Denny Rodgers

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that consideration of Tabled Document 341-20(1), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 341-20(1) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, many of my questions are similar to what the Member from Frame Lake had said. I do have a couple of additional and just a comment, Mr. Chair, for the millions of subscribers that are tuning in to watch us do this important work.

It is important to note that of the approximately $47 million that we're approving today, about approximately $39 of that is funded by the federal government, so it's not just a rubber stamp. We are actually being transparent and doing due diligence here.

But this one is not, Mr. Speaker, and full support of the $1.8 million. I think it's...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Another long speech. It's a tough one. Certainly, I mean, I see both sides of the debate on this one. The Member who brought it forward -- and I'm not convinced, Mr. Speaker, that we can change the code of conduct to reflect online comments without restraining our freedom of speech, but I think it's -- but I'm not an expert in that. The Member has asked to have this go to committee and, quite frankly, committee on policy and planning procedures could have studied this at any time they want. I don't have an issue with taking a look at it at committee. I'll support the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know I can speak for AOC when I say we're ready for these LPs. You know, we're ready to get working on this. I appreciate that it's been brought up a little, that's going to be introduced in the winter sitting. My question, I guess, would be I know there's public engagement that has to be done on that. Can that public engagement on those three important pieces of legislation be done through the summer months to move this up even further, Mr. Speaker? We'd welcome these LPs as soon as they come forward, so the quicker we can get this work done, the better...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement I mentioned three pieces of legislation that are in the queue. This legislation is paramount to our war on drugs and the criminal activity that comes with drugs. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Justice. Can he give this House an update and what the status is of these three very important pieces of legislation - safer communities and neighbourhoods legislation, civil forfeiture legislation, and the trespass legislation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 340-20(1), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures) No. 1, 2025-2026; and time permitting, Mr. Chair, Tabled Document 341-20(1), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to talk about the upcoming Arctic Development Expo taking place in Inuvik from June 17th to the 19th. Mr. Speaker, this show was established in 2001 which is their 24th year, if my math is correct. Certainly, it started out as the Inuvik Petroleum Show, some may remember, in anticipation of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline at the time. And back when the show first began, we had as many as 600 delegates attending in Inuvik which was certainly an exciting time and also a great economic boom obviously for the region. It's an opportunity for...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move the chair rise and report progress.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I support the principle of the bill for the reasons that the Member from Yellowknife North has laid out in her preamble to the bill. I support the work done by the Member. You know, we are -- this is second reading, Mr. Speaker. This is what we do. We are legislators. We look at bills, we take them to committee, and then we decide at third reading, whether or not we can make an informed decision on the information that we've gathered. This is not passing the bill, Mr. Speaker. I do appreciate some of the things that the Minister has said here today, but I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister. And I think that's crucial. It was alarming, the number of people that weren't aware they had to register for the program. So I'm glad to hear that, and we'll keep an eye on that as we move forward.

Mr. Speaker, as part of the work to modernize the medical travel, has the Minister given any consideration to folding the medical travel policy, if possible, into the extended health benefits framework. Is that something that's do-able and something she's considering? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.