Kieron Testart

Thank you. So the it looks like that supplementary appropriation doubled the cost. So is NIHB really paying for half of our addictions out of territory treatment? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. How can we, then, as an Assembly, gauge whether or not this new position is effective the way that the department intends it to be? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Thursday, June 6, 2024, I will move the following motion:

Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, that the Government of the Northwest Territories initiate a CrossBorder Crime Reduction Forum that would involve the Governments of the Northwest Territories, Canada, Yukon, Alberta, and British Columbia;

And furthermore, the focus of a crossborder forum will increase the response to violence and drug trafficking in rural and remote communities;

And furthermore, that the focus of the crossborder forum improve efforts to disrupt...

Thank you. And I don't want to speak to the languages and culture key activity. I wanted to speak to a senior management position within which fits, I believe, into corporate management. But I can move on if you wish, Mr. Chair. But I would say to that response, I think everyone understands at least in this Chamber understands the importance of language and culture. And I just I don't know if a new ADM is going to do the things the Minister's talking about. I think if we want to expend more financial resources on language and culture programs and do something big and bold that way, or...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this could be a game changer. So I'm going to ask the Minister if she can bring it to the Council of Leaders. I think they would be best to tell us where their greatest needs are, where they think it should work. And if we get their buyin, we might be able to get some federal dollars and some bilateral support in making this happen. So can the Minister commit to getting it on the agenda the next Council of Leaders meeting? Thank you.

Thank you. Well, as and I know that the for instance, the federal government has made this commitment to develop public land for housing, which I think every every Canadian hopes to bear fruit, including those in the North of 60. When it comes to housing, teacher housing is a major issue, particularly in the small communities. I think the Minister's kind of opened the door a bit to this with her response. So do we have a game plan for how to address the urgent need for quality and affordable housing for teachers in the rural and remote communities in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So not a chance is what I'm hearing. That's disappointing. I think these programs are a way to save money, not spend more, and in a government that's looking for efficiencies, looking for cost savings, and more importantly looking to empower Northerners, these things would be great. So would the Minister reconsider this position or at least bring it forward in a forum where we can all discuss it and perhaps set a new direction for the Assembly? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. These are all estimates. The entire budget is estimates. So, I mean, we're making that's the I don't understand why we can't have a clear estimate on what we expect to expend here. And that's, I think, the issue here, is when we reviewed this at the committee stage, there wasn't a clear cost saving measure for copayment, there wasn't a clear estimate for how much this is going to cost, and all of that. So where I'm sitting right now is I think I know for a fact, because my constituents have spoken to me about this, that there are people who are caught in the gap...

Okay, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I was going to ask the Minister if she cares about obstetrics. Clearly, she does, so I appreciate that. So when's this going to kick in, right? Like, because it's -- it sounds like a plan. It sounds like we have the resources coming together. So when can we expect this new model to take over and the agency nurses to be relieved of their contracts? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It just -- and I appreciate that, and it was my sense. But it just seems like if we're trying to -- if we're closing this facility because it's under -- they're both underutilized and is going to save money that is going to help us achieve fiscal sustainability, creating an untested wellness centre that would require new staffing, new resources, new special areas of specialty that we don't have -- we don't have efficiencies around, so it would be piloting a lot of these things, it seems like we'd be replacing a less than optimal facility with an even more expensive...