Kevin O'Reilly

Merci, Madame la Presidente. I wish to speak to this bill. The main purpose, as I can see, is to reduce the small business tax rate from 4 percent to 2 percent, and I'm sure the Minister of Finance will explain at some point that this is to bring our small business tax rates in line with some of the other jurisdictions in Canada. I am not opposed in principle to reducing taxes, but I think we need to look at the issue of tax fairness. This will result in our government losing some revenue, and I'd like to know how much. I think the public deserves to know that, as well.

I am mindful that the...

I want to thank the Minister for that. Why I'm raising this is: back on April 11th, just at the beginning of the pandemic, I contacted the then Minister of Justice by email suggesting that our government look at the possibility of an omnibus bill to make sure that we have the right kinds of things in place to properly deal with the pandemic. We've seen a few of these things roll out over the last few months now, but can the Minister of Justice tell us whether there's further changes, legislative changes, that are being contemplated to better allow us to respond to the pandemic?

Thanks, Madam Chair. I want to follow up on my colleague's questions, colleague from Monfwi, about the Whati transmission line. I raised a number of concerns with this project in the last Assembly in a rather hurried review of the capital budget that was carried out in one day in August of 2019. This kind of project just kind of came out of thin air. I'm just wondering: there was money appropriated in the 2020-2021 Capital Estimates for this project. Was any of it actually spent, and if so, how much? Thanks, Madam Chair.

I want to thank the Minister for that. With the surprise reduction in water quality monitoring by Alberta and the federal government, this would seem to have some impact on our ability to detect water quality changes. We need to have repeated, continuous, long-term water quality monitoring, and that's one of the cornerstones of the Transboundary Water Agreement. Can the Minister tell us what impact the reductions in water quality monitoring have had on our ability to detect and predict adverse impacts on NWT waters and people?

Merci, Monsieur le President. My question is for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. In my statement earlier today, I noted that the Alberta provincial government and Alberta energy regulator unilaterally decided to reduce water quality monitoring as a result of the pandemic and to provide so-called industry relief. Can the Minister confirm whether he received any notice of these reductions in water monitoring by Alberta, and what we are doing to prevent this from happening again? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Look, lest anybody gets the wrong idea, I know our people at the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation work very hard at their jobs, and they are obviously very creative in finding other pots of money and ways of leveraging funding and so on. However, the fact is that we need more money spent on housing. I want to reiterate. I am right behind the Minister when she goes to the Financial Management Board to get more money for capital projects, new housing for the Housing Corporation so that we can possibly start to address our housing deficit across the Northwest...

Thanks, Madam Chair. Okay. We've got to get more money into the Housing Corporation for new units. I don't know how I can say that more clearly. If it's pitched to the financial management board as forced growth, a new initiative, I don't care anymore. We need more money for housing, for new units, and for the O and M that needs to go along with that. Can the Minister make a commitment to go to the Financial Management Board and get more money for new units for the Housing Corporation? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Why are there no new units for residents of the Northwest Territories? It's all retrofits. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I'm just going to read one line, one line, from the most recent ruling that came out yesterday: "The Gwich'in Land and Water Board suggests that the GNWT is best placed to enforce its own legislation." That includes, this is me editorializing, the reindeer-grazing reserve. You cannot just unilaterally decide that you are going to change something that is designated for a certain purpose under a regulation and decide that you are going to use it for something else without changing the regulation itself. That is against the law, and we are breaking our own laws. Thanks...

Thanks, Madam Chair. Great, yes. I really appreciate it, because it's my understanding that I think we could get mini-hydro projects that each community could actually control and have a self-sufficient energy future. At the same cost of building this big transmission line, they could become self-sufficient and control their own energy future. That's the kind of future I'm interested in, Madam Chair. Of course, that would need to be done in consultation with the Tlicho Government and all of the communities.

I want to move over to the Inuvik wind turbine project. I know that the Gwich'in Land...