Vince McKay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not committing to a timeline. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess we can go back and forth on this forever, but, you know, I am just going to state that -- I am just going to state that I've asked the WSCC to work on this and speed it up, and I am hoping to hear back from the department on how quickly this can be done. And that's all I am going to say for now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have stated earlier, we had some discussions around it. Obviously, we never got right into it, so we don't know the full impacts. And there's a governing body for WSCC and, you know, they had already started working on some stuff. So again, I am more than happy to work with the Member to find a solution that is the same or similar to the bill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in the fall of 2024 our government launched the Drive Safe campaign to strengthen road safety awareness across the Northwest Territories. Today, I am pleased to provide an update on the work and how it continues to support safe communities and travel for Northerners.

There are nearly 27,000 licensed drivers in the Northwest Territories. Our roads connect communities, support essential services, and enable the movement of goods, fuel, and supplies. Many of these roads include long isolated stretches, limited services, and sometimes challenging conditions that demand careful planning...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the timelines that I shared with the Member over nine months ago, I think would have had this done already, but at the end of the day, you know, I've asked the WSCC to find a path forward to speed this up, and I can't commit to having it done by that timeline. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, as I stated earlier, within this Assembly this will be done and completed, and I've actually instructed WSCC to speed up the timelines. And, again, I am more than happy to work with the Member and find a path forward on this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like I said, you know, very early in the session is more than happy to work with the Member on trying to get some -- you know, get this coverage figured out and get Members with the fire service in the Northwest Territories covered. And, you know, like I said earlier, you know, the jurisdictional scans that we can do to get -- make sure that the legislation is covered under WSCC on presumptive coverage. And, again, more than happy to sit down with the Member and work on a path forward with this. And I agree, we need to get something forward for the Members of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I cannot ask the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs or Sport North to be responsible for every parent's application or kid's application when they put in for Sport North or for Arctic Winter Games or anything else like that. However, Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, you know, there is a process to be filling out these forms. There was a few incidents where people were contacted when they weren't done properly and given the opportunity to correct those; however, again, those weren't acted on by the people who filled out the forms. I can't help that, Mr. Speaker...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, I am not involved in the process of all these applications, and there is an application process in place, like anything else that we do in this world, whether we're applying for passports or any other documents. At times you don't fill out the forms properly, they're denied. And the reality is, is with this process here, we're following Safe Sport. There's a bunch of processes behind that to make sure that all the athletes are filling out the documents, like the code of conduct and everything like that. So when the application process was put out...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So within municipal boundaries, that falls under the general tax assessment and the municipal tax area. That is related to municipal services, and the Member is right, the municipal government would -- you know, the taxes for the owner of the lands. But when it comes down to leases, it all depends on what type of lease and the area it's in within the -- or around the municipal boundaries or in the municipal boundaries. So, again, it all depends on the type of lease in the area. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.