Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to be able to table this report. This has been a long time coming in terms of the work happening around affirmative action but, more importantly, around the hiring of Indigenous Northerners to the public service. And, Mr. Speaker, I can certainly say that the commitment of the Department of Finance and Human Resources to seeing achievement in terms of actual diversity and inclusion in public service remains firm.

With respect to what will happen next, Mr. Speaker, this is a policy that is of the executive council, and so there has...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, so I certainly can speak to what is in the What We Heard report that came forward as a result of the engagement that was undertaken regarding the Affirmative Action Policy. And in that, Mr. Speaker, the recommendation there really is, again, that the Affirmative Action Policy is out of date, that it is inadequate, that this is unnecessarily complex. And coming from that, what was also contained in that report is that there be an Indigenous Employment Policy to offer priority hiring to Indigenous persons. That is an area where we all know that we have failed...

. Mr. Speaker, today I am very honoured to be speaking about the first Northwest Territories female athlete to win gold at the Special Olympics World Games.

Applause

Mr. Speaker, this is Yellowknife South resident Chelsey Makaro. And if you have the chance or ability where you are sitting to look up, she has brought her medals with her.

Applause

Mr. Speaker, this past summer, Ms. Makaro traveled to Berlin, Germany, as part of Team Canada to attend the Special Olympics World Summer Games. The games are held every two years and offer athletes with intellectual disabilities an opportunity to...

Thank you, Madam Chair. DFO, or the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans has the jurisdiction over waterways, so they control the access and control the that parcel of not land, but that area is under their authority and administration. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So, I mean, this is right now in the 20242025 plan. So we are there's already crushing happening this year with significant expenditure for the 20242025 plan which, yes, is I mean, that's when it will begin. I don't know if the Member's looking for an exact month, I don't have that in front of me. If she'd like a month, I could see if ADM Brennan has that. Thank you.

To Mr. Martin, please.

I'll turn that to Mr. Heath, please.

Thank you, Madam Chair. There have been a few delays with some of the work happening in the North Arm Park. Madam Chair, this was one of the earlier projects that was going through under the Tlicho infrastructure the agreement that is with the Tlicho government with respect to procurement and work undertaken on Tlicho lands. So that process just took, therefore, a little bit longer to go through procurement because trying to work under a new program and to do so in a way that was respectful of maximizing that, it just took a bit longer in the first few goes. But it is for this particular...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Let me go to ADM Brennan. He'll know, I hope, of the exact numbers or the exact cost sharing ratio. Thank you.

No, Madam Chair, this is not new money to spend. This is the ability and the authority to borrow money to pay the bills that we already have. Thank you.