Rylund Johnson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to follow up on some of the questions that my colleague from Kam Lake asked.

Presently one of the requirements to get Canadian Council of Arts funding at a certain level is to have an exhibition in a public art gallery. We are the only jurisdiction right now who does not have a public art gallery. Well, we kind of have one. It's a trailer that drives around to communities and shows public art. But I really think there's a lowest common denominator here where we could get some sort of space somewhere that meets the criteria of a public art gallery. Is that...

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is another one that in almost every other jurisdiction, the federal government has created a low income internet service which allows subsidized internet. Northwestel's parent company, Bell, has offered that in many jurisdictions. Northwestel has refused to do that here, once again because they're this weird federallyregulated monopoly. But I really do believe that there's a way to leverage the $10 million a year we give them to say, hey, we want to do what your parent company has agreed to do in other jurisdictions and make an internet rate for people who have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Perhaps the Minister can provide the House with an update of when that review is expected to be complete?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess I'm going to try once again with my questions from the Member of Kam Lake. I think the Minister makes a great point of if you can put the museum arm's length, it can leverage more funding. Presently, we have a bunch of art staff working in GNWT as public servants. We have an arts council that distributes funding. I don't see how it costs any money to take all of that out of the public service and give it to an arm's length body that can then leverage public funding. In fact, I think we can probably save some money if we could do that.

Is the Minister willing to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I heard the Minister speak earlier about, you know, usually the arts organizations were thinking about a grassroots and then they go and they can access and leverage all this federal funding. And a similar thing exists for museums across the country. Many museums heavily settle for publicly funded but also receive a lot of federal donations and private donations and have an independent board. And I think this gets to some of the tension about what exactly the Prince of Wales is intended to be and what its mandate is. I think one of the ways to solve that would also be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A diverse and committed arts community exists in the Northwest Territories, with literally dozens of groups in the areas of dance, theatre, music, film, visual arts, crafts, and many more. Organizations may be small but they are big on hard work, enthusiasm, commitment, and inclusive programs that reach across our communities. Artists understand and acknowledge how the arts function to support our social strengths, our human health and wellbeing. Hill Strategies Research Reports reveal the link between the arts and student engagement in education, positive economic...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think how much consultation and engagement and how long a process takes is really the debate of the entire GNWT on all matters, and it's not a delicate matter. The previous motion speaking to bringing things to the Council of Leaders, I ask that the government take that seriously and, clearly, this could be a legacy of this government as we find that balance.

On this situation of the polytechnic, I think committee, I fully support them, making sure everyone is properly engaged. I think in many ways we get one last shot at this to do this right, and in my ways some of...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. This week, I asked the Minister responsible for MACA when the seniors facility in Fort Good Hope would open, and he told me to ask the Minister of Housing. So my question for the Minister of Housing, I know she is intimately familiar with that facility, having been the one who opened it in her community, when will that facility open Madam Speaker?

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would really appreciate if we shared some of those principles. I feel like asking questions about something I can't see is a bit of a search in the dark.

One of our commitments is to implement UNDRIP. To date, this House has seen no regulations. I don't believe there's been a single Cabinet policy change and certainly no legislation has changed to reflect UNDRIP. So my question for the Premier is what has been done to implement UNDRIP to date, or what are we doing to implement UNDRIP? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I understand that it's complicated. I guess part of the concern I hear from Indigenous governments is it's the only reason we have the land is devolution before and, you know, I think there's been a lot of criticism about having a third party at the table. And I guess my question is now that devolution is a bit of a defacto completion, is the agreement to sign on to devolution, and I think probably more importantly the corresponding royalty split, a condition for any future land claims as far as the GNWT is concerned?