Kevin O'Reilly

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. First off, I would like to commend the Minister for fast-tracking public consultation on changes to the Employment Standards Act and to indicate my strong support for including domestic violence leave. The public consultation on this process ended January the 14th. Can the Minister tell us what the next steps are? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I would like to table the following five documents: "Marketplace Sensitivity Analysis, June 21, 2018; "Survey of Exploration Agreements," undated; "Survey of Impact Benefit Agreements," undated; "Benefits Agreements in Legislation," May 25, 2018; and lastly, "Saskatchewan's Mine Surface Lease Agreement and Human Resources Development Agreement Regime Review," undated. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. Well, thanks to the Minister for that. Look, I just want my colleagues in the House and the public to understand that there are some more steps that we have to do to make sure that our families and parents enjoy the best possible benefits. Lastly, Mr. Speaker, as our government is obviously going to lag behind the improved parental benefits offered by the federal government nationwide, I would like to ask the Minister what lessons we have learned from this experience to make sure that our families receive the best possible benefits in the future?

Thanks to the Minister for that. I have expressed my disappointment that we won't be able to meet the federal implementation date of the employment insurance changes on March the 17th for improved parental benefits in the Northwest Territories. Can the Minister tell us when we can expect to see amendments to our employment standards that come forward to this House?

Merci, Monsieur le President. Thanks to the Minister for that. Has the Minister actually spoken to anybody from the Deninu Kue First Nation about Taltson recently?

Thanks very much to the Minister for that commitment. I know that Alberta just went on the market to get some additional power. They spend a billion dollars to get 600 megawatts of wind energy at 3.7 cents/kilowatt hour. We are paying over 23, I think, 24 cents/kilowatt hour here in Yellowknife, so I am trying to figure out the Minister's rationale for saying that Alberta and Saskatchewan are actually going to want to buy our power. We should be actually bringing it up from Alberta. Can the Minister provide some rationale for why he thinks that Alberta and Saskatchewan will actually want to...

Merci, Monsieur le President. Thanks to the Minister for that, and I hope that he can make the figure actually public. In the Minister's statement yesterday, he claims that the full expansion or some kind of expansion of Taltson hydro is going to remove up to 240,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, in the 2030 Energy Strategy, the claim is 227,000 kilotonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. So maybe hopes are growing that Taltson is going to continue to grow, but what is going on with these greenhouse gas reduction figures, and can the Minister explain the discrepancy? Which one is the...

Thanks to the Minister for that, and I will double check to see where the $120,000 is coming from, whether it's the capital or the O and M budget. As far as I know, there are no buyers for Taltson expansion power, no secured funding other than this little drop in the bucket, and no business case. Can the Minister explain whether there is a business case for the Taltson expansion or when that might be ready and whether it will be shared with the public and this side of the House?

Merci, Monsieur le President. On January 23rd, federal and territorial governments announced funding for the Taltson Hydro Expansion projects. There is $480,000 from Canada to support feasibility and engineering work for the expansion and $620,000 to support Indigenous engagement. Our government will have to come up with $120,000 for the feasibility and engineering work. It's not clear who will actually receive the money, when, and whether this is old money or new.

Hydro-electricity is not necessarily green energy. There are impacts on water quality, aquatic life, release of greenhouse gases...

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank all my colleagues who have gotten up and spoken today. I have tried to choose my words carefully, as I know that a lot of people are listening, watching, or will read what happens in the House here today. I am proud of my Yellowknife colleagues for bringing this motion forward, and I am pleased to support it. Our constituents, and indeed all the residents of the Northwest Territories, deserve to know where we stand on this motion. This is the defining moment and the biggest test we face in the 18th Assembly. I believe in collective bargaining and...