Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we -- when the Standing Committee of Economic Development and Environment met with the youth council, one of the comments that was raised was that young people feel like the implementation of the carbon -- of carbon pricing in the Northwest Territories has left some people behind and that there needs to be more done to transition them into a clean energy future with these additional costs, especially in small communities. How does the Minister plan to respond to those concerns that the tax is creating an undue burden in small communities? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the Members of the youth -- NWT youth climate change council inquired about the carbon tax annual report and I -- or brought this to my attention. I'd like to ask the Minister of Finance, in the carbon tax annual report there is a $14 million surplus for 2023-2024. In the past previous years, the surplus has been -- surplus or deficits have been within $1.6 million. Can the Minister explain the discrepancy in this year's report? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, have workers been engaged in the people -- in the process to develop this plan? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday in Committee of the Whole, the Minister of Finance was speaking to how they were going to satisfy the concerns raised by this side of the House. Especially -- and on the subject of health care, the three commitments were completing a review of core programs and services in the health and social services system to ensure equitable and sustainable delivery of health and social services programming. Premier's doing that. Conduct a review of the lead policies and their implementation for health care professionals and solve the challenges faced in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, the Minister and I absolutely agree that -- but where perhaps we disagree is that there's two issues here. One is the good value for money and financial management of the health care system, and the other is the operational management where frontline workers are not feeling heard. The common thread here is management. How can leaders be held accountable within the health system, and will the Minister commit to implementing manager evaluations and reviewing organizational structures that aren't working? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one thing I hear from frontline health care workers time after time again is the poor state of their morale. In fact, this is something the Minister and I talked about yesterday in the hallways here. What is -- what it is is certainly tied to the cohesion of their workplaces and the accountability of their managers. Is the Minister of Health and Social Services receiving proper feedback from her frontline staff and does she have the tools to assess morale in order to work on the improvements they need? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned in my Member's statement, and in speaking with firefighters in Yellowknife, there is a huge cost to firefighter training in the Northwest Territories because we don't have agreements with certification bodies that exist in larger jurisdictions. Now, Nunavut, a couple of years ago, entered into one of these agreements. Their costs have gone from, you know, $700 a training session to $75. This is something our fire marshal can do. Can the Minister commit to lowering the cost of fire training -- of training for firefighters in the Northwest Territories...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, under Rule or 3.2(3), the Minister is alleging that Members during this debate have attacked the integrity of the public service in handling issues, and I do not recall anyone saying that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I know we're -- thank you, Mr. Chair. I know we're in a rush to get to another very important piece of this committee's work, but we do need to -- this is a House of debate, and we should be debating things.

So I never have been a fan of our political process here, and I've never seen a concurrence motion been brought forward by the government House Leader, the Premier, the Finance Minister, any Member of Cabinet before. I think that's significant. And I just spoke to my honourable friend next to me, who has served a number of years more than I have, and neither he can...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think this motion speaks for itself, but I will add some facts to it.

When the NTHSSA, the health authority, was first established in 2016, it inherited an accumulated deficit of $51 million. In 2020, that deficit had grown to $94 million. As of March 31st, 2024, this year, the accumulated deficit stands at $272.9 million. Mr. Speaker, from that escalation, from the amalgamation of the authorities to now, we are on an ever increasing track of financially unsustainable model of health care delivery in the Northwest Territories to the point where our own...