Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a father, the health and safety of my kids is my foremost responsibility. So when I learned, along with other members of our community and this House, that high levels of lead were found in Yellowknife's schools, I was shocked. It was hard to believe that somehow staff and students of William MacDonald and Range Lake school -- the Range Lake North School were unknowingly consuming potentially dangerous high levels of lead for an unknown period of time. This was relayed to me by many of my constituents and staff and faculty at those schools. During these revelations...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are no land claims issues here. We're talking about GNWT land within municipal boundaries. Will the Minister commit to closing this deal by the end of this fiscal year and get Yellowknife and every community in the Northwest Territories the land so they can access it, so they can grow, so we can build an economy that is currently, as I remind the House, in a red alert? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up on questions that my learned friend from Frame Lake asked the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

There's a land transfer memorandum of cooperation. There's a lot of memorandums out there. But I think what the city wants to know is when will their application for land be granted? Does this agreement give timelines to that effect? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So just for absolute clarity, the issue is a system's issue and not a legislative issue? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Saying we're going to change the strategy and actually presenting a new strategy are discrete concepts. So we had a nice document called Restoring Balance, had a press conference, it was -- we could hold it and could read it. Can the Minister commit to a new version of that updated for the changing circumstances? It has nothing to do with the government's management of the economy. And we can see it for ourselves what they intend to do with our taxpayers' dollars? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Okay. Thank you. And I appreciate that this is relatively detailed, but it's also relatively important because, like as I said, there were some high profile accidents and loss of life this summer. So I will await that additional information from the Minister and the department and make that information available to my constituents when it is made available. So I'll hold the Minister to that. But nothing further. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the fiscal update this House received last week, the Minister said that she is modifying the fiscal strategy of the government, being responsive by investing in the stability and the resilience of the territory, and this is after a loss to the operational surplus of $154 million. So can the Minister just confirm that Restoring Balance, the fiscal strategy of the House, is no longer the strategy of this government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Okay, I don't think I have properly understood that. Those -- I just -- I think it would reassure folks who are concerned about this if we knew that they were going to take a look at that section. So if you're telling me the general maintenance is going to address these concerns, then I guess we'll go from there. But just to confirm that they will be addressed through general maintenance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's a relief, then, that the new protocol does seem to be working, and it's being done properly. Are there any other schools that were initially tested that now need to be retested based on the new protocol? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Nothing further. Thank you.