenged to manage basic services like water, infrastructure, waste management, and community development while also providing critical services like emergency response, community recreation and sport and cultural activities.

Mr. Speaker, the GNWT made a mandate commitment to reduce the funding gap by $5 million, and I acknowledge that the GNWT is on track to achieve this. However, Mr. Speaker $5 million does not go far enough. A 2019 report identified that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Premier. In these complex times, with increasing climate uncertainty and deteriorating healthcare systems, why would the GNWT not want to partner with the humanitarian organization such as the Canadian Red Cross that has experienced its share in skills to bring to the people of the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to recognize the work of the Canadian Red Cross Society. The CRCS is part of the largest disaster relief and humanitarian network in the world. Comprised of the International Committee of the Red Cross and many related organizations, the Red Cross movement works to help people and communities in times of need and to strengthen their resilience. There can be only one Red Cross Society in each country, and we are very lucky to have the Canadian Red Cross Society as part of our national identity.

Over the course of the pandemic, the CRCS provided a...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I can think of one travel item that isn't going to cost you any money and that would be if the Minister and staff would come and do a tour of my riding, please. I've requested this now for a while and at one point, staff did come with me; however, I've not had the Minister tour any of the buildings in my riding and I would like to add in Lanky Court as I asked for in session at one point. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm just looking at the and I apologize if I know this answer and just need some reminding. The policy and planning, there's been quite a difference in fluctuation around what the actuals were versus what was budgeted and such. So maybe the Minister or the department can speak a little bit to why so that's on page 380, why that line item keeps sort of moving around and do we think then that the $2 million is going to be enough? Thank you.

Thank you. And, yeah, I'm curious to see what the there's a lot of like, it's in the government renewal and then, you know, we have to sort of wait. And I mean I get that we're not going to see that in likely the term of this Assembly. So I'm hopeful that it's actually going to be tangible ontheground things instead of a great idea that just really doesn't go anywhere. So then I guess that kind of leads in again to sort of my next area of question is around the apprenticeships.

Again, I know that there's sort of a more formalized apprenticeship type program that comes along with the people...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this just seems to be another instance where the Premier is passing everything off to her colleagues to take care of. A territorial MOU encompassing all departments would actually make things a lot easier for communities, for departments, for others to engage in contract with the Red Cross at a later date.

Can the Premier please tell me why such a prudent and timesaving measure wouldn't be explored by her office? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A lot of that answer confuses me. First of all, why would we tax our communities that are already lacking capacity and overburdened to then create 33 individual MOUs with the Red Cross? But, also, I'd like to know where the Premier is getting her facts from. It's my understanding that there is a minimum administration fee to work with the Red Cross approximately around $5,000.

So can the Premier please tell me where she's getting this idea that it would cost us all this money to engage with the Red Cross? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a little bit of a list here today. So I'd first like to start with recognizing Jennifer McManus, the vicepresident of the Red Cross for Alberta and the Northwest Territories who has provided a lot of help to us over the past few years through climate change events as well as COVID19.

Next, I'd like to recognize Mr. Raymond Pidzamecky, who is a registered social worker with health Canada's First Nations and Inuit Health branch. Mr. Pidzamecky has been working in the North with families of residential school survivors for several decades now, I believe.

And then...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, we haven't picked on travel too much yet this sitting, and it's been a big topic of conversation in the past. I note that we had a little bit less for this one in the 20212022.

Can the Minister or the department explain why that was less? And is the $219,000 here for the travel, is that so that the executive can get out to the different communities and chat with local staff, or maybe they can explain a little bit about what they're travelling for. Thank you.