Rocky Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Finally, I got permission to recognize somebody. I'd like to welcome my wife Bette, my daughter Chelsea, and my granddaughter, Inaaya; that's the one I've taking to her first day of school since kindergarten. And I'll continue that on into university. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah, you know, I went through the budget and, you know, what's in there is in there, I guess. Well, we're never all going to be happy with what's in there but, you know, we've got a little bit for all our communities and for, you know, highway work and that type of thing. But I guess what I would just like to state, I guess, is that, you know, we are going into election, you know, government's going to kind of slow down here a bit. Contractors, some of them have been, you know, impacted by the fires as well so they've been out of work, some of them for for, you know...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I asked the Minister if we are using the property acquisition option, has consideration been given on how the acquisition would be calculated. Would it be based on fair market value or like what is currently done under DAP? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on September 20th, 2022, after meeting with residents individually, MACA shared their process document entitled Process to Rebuild or Purchase a Home on a Different Property for Residents of the Town of Hay River and the Hamlet of Enterprise. In early March 2023, some residents, not all, were advised the GNWT was no longer pursuing a buy back or property acquisition option as originally explained by MACA staff.

So, Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister responsible for MACA, has his department reconsidered its decision of not using property acquisitions as a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there seems to be some confusion, or there has been anyway right from the start with Pathfinders in place, as to who was actually making decisions to either approve or decline applications. You know, I think that's very important so that when people are going to see a Pathfinder, you know, sometimes they think the Pathfinder is the one who might be approving an application, but I don't my sense is that they're it's not them. So I'd like I'd ask the Minister to provide, I guess, maybe with a flow chart of the process of who is responsible for the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once the assessors do their job and the information is gathered, who will be responsible for working with those businesses and persons who had structure and equipment damage by the fire? Will it be Pathfinders; who will it be? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, you know, it's important, I think that I think that we as government, and the future government, really take a look at what happened here in this last few years because when you look at what happened with the flooding and also with the fires now, the impact it had. It had for Hay River, it impacted the fishing industry. For communities along the waterways, it impacted access to their cargo. You know, it just goes on and on. It you know, basically it really impacted businesses, individuals, health people's health, everything. So I think it's very important that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's good to hear that we do have some programs. It's not a lot of money because for Hay River and, you know, Enterprise and K'atlodeeche, you know, we've been through, you know, three major events here in the last 15 months, and it's really taken its impact it's really impacting businesses. So I think we have to take another look at that. But anyways, Mr. Speaker, I'd ask the Premier if any requests have gone into the federal government for additional financial support for businesses impacted by the wildfires; if so, and what has the response been? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd first like to say Happy Birthday to my son R.J.

Mr. Speaker, over the summer, wildfires in the North South Slave Region destroyed homes, businesses, and community infrastructure which will have a longlasting effect on the emotional and mental wellbeing of residents of Hay River, K'atlodeeche First Nation, and Enterprise.

Mr. Speaker, many of us have seen firsthand the devastation in Enterprise, Hay River, and K'atlodeeche, and along the highway where cabins were lost due to these wildfires. Residents are asking, could more have been done to get the fires...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, when I look at this bill, it you know, it doesn't really require the or it doesn't require the Minister to share any information because it says that the Minister may disclose it, and there's no definitive requirement.

For me, the economy is very important in the Northwest Territories even more so now that we you know, with what we've been going through in these last few years. We need jobs. We need training. You know, we need you know, we need opportunities for you know, for NGOs to, you know, to provide support as well to the economy through, you know...