Caitlin Cleveland

As a government, we have incurred many expenses because of COVID-19, and we have incurred these expenses hoping that the federal government will down the road reimburse us for all of these. I am wondering: does the territorial government kind of have a limit of how much COVID debt they are willing to take on or they can take on, and is small business and money to small business included in that plan? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Premier because I believe that the kind of response required by the GNWT to support small business will take a Cabinet collaboration. Mr. Speaker, can I have the Premier's commitment that she will instruct her Cabinet Ministers to bring forward innovative suggestions on how more funding and support can be made available to NWT businesses as a result of COVID-19? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The International Monetary Fund is calling the pandemic's devastation of the global economy "the great lockdown." Its impacts are predicted to be worse than both the 2009 great recession and the Great Depression of the 1930s. According to the Conference Board of Canada, Canada's economic contraction during the second quarter of 2020 is estimated to be a staggering 25 percent due to COVID-19 shutdowns. The Conference Board is at least optimistic that a rebound will start later in the year, but by this time many businesses and the jobs they bring will be beyond devastated...

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I just wanted to know, with the child and youth care counsellors that the territory is anticipating adding to all of our regions, with the recent developments of COVID and the anxiety and added mental health concerns that this will cause for the children of the Northwest Territories, is there an added emphasis to get these positions all in place across the territory quicker? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Does this review solely look at the costs of supplementary health benefits, or does it also take into consideration the cost of preventative care and the long-term effects of actually being able to save money by spending money on people here and being able to ensure that they have access to supplementary health benefits that they ultimately need and that would pay for itself long-term, down the road? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I just have a couple of questions in regard to supplementary health benefits, and I'm just wondering: is there an anticipated review of supplementary health benefits coming in the near future? Thank you.

I completely agree with the Premier that we do have to demand flexibility from the federal government, but in that, I believe that we also need to make up for that here in the Northwest Territories because our businesses simply can't afford to wait until the federal government is able to kind of work with our entire country to then give our northern businesses what they need to survive. Does the Premier see us in the Northwest Territories being able to provide an influx of cash, as a government, to businesses within the Northwest Territories, ahead of waiting for the federal government?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that the GNWT may not be in a position to afford a subsidy of this $350-million magnitude, but it could perhaps offset some employer premium costs, improving the WSCC's current offer. The current business supports offered by the GNWT are not enough, and the GNWT must do more now. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Should the Minister hear from her colleague from the department of education that there are substantial concerns coming out of schools about kids really struggling with the new COVID world, is the department willing to speed up the process of putting the child and youth care counsellors into schools across the territory? Thank you.

I'm good. Thank you.