Kevin O'Reilly

Mahsi, Madam Chair. I move that the chair rise and report progress. Thank you.

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Finance about preparation of the 20232024 Operations Budget.

This Minister's carried out budget consultations each of the last three years, and I support that initiative. Can the Minister tell us whether there will be public budget consultations again this with year and whether there will be any serious discussion of the need for more revenues? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Against.

For.

Yes, thanks, Madam Chair. And I might have blown the whistle on my colleague beside me in terms of the time but, yes, I want to pick up where he's left off.

You know, I find it really difficult that we're trying to do a reconciliation of 2021 capital budget publicly when we've got confidential information. That's what we're trying to do here. And it's not working very well.

So I think I heard somebody say that there's a free balance of about $222 million, if I got it right, or $200 million. Basically the money that wasn't spent on the capital budget from 2021, if I got it right.

So what...

Merci, Madame le President. Committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 65819(2), Tabled Document 65719(2), and Bill 40. Mahsi.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the mover and the seconder of this motion for the work that they've put into it.

You know, Mr. Speaker, I've had the opportunity or privilege to visit many of the smaller communities here in the Northwest Territories in this job, previous jobs I've had. And, you know, I've spoken to many people about the pride that they have in owning their own homes. And people have seen that the HAP units that, you know, that are still they're in many of those communities. Unfortunately, we don't do that program anymore. I think it was a great program and...

Thanks, Madam Chair. I want to thank the committee and the Minister for the work on the bill. I was able to sit in on a lot of the committee proceedings and discussions, deliberations about this bill.

The one improvement that the Minister did not mention, that I think is worthy of highlighting here, is that the addition of section 24.1 which modifies the way in which the work on regulating the medical profession is going to change.

This new clause, which was proposed by the committee and accepted by the Minister, but it was proposed by the committee, requires that there be consultation with the...

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. But clearly our government should be in a position now to stand on its hind legs and actually say something about the importance of caribou, the importance of this region for our communities. But I guess we have to wait and be told this.

So I'm giving my feedback to the Minister now. It's become best practice with an environmental assessment to ensure that there's participant funding for Indigenous governments and the public and to provide for a level playing field during these kinds of things.

So can the Minister tell us what...

Yes, thanks, Madam Chair, and thanks to the Minister for that. I guess maybe I might suggest, then, that in the review of the Fiscal Responsibility Policy that this idea of a reserve on the infrastructure side is something that the department might look at. Yes, is that something that they could consider? Thanks, Madam Chair.