Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, both the letter of intent as well as the asset purchase agreement would be binding on future owners should Fireweed Metals not be the owners of the property. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think that the MLA is referencing discussions that were had between myself and colleagues on the other side when we were preparing the main estimates and passing the main estimates. And I certainly can, you know, provide I believe this information has been provided, but I'm happy to go through it again.

There were increases, at the conclusions of those discussions, made to various program budgets within Housing NWT. It was, I believe, $6.6 million that was committed in addition, as part of the main estimates’ discussions, to fund projects that are specifically...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, one of the sources of, you know, concern that's been raised has actually been colleagues in the federal government who have said, you know, why aren't you spending more? What are you spending? You know, and they want to have accountability for the dollars that they are committing to the Northwest Territories. So if there are projects that are delayed or stalled, again for a variety of reasons, but it may well but for whatever reason it may be that attaches to any particular project, you know, they would rather know that when we have a properly sized budget...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, so, you know, there were updates that were provided back in, I believe August, when we were preparing for this session. As I said, numbers related to the information that was received through the spring and summer as flood remediation work was ongoing certainly were being updated through the course of time. All of the information does go into the main estimates documents. I can see if we can put some sort of package together, you know, more urgently than that, you know, without having anyone from the department here in front of me and even if they were...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, let me try and answer it, and I am sure the Member will let me know if we need to bring the witnesses in. There are finance witnesses in the witness room.

Madam Chair, yes, it's 174 I don't have that number in front of me, but it does sound approximately correct from my recollection. But I think the question is really getting at what that does to our fiscal situation. And, yes, having an over hundred unexpectedly over $100 million in costs associated with the floods takes out the surplus that we had been projecting for 20222023 and puts us into a situation...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I agree with a lot of what the Member for Yellowknife North has had to say. I am looking now also at the results of the proposed changes to the ridings and the results that that leads to which, as noted already, does not resolve the chronic and historic underrepresentation of Yellowknife residents. I understand that there's a number of factors, everything ranging from geography to language to historical connection and that, you know, the right to being represented doesn't mean, you know, that it's a perfect number that you draw down and that everyone has...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I do want to echo some of the concerns that I it certainly has been my experience with two children who are under the age of 12 that this is a difficult job. It's a difficult job for a parent. It doesn't matter of your gender. But I worry that it becomes a barrier. I worry that thinking of an advance about whether to run, as people may well be doing in the next year, they will worry whether or not this job is barrier to them if they have young children who are of that age.

This week alone, I have eight different family member eight different families in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I also was relieved in some ways when I had received the recommendations and the report. And the reason I say that is that the fact of managing and dealing with liquor and the sale and production and transport of liquor can be divisive but the report does do, in my view, a good job of finding that balance and operating in a way that, you know, encourages safety, encourages consumption. So I am certainly committed to seeing those recommendations come forward.

I had the pleasure of appearing in front of committee quite recently, and the message of finding a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the actual question is whether we're going to see requirements removed or not, it's really not a final decision that rests with me to pass the legislation all on my own. I am going to bring forward the legislative proposal. As I've said, it then goes to committee, and upon committee's recommendation is when the drafting instructions do go out. But I think really what we're getting at here is the time that it does take to craft, firstly, complex legislative proposals; and secondly, to do the drafting instructions for complex pieces of legislation. I mean, the Liquor...

Mr. Speaker, later today I will be tabling the 20232024 Capital Estimates, which uses a revised approach in budgeting that better aligns the GNWT’s planned spending with actual project delivery. Overall, the proposed capital estimates include $328 million in total spending, comprised of $292.5 million in departmentally managed capital, and $35.5 million for Housing NWT.

Over the last nine years, the GNWT has proposed capital plans averaging $405 million per year but the actual average spend was only $226 million per year. Put simply, the GNWT does not have the capacity to develop all of the...