Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am all for efficiencies within the medical travel system, and there are a lot of baseline approval processes that don't have anything to do with medical travel exceptions that are costly, bloated, and inefficient. What we're talking about is people who need help when the system has failed them; they're falling through the cracks. Will the Minister do the right thing and approve the exceptions that are brought forward by our offices, supported by doctors' evidence, supported by the medical system; do the right thing and help these people because they need...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in speaking about medical travel, especially around exemption policies, because we can't have a one-size-fits-all policy obviously but oftentimes concerns are supported by doctors, supported by medical personnel and we're told, time and time again, policy says no. So my question is does the Minister of Health and Social Services have the authority to approve exceptions for medical travel policies, yes or no?

Mr. Speaker, last year Members of this Assembly spoke with a clear, unified voice when we passed a motion calling for compassionate medical evacuation policy to standardized escort support in emergency situations. Yet, despite this call to action, the Minister has still made no plans to support Northerners facing these kinds of medical emergencies. Far too often our constituents are forced to pay out-of-pocket just to be by their loved one's side. Families deserve support in moments of crisis, not confusion, stress, and financial burden. These are exactly the kind of broken policies MLAs are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker -- and thank you to the Minister for that and also updates from Naka Power and the City of Yellowknife were very helpful as well. So thank you to everyone who worked hard to get that information out to the public.

Are there not contingency or backup systems to prevent this kind of thing? I know this was a difficult technical issue to solve, but it seems like these -- when these -- many of these power outages are getting longer and longer to resolve. So are we looking at investing in more contingency and backup so when these faults do occur, they're shorter...

Point of order. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member appears to be given a reply to my budget address and in doing so is making allegations or accusing me of making allegations against public servants and undermining confidence in government, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. My words speak for themselves, Mr. Speaker. They were put in context. And, again, this is a reply to the budget address, not a reply to my address, and I have not heard that from the Member so far. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I mean, I guess if we're pretty good at getting it back on, then we need to prevent the frequency of them. So that's the million-dollar question, probably the billion or even trillion-dollar question. So how much is it going to cost to fix this and when is it going to happen? Because Northerners cannot keep living through this. I can't tell you how many messages I received of people saying enough is enough, I am looking to leave the North. And not just tonight, but for many -- over the months leading up to this session, it's getting unbearable, and we need...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there was a nearly four-hour blackout yesterday in the city of Yellowknife. The Minister's well aware. She was -- and very thankful to have her engagement and receive updates from her through that. Can the Minister just speak to -- clearly to the citizens of Yellowknife, Dettah, and N'dilo, what happened to cause the power outage and how was it resolved? Thank you.

That would be me. That was such a good statement from my colleagues, thank you; I was wrapped in awe.

Last night a nearly four-hour power outage during temperatures as low as minus 25 occurred occurring our proceedings in this chamber, Mr. Speaker, interrupting families just as they were sitting down to dinner and affecting restaurants and businesses just as they began serving their customers at peak hours.

I want to thank the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation for providing timely updates which were greatly appreciated by my constituents. I also want to thank...

Well, is it the table of the symposium or the table going forward? Like, I'm trying to get a sense of what the MOU actually produces in operational terms, I guess. Is this -- is there a timeline or a schedule to look like? Is there -- are there contributing pots of funding? Like, what is it beyond a piece of paper and a great agreement? I support this kind of coordination, but what I'm trying to get at is what is the real investment? Because I like to see announcements at Roundup. I like to see announcements everywhere we go. But I like to know what they actually mean in practical terms...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on January 27th, CanNor and ITI signed an MOU to strengthen economic development and diversification, and the substance of this is to align efforts to support resource development and infrastructure, explore opportunities for more efficient pre-regulatory assistance and coordination for projects and convene a first of its kind northern Indigenous governments and development corporations project funding symposium.

So can the Minister just tell us how -- as MOUs are not, you know, structured legal agreements with money attached and all that kind of stuff, what...