Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And that sounds like a great experience. I was -- had an experience with a US film production in my previous employment in, Mr. Chair, your community of Dettah, and it was really significant to see how much opportunity brought to the community and to see the late Chief Eddie Sangris shake Hilary Swank's hand was really exciting as well. So this can really bring Northerners -- or bring the North to Hollywood or to that larger film industry and bring, of course, film industry here locally.

The issue is this rebate is -- like, no one's going to complain about it. This is good...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS the transportation of patients via emergency ground/air ambulance and highway rescue to health facilities does not fall under the Government of the Northwest Territories medical travel and there is no current policy basis or provision possible for non-medical escort or supports provided to these patients;

AND WHEREAS promoting, protecting, and providing for the health and well-being of the people of the Northwest Territories is the mandate of the health and social services establishment policy;

AND WHEREAS access to health care and addressing the effects of trauma...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have the following questions for the Minister of health and social services concerning the productivity of operating rooms at Stanton Territorial Hospital:

How many scheduled surgeries and day procedures were completed in 2024, broken down per month;

What are the total hours worked by all surgical teams for the year 2024;

How many surgeries and day procedures were cancelled over the same time period;

Will the Minister provide a full cost accounting of all scheduled surgeries and day procedures completed in 2024; and

Will the Minister provide a full cost accounting of all...

Mr. Speaker, the spotlight is on the North as the circumpolar world takes stage in the geopolitical arena. Manmade climate change is causing Arctic ice to melt rapidly each year opening up shipping routes merchants died trying to forge ages ago and unlocking resources which were once unreachable. Now, rival powers like China and Russia are militarising the region as their posturing becomes even more hostile. As our Arctic seas continue to melt, the open waters beckon them to escalate their challenges to our sovereignty in an effort to establish an even greater foothold in the region.

If those...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, so these -- we've heard that there's -- we've heard directly -- Members have heard directly from people working in some of these facilities that they're seeing clients, you know, there's some that are very productive. So is there a pathway that the Minister can take -- can keep these facilities going under a different mandate, keep the staff going, doing the work they're doing of offering programs, and then, you know, the ones that are less productive, maybe hand those over to the local authorities, whatever they may be. But, like, I think what Member --...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, allow war packaging that way but unfortunately these projects -- else I'm mistaken, and I invite the Honourable Premier to correct me, but these don't count toward our NATO -- or 2 percent of GDP NATO spending. They don't count. So what I'm trying to do is if we're moving to 2 percent, or maybe even 3 percent now, if we're going the way Europe's going, to divert some of those, if not most of those dollars, into the Northwest Territories. So defense spending is crucial. It's more nuanced than just repackaging our current asks. So can we get a commitment to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member's statement, I spoke about the importance of defending Canada's sovereignty and making sure the Northwest Territories is one of the leaders in that effort. Arctic defense spending has become a national subject of -- or subject of national interest, especially from those who want to be our next Prime Minister. The leader of the opposition has pledged to build a military base in Iqaluit. Next door, our neighbours in Yukon have established a security advisory council, and they've already been successful in finding some federal funding as well. We can't wait...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I mean, it's becoming increasingly apparent that this program's not working. I don't think it's working anywhere in Canada. But leaving money on the table is not an option but finding money from within is. So one way we can do that is the funding formulas may be the same across all provinces and territories, as the Minister pointed out, but there's different legislative environments. And in some cases, they allow for extra fees, voluntary fees to be charged in jurisdictions, including Alberta. Will the Minister bring changes to policy and legislation to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to hear that. Mr. Speaker, the President, also in his recent address to both chambers of congress -- both Houses of Congress said that the American government would initiate retaliatory tariffs I believe on April 4th. So is there any -- does this situation relate to -- or do our counter-tariffs relate to that declaration? I don't know if there's been an update since then either. I know it's -- again, it is a very fluid situation. If the Premier doesn't have a clear update, that's fine, but obviously this is very concerning for my constituents...

Thank you. And that's comforting to know. I wish them well as they continue to navigate the daily grenades that get chucked into the trade landscape seemingly. It's not easy to keep up for anyone, and I can't imagine it's an easy job for them. So thank you for their service, Mr. Chair.

Turning to fisheries in the time I have left, there's been a lot of effort, I know, from the department to grow a North Slave -- or the North Slave side of the fishery business. Hay River has, you know, a long tradition of commercial fishery and successful fishers over time. I've had the privilege to speak to...