Robert C. McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll follow up and gather the information and I will see where we're able to table that. But I will follow-up. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, absolutely, if there is opportunity for us to find other stakeholders or other community governments and that, we can partner up with them and we will explore all options in how we can move this forward. We have done a lot of work across the jurisdiction, across the country to see what their successes have been with the implementation and which systems might work best for up here. I think we have basically come up with a plan. The next step now is to identify finances, to try and implement across the NWT, and it's one of the reasons we go through the exercise that we go through so...

I would be willing to share that information. I think I have shared it in the past. As we go through the budget, the committee of the whole process, I think there is an opportunity there too where a lot of the positions would be identified. I will commit to gathering the information and sharing it with the Member. It will be out there in the public as well.

We are doing what we can to mitigate the impact of the reduction exercise that we are going through. I think we have been fortunate so far. We have been able to accommodate a lot of those folks that have been affected. I think the number is quite low right now. I did share that number with committee the other day. As I said, we will continue to update them on the work that we are doing to accommodate those few government employees that are left.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to recognize a constituent of Yellowknife South, Gayla Thunstrom. Also three Pages from Yellowknife South: Anika d’Argencourt, Emelia Robertson, and Richard Epelon. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this first budget of the 18th Legislative Assembly is about putting our fiscal house in order so that we can continue to provide quality programs and services and, over the life of this Assembly, focus on what matters to the people of the NWT. We have worked with Members of this Assembly through the various standing committees to make the choices to guarantee that we can continue to provide the core programs and services that NWT residents need and start to deliver on priorities identified in this Assembly’s mandate. We intend to ensure fiscal sustainability...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following four documents entitled “NWT Main Estimates, 2016-2017;” “Fiscal Responsibility Policy”, “Planning and Accountability Framework”, “Budget Dialogue 2016: Report on What was Heard in Participants' Own Words.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Member has already raised it as an issue that continues to be on the radar. We have had a lot of the work done, the research work done, and so we know where we need to go. We know what it's going to cost, so our challenge now is to come up with the funding to try and implement this, see where it's going to work best. But as far as during the life of this Assembly, it would be ideal to… Because this work has been going on, I think, for the last eight, nine years… So if there is an opportunity to do it during the life of this Assembly, we will certainly explore that.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled “Follow-up Letter to Oral Question 44-18(2): Agricultural Land Availability.” Mr. Speaker, further to my Return to Written Question 3-18(2), I wish to table the following document entitled “Security Held by GNWT for the Prairie Creek Project.” Thank you.

In 1992 there was a commitment made by then assistant deputy minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. It was a written commitment to the folks out at Cassidy Point that they would have the opportunity after leasing for a while to pay fee simple at the end of the life of the lease. We have to honour a commitment, the written commitment, that was made, so we did that. However, what they pay out there was not the one dollar that the Member may be referring to. It was actually a portion of the assessed value of the land and so there was no one dollar nominal fee charged to the residents out...