Kieron Testart

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I appreciate that that's the Minister's aspiration, but all too often do we see these projects do not have an opportunity for involvement from northern owned and operated businesses, especially the small players. I've been through a few of these processes now and, again, I hear the same concerns from my constituents, no matter how much money we spend on infrastructure it doesn't seem to create local economic opportunities.

Can the Minister give me anything more than just kind of an aspirational statement that in the future everyone is going to benefit from this? Is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Members of the 18th Assembly made transparency and accountability a fundamental principle of our four-year term. Together, we developed the public accountability process in the form of a Mid-Term Review. This process was not perfect. It was designed to be fair, issue-based, and open to the public. The review was in place for close to a year. Although government Members were critical of this Mid-Term Review and in fact voted against establishing it, at no point did they refuse to participate in the process.

This motion today is the outcome of that Mid-Term...

The Member does wish it, and I will look forward to the Minister reporting back, or his department. Another concern I will share with the Minister today is that currently the emergency response team at the jail is not a dedicated unit. In other facilities, it is a dedicated unit. They receive two-week intensive training. They are equipped with a full range of security gear, including specialized non-lethal weaponry that allows them to control these situations. None of that is present at our facility. There is not a dedicated emergency response team. Will the Minister look into emergency...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier today the Minister of Justice was answering some questions and mentioned that he was not sure how many training positions there are with the correctional service, but he was sure there were enough. I did some research between then and now. There are two positions; one at the facility, one at the headquarters. They are both staffed by the same person. I want to ask the Minister now if he thinks one person to coordinate, plan, and execute all the training for 350 probation and correction officers is sufficient. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am still a bit confused about this. Who is currently providing recreation to the inmates, and what kind of training have they received, if any?

So we have got two years left to implement this tax cut. Is it going to get done? I did not hear a clear answer. If not, can the Minister at least stand up and say it is a broken promise?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement, I talked about how important it is to support small businesses. The federal government has cut the small business tax rate by 1.5 per cent, and I would like to ask the Minister of Finance if he is prepared to bring forward a tax plan to reduce taxes on small business as we have committed to in the mandate of the 18th Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that Committee Report 2-18(3), be deemed read and printed in Hansard in its entirety. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this week is Small Business Week, a time to celebrate and thank northern small and medium-sized businesses for their enormous contributions to our territorial economy. They invest in our communities; bring new ideas, products, and services; and foster the economic opportunities that create long-lasting careers and economic growth. This is no more evident than in my riding of Kam Lake, the hub of our territory's small businesses. Since its humble beginnings until the present day, small businesses are everywhere you turn throughout Kam Lake; so much so that I would state that my...