Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There were questions from the public regarding the use of the Act with schools in the NWT. In particular, there was confusion about whether school property becomes municipal property after hours, and how quickly to call the RCMP for assistance if there were a trespasser on school property. It is the committee's understanding that education bodies are defined as occupiers under Bill 34 to ensure that the legislation will also be applied to both private and public schools. It is important that schools in the NWT understand how the Act will be applied to them, and therefore...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I guess we've just got the two to look forward to and then we'll move on.

Speaking of moving on, another part of the statement was talking about the Mika AI Scribe tool. So my question with this tool that's being touted as innovative as listening to the physicians who have asked for more AI tools and more innovation, we use paper-based charting, Mr. Speaker. That's how we do charting in the hospital system and in the health system. How does an AI help with that? And to that end, is it compatible with our EMR, our outdated EMR that needs replacing? We have this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Finally, the issue here is about weapons, largely. It's about the presence of weapons in the emergency room and how they cause concern to both patients and staff. Has the Minister -- is it time for a metal detector in the emergency room to ensure the safety of the public and the safety of staff? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier today, the safety at the emergency room at Stanton Territorial Hospital is of top concern for the community and certainly for the people who work there. A number of high-profile incidents have been reported in the media. I am sure there are many more that are not reported. How is the Minister of Health and Social Services addressing safety concerns at the emergency room? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nunakput, that Committee Report 38-20(1), Standing Committee on Public Accounts Report on the Review of the 2024-2025 Public Accounts, be received and adopted by the Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It was suggested by numerous stakeholders that enforcement powers in Bill 34 should be expanded to include peace officers (i.e. municipal bylaw officers). The City of Yellowknife recommended this change, stating this would increase the city's ability to respond to incidents of trespass on municipal property without increasing the burden on an already over-extended police force. The RCMP was in favour of this change, also providing the example of the potential use of sheriffs to broaden enforcement capability even further. While the City of Yellowknife submitted its...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to draw attention to this recommendation in particular because it's broader. It is targeted towards the nature of this audit but the issue of multi-year financing tools and policy instruments, and even changes to the Financial Administration Act is becoming increasingly important to many of the organizations that depend on the GNWT for capacity. So whether that's Indigenous governments, non-government organizations, municipal governments, what have you, not having stable, reliable funding afforded over a period of time does create challenges with planning...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide an update on the status of the action plan required by Section 10 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People Implementation Act. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories identify its financial obligations and resource requirements for conservation initiatives outside the Protected Areas Act and provide the necessary funding, including working with the federal government, to secure appropriate long-term resources for these activities within one year and report back to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts on its progress. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I think committee is always going to make this recommendation for every performance audit we go through, and I stand by them very strongly. This is something that kind of came out of our deliberations as a way to tie the performance of a government to audit plans and make sure that there's some incentive to see that they're done. Far too many audits have kind of action plans that often due to, you know, resource restrictions or timelines or other competing priorities don't get implemented to the fullness extent that they can, and that is always something the public accounts...