Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Just as a comment, that process might not be reflected as accurately as possible within the Liquor and Cannabis Commission's website, so maybe we could look at updating that so that it's clearer to people who are interested in pursuing that business opportunity. I am wondering when the Minister thinks that people will be able to look into opening retail stores for cannabis. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. My next question is in regard to private retailers. About a year ago, we heard conversations from the GNWT in regard to opening the market up for private retailers within the Northwest Territories. I'm wondering where we are within that conversation and how that will affect our cannabis sales that are reflected here in the main estimates. Thank you.

I am not sure if I understood if the figures would be updated on an annual basis. My next question is: what percentage of the annual $25-million funding gap does MACA anticipate will be covered by federal funding? The second part of that question is: how sustainable do we feel that relying on federal funding to cover the municipal funding gap is?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. My first question is: two weeks ago my colleague from Nunakput asked the Minister to read the report "Focus for the Future" tabled by MACA on the last day of the last Assembly; has the Minister read the report? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. No. I think that is really important. I think one step farther might even be to be able to remove people's names completely because we do live in a very small territory that gets smaller and smaller by the day, and we all get to know one another. If we want people to be 100 percent honest, then we need to make sure that their personal relationships on their work floors are protected in that process. That would be my one recommendation there. Thank you. No further questions.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to echo what my colleague the MLA from Yellowknife North just said in terms of being able to hire retired nurses. I, too, have spoken to a lot of retired nurses who have literally walked out the door and then been told that, if they want to be able to work casual shifts here and there when we are desperate for nurses, that they would do that. Then they have been told that they have to come in and compete in an interview process, and they are just not prepared to do that when they have literally walked out the door. There are people in town who have...

Thank you for that. My next question is: it is actually the very last line on the page, "Reduce wait times for access to treatment centres." Sorry, to treatment, we'll just call it "treatment" right across the board. It is my understanding that we are going back out for RFP later this year for our treatment facilities. I am just wondering why reducing the wait times has a timeline of the very end of our term, if that is something that we have the ability to have an effect on this?

Thank you, Madam Chair. My next question is in the same section. In the last column, it reads, "nine transitional housing units added in several communities." I am wondering how Cabinet will decide where those transitional housing units will be located? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, I am definitely game to sit down with the Minister any time. One thing that I routinely have heard lately from my constituents is that the government seemed to very easily find the extra million dollars to cover the taxation error for the Stanton Territorial Hospital. It was a very expensive oversight that could have almost doubled the amount of funding that the mandate proposes to include to close the municipal funding gap over the next four years. I am wondering if the Minister will at least commit to including the rate of inflation in the $5-million mandate...

No. I appreciate the Minister's honesty on that one, and maybe we can do dinner and reading together. My next question is: what is the department planning to do moving forward to ensure that the figures reported on page 12 continue to be annually updated and provided to the NWT Association of Communities? Thank you.