Kevin O'Reilly

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is getting closer. Are these the people, though, within the department who give advice to the Minister about whether the Minister should be signing off on zoning changes, general plans, those sort of things that require ministerial approval? The reason I ask this question is because, if we have fewer people giving advice to the Minister or we have a diminished capacity here, is this going to delay the ability of communities to carry out the land use planning that the department seems to want them to do? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I do have a motion following the committee report.

I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that Committee Report 718(2), Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on the Review of Members' Conduct Guidelines, be received by the Assembly and moved into Committee of the Whole for further discussion. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Carried

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that the Members have now been straightened out. I guess I am looking for an explanation as to why there is a reduction, why this reduction is being made. Is there less work to do? I would like an explanation. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures is pleased to provide its report on the review of Members' conduct guidelines entitled "You Are Standing for Your People."

It is a priority of the 18th Legislative Assembly to promote and ensure, to the greatest extent possible, a high standard of personal and public conduct for current and future Members. To that end, Motion 6-18(1) was passed on December 17, 2015:

Whereas the Members of the 18th Legislative Assembly are mindful that it is an honour and a privilege to serve the people of the Northwest Territories as...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do not have any further questions, other than I do want to express my thanks to the Minister, and I do hope that the department will seriously look at getting rid of the fees completely, if we are only collecting $4,000, so that we can move forward with a more open and transparent government. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes, I am happy to wait. Thanks, Mr. Chair. Sorry about that.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document; it is a registration form for Earnscliffe Strategy Group from the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Glad to hear that. Can the Minister give us a timeline for when this policy funding review is going to be finished? Does she contemplate having it done in time for the next fiscal year? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

I thank the Minister for his response. I think that was a no, but let's go on to busing. So can the Minister tell this House and the public: if the issue of increased costs for busing cannot be resolved, is he prepared to come forward to this House with a supplementary appropriation to make sure the school boards are not out? Yes or a no, Mr. Speaker, would be very helpful.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't know how far back that goes. It looks like we haven't actually even tried to keep pace with the cost of living or Consumer Price Index in terms of bolstering resources for that, so there has been an erosion over time.

Is the Minister committed to looking at the work that we do in consumer affairs with regard to possibly increasing the budget for next year's main estimates? Thank you, Mr. Chair.