Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly
Frame Lake

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 30)

Thanks, Madam Chair. Thanks to the Minister for that. I am a bit disappointed to hear that this is just a one-time injection of cash. I guess we just have to revisit this in the next budget. Is that the way that this is going to get handled? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 30)

Thanks, Madam Chair. That was the first part of my question. There were two parts, though. The second part was: can I get a commitment out of someone, a Minister, to share that in draft form with standing committee before it's finalized and released? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 30)

Thanks, Madam Chair. While I have the MACA Minister's ears, I am going to suggest a couple of things here. What we need is an annual update of what that municipal funding gap is. It should be reported publicly so that we know what that is. It should be given to NWTAC, as well. If we have made a commitment together, as a priority, and Cabinet is willing to work on this, of closing that gap, we need a plan to do that. I know that things keep changing with COVID and all the rest, but we need to have a plan for how we think we are going to invest in that municipal funding gap for the rest of this...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 30)

Thanks, Madam Chair. The increase to the Community Harvester Assistance Program, as I understand, this is probably even an over-subscribed program. Is there going to be some effort to continue to increase that, especially in light of the pandemic and so on? What is the status of that program? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 30)

Thanks, Madam Chair. I lived through the development of a number of these bills in the last Assembly. Some of my colleagues in this House survived that as well, and I don't want to go back to that where a bunch of bills or regulations come on us all at the same time without sufficient resources to the public. I'm already aware that there's a number of NGOs, Indigenous governments, as well, that have, in the past, talked about the need for more resources to engage in these sorts of co-drafting processes. I see ITI coming to the well, that's great. I'm glad ITI's doing that, but I'm concerned...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 30)

Thanks, Madam Chair. Some of it is for engagement. Is some of it for planning, design work, or is it just a big bag? I'm just trying to understand what this is going to pay for. If the witnesses can't provide that now, I'm happy to get it. If I could get it by tomorrow would be even better, but I might be pushing it. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 29)

Thanks, Madam Chair. Look, what do I know? Is there an Internet service provider in Tuktoyaktuk right now, and are they going to hook up to the fibre link? I just don't want this to end up being another community where the fibre link goes by, or to it, and there is no way for people to access it. What is going on with this project? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 29)

Merci, monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. There have been public reports that the Alberta provincial government and the Alberta energy regulator have unilaterally decided to reduce water monitoring as a result of the pandemic. The quality and quantity of waters flowing into the NWT from Alberta are supposed to be protected by a Transboundary Water Agreement. Can the Minister confirm whether he has received any notice of reductions in water monitoring from Alberta under the Transboundary Water Agreement? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 29)

Thanks, Madam Chair. I don't need this now, but can I get a commitment out of the Minister of Lands to give us a briefing note about the status of the project and the land tenure for it, and whether this is going through an environmental assessment, that kind of thing? There's a lot of finger pointing going on on the other side. I don't really care which Minister provides it as long as we get an update, a briefing note on it. That will be helpful. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 29)

Merci, Monsieur le President. I had a chance to get my hands really dirty on the weekend. We drove down to the Northern Farm Training Institute, or NFTI, near Hay River to volunteer. On the first morning, we built trellises for pumpkins and squash, but in the afternoon we each bagged about 1,000 pounds of potatoes.

The Great Potato Collaboration is now under way. NFTI put out a call for potatoes for the NWT during the pandemic to help build food security. The Potato Growers of Alberta helped identify one of its members, Sunnycrest Farms, that could help. John and Marlene Ekkel own Sunnycrest...