Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize Stan and Karen Cochrane for different reasons. My constituency assistant, Mr. Garett Cochrane, is Stan and Karen's son. I couldn't do my job without him. So thank you very much for providing me with a great deal of resources. Thanks for being here today.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this Assembly recommends that the office of the comptroller general in the Department of Finance work with the Auditor General of Canada and GNWT departments, boards, and agencies to complete the interim and final public accounts at the earliest possible date each year and in time to meet statutory reporting deadlines and to seek the necessary extensions where those deadlines cannot be met. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the honourable Members on the excellent work done in the interim report on the review of Standing Committee of Rules and Procedures on public engagement and transparency, and also the work done on revising the guiding principles and process conventions for consensus government. This attempt to bridge the ever-growing democratic deficit is a real achievement by the 18th Assembly, and symbolizes that we are truly attempting to evolve our public engagement into 21st century standards, which admittedly, took a little longer than other jurisdictions, but...

Yes, Mr. Chair. I thank Ms. Green for her comments. Certainly, this is a very important area of oversight and accountability that is performed by parliamentary committees. The standing committee had an opportunity to meet with public accounts committees from across Canada at this year's annual conference. Much was learned, in particular the amount of work that these committees do to hold government accountable and understand how money is being spent. Of course, we found that our financial documents could have their readability improved in the interest of openness and transparency, which of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that this Assembly recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a response to this report within 120 days. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On November 1, 2016, the Standing Committee on Government Operations presented its report on the review of the Human Rights Commissions Annual Report for 2014-2015. In our review, we noted that the Human Rights Commission had contracted an independent review of the Human Rights Act and that modernization of the Act was recommended. The Standing Committee on Government Operations made two recommendations.

Can the Minister indicate how much this new campus will cost?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to return to my line of questioning to the new campus facility here in Yellowknife. I would like to ask the Minister of Education if he will direct his department to put the new campus into the capital planning process so we can start to get underway on this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm always willing to work with honourable Members on any side of the House. Are we currently developing legislation? Not just working on it, not just exploring options, but developing legislation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I'd like to recognize two pages from my riding in Kam Lake; Josh Saturos and Storm Robbiard. We really appreciate all the work they've been doing, along with the other pages here, who help make our lives a lot easier. I'd also like to recognize all the mayors and members of the NWT Association of Communities who are here working in partnership with us, and also the staff of A New Day program, Laura Boileau, William Greenland, and also Ernest Abel, Executive Director of the Tree of Peace. Keep up the good work and thank you all for joining us today.