Kate Reid

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And, yeah, I appreciate that detail. What I think we hear from many Members in this House and this Assembly, and past Assemblies going back quite a ways, is the frustration around the lack of a child and youth advocate. We have seen positions lapse in the Office of the Children's Lawyer, and I am just curious if the Minister and his staff are tracking demand for those services and, indeed, demand for services of a -- like, function for the GNWT considering that it's something that we are hearing from our constituents, and I am curious if he's hearing it as well. Thank you...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you to the Minister for clarifying.

I note, too, in your business plan that one of the legislative initiatives listed is the Senior Citizens and Disabilities Person Property Tax Relief Act. There is a target for 2026-2027. Could the Minister clarify if that target is for an LP or to introduce the bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So in the program detail, each of the line items, save except for the Office of the Children's Lawyer, which remains static, in the 2025-2026 Main Estimates to the revised estimates, all of the totals go up, some slightly, some not fairly -- fairly significantly, and then again for these main estimates they have dropped back down. And I guess I am just looking to understand the general budgeting approach that the department takes here considering that it seems like the need for all of these line items is higher and the budget is, again, lower. So just looking for some...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I cede my time.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And in the suite of public safety legislation coming forward to us this year, such as SCAN and the Residential Tenancies Act review that has been pushed a little bit to the back burner but, you know, I think is still very much a consideration for this Minister, will it be looking to track more data about -- will any legislation be looking to track more data about evictions and trends over time and if not, in a statute in interest and policy that the department has? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. One moment, please. Thank you.

As my colleague from Yellowknife North noted earlier today in oral questions, we did have the pleasure of having the executive director of Arctic Energy Alliance present before us today in economic development and environment. He kindly pointed out to committee that several items have been cut in this budget, including community energy planning and the low income program to adjust energy poverty -- maybe not program but I guess grants, contributions and transfers. So the funding has ceased to continue. Can the Minister provide a...

Okay, thank you. Nothing further. Thank you, Mr. Chair; I am good.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Sort of pulling on the thread that my colleague from Monfwi was speaking about just earlier, in corporate management only two of the corporate management positions in infrastructure are outside of Yellowknife, and given that 73 percent of infrastructure staff are in regional offices, how does the Minister and his department ensure that regional needs and priorities are reflected in corporate decision-making given the concentration in Yellowknife? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. And taking a slightly different tact, I want to focus on the upcoming energy strategy that is merging, I believe, with the climate strategy so it's a whole of government strategy that I think is supposed to be released in the parlance of the government soon. Is this work on track? Can you provide a timeline as to when committee will be engaged on the new energy and climate strategy? And, really, when will the public start seeing some of that story to be told? I know I have a lot of anxious energy around seeing that and diving into that topic, and I know I have a lot of constituents...

Thanks. Yeah, no. And I am just very interested in that because I see in Standing Committee on Government Operations an ongoing pressure and tension around making sure that we are making building standards better, making buildings more accessible, but also considering the financial needs of smaller communities. So it's good to hear that particular answer. If the Minister wants to extrapolate any more, that's great. If not, I have another question. I will just go on to that question. It's more of a comment, Mr. Chair.

Under asset management under the facilities and properties line, there is...