Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I sadly don't know when COVID will go away. I wish it was gone; but it's not. And, you know, in the interim, we now have a new variant. So, you know, variants continue to arise. Variants continue to spread. And, you know, that's again part of the reason that we have a vaccination policy in the first place is that this you know, in the last year and a half has demonstrated itself to be the best way to keep people safe, residents safe, public safe, people we serve, particularly in the Northwest Territories where, you know, we saw how quickly in some of...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I recognize this is a point of frustration for some. I appreciate the patience that those who are going to have to follow the PPE element are showing, you know. As far as masks are concerned, in general the masks should be the threelayer masks and worn tightly to the face. But there is some adaptation for each work site because, exactly as the Member has noted, an office work site might not necessarily require any additional or alternative PPE as compared to someone working at a different type of situation such as an industrial one. So every department...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, there is a long list of different funding programs, both through the GNWT and still with some federal government programs, I believe, still open. So, you know, I had to pull them out myself. It is a long list; I recognize that. Some do require equity contribution. And the most recent one, the one that was announced by the GNWT here back in August/September, the Tourism Restart Program, that does require a 10 percent equity contribution. But earlier programs did not. So PREP and STAR, STAR was for accommodations providers and the other PREP was tourism...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the office of the chief public health or the Office of the Chief Public Health Authority or office, that is the entity that is solely responsible for determining the risk factors under which the current restrictions are created, what they contain, and that is because we've always put our faith in the hands of medical science and not necessarily in politicians to be making those determinations. That said, Madam Speaker, we have continued to work closely, both myself and in both of my roles as Minister of Finance, Minister of ITI, do meet regularly with...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I wish to table the following document: Status of Women Council of the Northwest Territories 20202021 Annual Report. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 44, Supplementary Appropriations Act (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization), No. 4, 20202021, be read for the second time.

This bill sets out limits on supplementary amounts that may be borrowed by the Commissioner on behalf of the government and authorizes the making of disbursements to pay the principal of supplementary amounts borrowed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 42, Supplementary Appropriations Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 20212022, be read for the second time.

This bill makes supplementary appropriations for infrastructure expenditures of the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 20212022fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 43, Supplementary Appropriations Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 20212022, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents: Consolidated Budgets 20212022 of the Government of the Northwest Territories; Public Service Annual Report for 20202021; and, the Report of Special Warrants issued June to November of 2021. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I share the Member's view. That is not what we want to be hearing and there was actually quite a number of, what I thought fairly clever, controls put in place and it wasn't the first time the Member raised that with myself and so the department's well aware. Techniques were used you can't advance very far unless you have sort of gone through the motions of clicking through various items. You either have to read a certain number or you have to view a certain number of videos or dialogs in order to advance. So there's some interesting ways in there that...