Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the Minister for those answers. He kind of answered some of the questions that I had on my paper here. I apologize if there is a letter that we may or may not have received. I am not saying you did not send it. It is just somewhere out there, and I have not seen it. I am not blaming anybody. I guess my big concern, and I hear this all the time, is with the Senior Home Heating Subsidy and the thresholds and that. I realize that the department is looking at that, but how can we talk to the people in the smaller communities when an individual has to work so he can...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess it concerns me that we are voting on the appropriation today and we are not going to get it until later on.

I guess the next question is: if the Minister is going to be talking to the college, can he get us what other programs the college has reviewed in regard to their programs and when they have done those reviews? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for that answer. So could he direct us where the money is being allocated? Because right now, they have Northern Youth Abroad, but there's no money on that line there, but I am assuming that it's in one of these other program areas. Could he just direct us to what area, what line that is in? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a follow-up to my Member's statement, we clearly see a disconnect within our government's mandate in regard to supporting diversity and capacity building in our territory. By preventing NGOs from registering under the Business Incentive Policy, a policy, I must add, that has not been reviewed in over a decade, and as I pointed out in my statement earlier today, Mr. Speaker, the policy is a legal contravention of the Societies Act.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Infrastructure indicate to the House when and by what process has the Business Incentive...

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for that. I am looking forward to that briefing, so at this point in time those are all my questions for this area. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Okay, so that is into another activity, so I will wait for that question, there. Thank you to the Minister for that clarification. In regard to the budget, on page 41 we saw an increase for early childhood development and learning of $2.695 million, so can the Minister explain what this huge increase is on? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for that clarification. So are we going to be going to 17.3 per cent from junior kindergarten to grade 12, or is it going to be a different number? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I've got to come back to this inclusive schooling thing so that I can get a clearer understanding of it. The 17.5 per cent is based on kindergarten to grade 12, and with junior kindergarten, you are putting $881,000 into the program. Is this correct? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On page 33, contract services went down to $780,000. Can the Minister explain what the change is between 20172018 and 20182019? There is a difference of $107,000.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for that long-winded answer about working with us on the other side of the table. You know, that hallway works both ways. You can actually walk down to our side, too, and when we bring it up, you can actually talk to us about it. I am a little concerned with your answer there, but I will go on to my next question.

Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss not to point out the NWT Societies Act has provisions that clearly articulate that an NGO can be deemed as a corporation by way of registration, yet the BIP application process does not recognize this law...