Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is kind of just coming off from my chest here. Today is your very special day, and I greatly appreciate that you are here today with us to make sure we keep the Legislative Assembly running. I would like to ask our Members here to all get up and wish you a very happy birthday and maybe sing you the song. No singing? No singing, okay. No singing, but anyway, we wish you very much a very happy birthday, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Nolan Swartzentruber arrived in Iqaluit in 1974, assuming assigned duties as a classroom teacher at Nakasuk Elementary School followed by tenure as vice principal at the said school. Beginning in 1978, he served as the principal in Nuiyak school in Sanikiluaq, immersing and enjoying the lifestyle of the small traditional community, fishing for cod in Hudson Bay, watching the community boat arrive on the beach after a successful walrus hunt; observing the landing of the planes on the ice in 1978 with a herd of 60 reindeer on board, replacing a vanished caribou to be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. COVID-19 has affected us all and the pandemic has highlighted why meeting these mandate commitments are so important. As global supply chains have been disrupted and economic activity has been restricted, the need for locally sourced food has become even more valuable. Northern harvesters and trappers have been deeply impacted by COVID-19. Their economic livelihoods have been affected, which is an important part of northern culture. That is why now, more than ever, we need to support harvesting and land-based programs.

Mr. Speaker, I stood here during the last sitting...

Thank you. I will start, and then I will actually ask our assistant deputy minister to come in and finish off the answer, with your permission. Thank you. Right now, we are looking at -- sorry, I am trying to get my wording here. We are looking at making sure we do it properly. We are going to be reaching out to people. I just want to answer the Member's comment there. If they are eligible for a lease, we need to follow a process. The process is exactly what we did post-devolution, so there is a process, which would include a Section 5 consultation. However, for the numbers and that, I will...

For that detail, I will have to actually ask the deputy minister for that answer. Thank you.

Thank you. With your permission, I would like to switch out our assistant deputy minister to our deputy minister again. With your permission, thank you, Mr. Chair.

For that kind of detail, we'll probably have to get back to the Member, but just so everybody is aware, this is an in-and-out. This is an agreement with the federal government. They give us the money, and then we give it to the Surface Rights Board. It's no indication from GNWT to spend any of their money into it. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

For that detail, I will turn to the deputy minister. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. The Member is asking about taxation again, and that's not our department. That is Municipal and Community Affairs' responsibility and how they assess the taxes. The question that he is asking, he will probably have to reach out to the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs to get clarity on that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. The Member is talking in regards to our equity lease staff that had a three-year term contract. The collective agreement changed it so that, after 24 months, this person would become an indeterminate position. When they were in that position with equity leases, they were indeterminate. When the funding was gone, that person became an affected employee; they were no longer a term employee, so as the assistant deputy minister explained, because of the new collective agreement, it changed from a term to up to 24 months; then it became an indeterminate, so we needed to follow the HR...