Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Has the Minister spoken to industry or done analysis of why those funds aren't able to be accessed and bring policy reforms to correct that so we can get all the money out the door? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So 2027 is the plan. Is the Minister able to work with partners because it's very important that we do; it's part of the devolution agreement; it's part of our co-management system. But is the Minister able to work with partners to expedite this process to indicate the dire state of our exploration? Exploration's dropped by 50 percent since 2018. That's a huge decline. Can the Minister bring those concerns to that table and expedite this process? Because we desperately need reform now. We don't say red alert idly. Will the Minister act and expedite this process so we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today we called for a -- some of us called for a red alert into mining because the situation is dire. We have aging legacy mines that are closing, no new mines on the horizon. Can the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment speak to why the MRA was passed at the end of the 18th Assembly. It's been ten years before it's come into force, and we do not see a clear path forward. Can the Minister speak to the status of the Mineral Resources Act regulations? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, in 2017, Premier Bob McLeod raised a red alert over oil and gas development in the Beaufort Sea after Prime Minister -- then Prime Minister Trudeau declared a moratorium without consulting the Northwest Territories. At the time, I was fairly critical of that. I was focused on other aspects of the economy, particularly mining, but now I owe him an apology because I see the real value of that red alert in sending a clear signal across the country and the world that the NWT was open for business and fighting to preserve the opportunity to develop its own resources.

Mr. Speaker, today...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Pursuant to section 77(1) of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, I'm informing the House of a conflict of interest in this motion as my wife is a chair of the board of Avens, the community for seniors. I shall withdraw from the proceedings accordingly to avoid this conflict. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's great news. I'm glad that this hasn't fallen off the agenda. But I'd like to know is the Council of Leaders behind the tax credit as well and can we marshall or combine that combined leadership caucus, get everyone on the same page in calling for this important economic tool to grow our economy and restore our mining decline? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister believe this program -- sorry, does the Minister believe this program should be expanded at a time when mining is in decline, at a time when exploration has dropped by 50 percent when we need more people out there looking; does the Minister believe this program should be expanded? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, I mean, I'm going to respectfully disagree with the Premier. I mean, the findings were that the existing system proved ineffective during a large-scale disaster and that the system's not agile enough to deal with these things. And we have to take it on face value that the actions taken from then to now have actually resulted in all these improvements and we don't need anything else. Northerners want to see some movement on this. So will the Premier reverse this decision, accept the recommendation, and explore creative ways to bring a centralized response agency or...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the structure of the GNWT, including the establishment policies for departments, rests with the Premier's office, as did the after-action report that was commissioned by TSI. We've been talking about the recommendation to create an emergency -- a dedicated emergency services agency. It could also be done by way of department. We've had conversation about this. But before rejecting that recommendation, did anyone involved with this on the government side of this report do the analysis of how we could cost-effectively create a new agency from our existing...

Thank you to the Premier for the donation. I donated earlier today, and I would challenge every Member of this House to provide a contribution as well. But it shouldn't be up to members of this House or the members of the -- or the citizens of the Northwest Territories to fund veterinary care in small communities and regional centres, places where the SPCA spends a lot of their resources doing spay and neuter programming, emergency medical care, all those kind of things.

Why are those not considered critical territorial services? Because if we don't -- I mean if the Premier knows about stray...