Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hope I get as good answers as our last round of questions. The funding for the NGO Stabilization Fund has not increased in the last seven years. It is also oversubscribed by about three-quarters of $1 million. During the same time period, the NWT inflation rate has increased by an average of about 2 per cent per year. Will the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs commit to working with their Cabinet colleagues to put additional funding to support NGOs into this fund, and support NGOs in delivering services and their core functions? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to ask for a recorded vote. Thank you.

Recorded vote

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We had a vigorous round of discussion around this issue of a knowledge economy, and we, all the honourable Members, felt that this was an effective way to start addressing some of these issues.

The rule of thumb, I guess, in the world has been that manufacturing and industry follows low-cost labour, and we are seeing that trend reverse. The knowledge economies are becoming the driver of production in the world, and actually, highly-skilled workers are slowly returning manufacturing back to countries that are developing knowledge economies.

Canada is well-positioned to make...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has laid out what this fund does quite well and I agree with her 100 per cent. The core funding NGOs receive from other sources are used for their core delivery of programs and services. This stuff is for other things to help stabilize their operations. They don’t have to dip into those resources, so if the Minister is not going to put more money into it; the Minister is not going to encourage it be moved out of MACA; the Minister is going to continue to ignore the recommendations to the standing committee; will she at the very least adjust the fund so it...

I thank the Minister for the gardening lesson but I would like to really get at this. This issue, this fund, has been called on to be supported for many years. Nothing is going on. Can the Minister comment on why this government is persistent in disregarding the concerns of the Standing Committee on government operations, and continues to fail to respond to our recommendations?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, each year, Orange Shirt Day is recognized on September 30th, and this year that date falls on a Saturday, so I decided to devote my time today to speaking on an occasion that grows more important each year as our society works towards reconciliation between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians, and also the constant recognition of residential school survivors. Mr. Speaker, last week, I was honoured to attend a school assembly for Orange Shirt Day at N.J. MacPherson School in my riding, and it was great to see children from junior kindergarten all the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I support this amendment. It strikes a good balance between the need for expediency in emergency situations while still allowing collective decision-making at the Cabinet level when a request for exemption comes forward. The reason why it’s important to have that collective decision-making in my perspective is exemptions may come from any area and it may be a low-emissions industrial actor, something like that where these regulations might unduly impact their economic success.

Having the perspective of more than one department – sorry, I should say more than one Minister...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the biggest challenges for manufacturers is the high cost of operating a manufacturing facility in the Northwest Territories. Will the Minister commit to making this a costed plan that has dollar amounts attached to it so it gets a real sense? The department has done this before with the Economic Opportunity Strategy. Can the Minister make that commitment to put some money behind this one? Not just words and we can actually give a boost to our manufacturing industry. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister of ITI a question about a mandate item that he’s been working on for some time now, an update on the manufacturing strategy. Can the Minister provide one to this House? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Certainly, our government is on the ball on this. It’s more about the suppliers, people down on the supply chain. We enter into very large contracts, so prompt payment is an important issue as we move down the supply chain. Mr. Speaker, the Ontario government is now considering prompt payment legislation that will create a prompt payment regime and require a mandatory adjudication of certain disputes within construction. Is the Minister familiar with this legislation and is he reviewing our own legislation in light of that? Thank you.