Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding is that, when the Heritage Fund Act was initially put into place, it actually did not include a requirement for the report to be tabled or provided. However, when the act was amended and with a new Financial Administration Act in force, and I believe that would have been in 2016, from that date forward, the reports have, in fact, been published and brought forward by the Department of Finance and that indeed those reports are contained in section 3 of the public accounts, which does get tabled every year, and that 2018-2019, 2017-2018, and back to 2016...

Thank you, Madam Chair. The travel budget as it is approximately, over time, roughly over 80 percent of it tends to be Northwest Territories-based travel, and I do expect that travel within the territory will be increasing with more frequency over the coming months and certainly over this fiscal year as compared to last. With respect to the remainder or the other portion of the travel budget, certainly in the past, it has been a critical part of being able to attend to Ottawa, for instance, for FPT or federal-provincial-territorial meetings, which certainly have moved online. While I would...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I do have the numbers here in front of me. We had 391 applications coming from 94 different businesses to just over 2,100-and-some individuals. This was for all workers 15 years and over. Somebody who is 16 is not necessarily in a situation where they need to be making a living wage if they're still living at home, and it does also include people who are working in the service sector where -- it's not a statement but simply a pro or con to this -- they may well be in a situation of making tips on top of wages.

I think the point is that there is some more analysis that...

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Fiscal Responsibility Policy right now is not certainly part of any of the active reviews that are under way. Certainly, the Department of Finance, in general, which is responsible for management of the borrowing plan of the Fiscal Responsibility Policy is part of what we will be getting under some review in the next coming months.

Madam Chair, I just would note that even on projects that are large projects, they would have the debt amortized over the course of time regardless. There are other public accounting techniques that would demonstrate when there's a large...

Thank you, Madam Chair. There has been significant work done to revamp, redevelop the cultural awareness sensitivity training under what would now be termed or called, Living Well Together. It is an online program which does allow it to roll out across the GNWT to all public servants. It is expected that this is going to be mandatory for public service to complete. Madam Chair, I've had an advanced screening of it, and I've had a chance to look through the product. It was done in consultation with Indigenous governments, Indigenous communities across the Northwest Territories, so I believe it...

This is another occasion where, although the Department of Finance, specifically within human resources, may give guidance on the matter, it does go down to each department. Each department does have their individual deputy minister specifically assigned to undertake the approval of these forms and then may well delegate that to senior managers.

Mr. Speaker, there does need to be some flexibility certainly. We would want to ensure that when there is an individual in a particular region making an application or making a request of this sort that the individual making the approval understands the...

Thank you, Madam Chair. That, really, I anticipate, would be a question for the Premier and certainly all of Cabinet, not one that I am going to be in a position to answer here, but obviously, the matter can go to Cabinet in due course. That's a bigger conversation that, again, I have nothing else to unfortunately assist the Member with here today. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I did not make the effort to hunt for those documents. Let me see if the deputy minister happens to know that detail, as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have to look back to 2013, which is certainly long before my time, to speak to what may have happened in the entire course of that period. I can say that, with respect to the provisions where it says that the Minister may direct that the annual report be printed and published, prior to my opportunity to have this role, I can't speak to what may or may not have been directed. I can say that it is my intention to direct that that happen in the future. Thank you.

Again, I just want to ensure that we are looking at what the actual problem is and where the right solutions are, whether they are in the Housing Corporation, whether it's with ECE, or whether, in fact, it's with the superintendent of insurance with the Department of Finance. That said, with respect to solution-oriented approaches and talking about different ways of governments doing things, yes, I have no difficulty in saying that the Department of Finance can reach out to the Saskatchewan Government Insurance Program, investigate it, and see whether or not that's a tool that would benefit...