Julian Morse

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's it for me for.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, similarly to the previous speaker, I am in favour of the principle of the bill today.

Mr. Speaker, my primary reason for that today is that I think that we are having a very important conversation, and I would like to see that conversation move forward into committee where we can have a fulsome discussion about this issue, about the various issues around why this bill has come forward, and hear from all parties on it in a public manner through a fulsome committee process. And I think that that is really important. Similar to other speakers, I don't know what...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, Bill 17, the Municipal and Community Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on February 10, 2025, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review.

On April 22nd, 2025, the standing committee held a public hearing with the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs and completed its clause-by-clause review of the bill. I thank the committee for their efforts in reviewing this legislation. Individual Members, of course, may have additional comments. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister laying out the general plan, but I didn't hear any new information in there. What I was looking for is does the Minister have a timeline for us? Again and again, I've emphasized that I'd like to see this proceed quickly. The whole idea with doing targeted amendments was that that could proceed quickly. Does the Minister have a timeline for us for this process today? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to take the opportunity today to further highlight the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment's Report on the Review of Land Use Permitting and Water Licensing Regulatory Framework in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, our Cabinet, through their mandate commitment, one of their commitments is to ensure regulatory systems and decision-making are consistent, efficient, and predictable. Mr. Speaker, when Cabinet released those commitments, I committed back to push them on those commitments, push them on the mandate, and to...

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, Bill 18: An Act to Amend the Partnership and Business Names Act, received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on February 10th, 2025, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review. On April 22nd, 2025, a very busy day for committee, the standing committee held a public hearing with the Minister of Justice and completed its clause-by-clause review of the bill.

I thank the committee for their efforts in reviewing this legislation and, of course, individual Members may have additional comments. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the Minister emphasizing the nature of the process, that it's a collaborative one. I would respectfully suggest back that they collaboratively come together and develop a timeline. So can the Minister commit to bringing a timeline back to the Assembly in a reasonable time? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm just referring back to my recurring question that I bring up every session on the amendment -- targeted amendments to the waters regs. Mr. Speaker, the last time I asked the Minister of Environment and Climate Change about that, he mentioned that he would have a concrete plan available for Members in the spring. I'm just asking the Minister for an update on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the House is aware, I spoke to workforce development and, specifically, coordination earlier today. Mr. Speaker, has the Minister or department of ITI considered the growing need for workforce coordination and what the government could do to address this issue? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And what I'm looking for is maybe some more detail about those conversations. So would the Minister specifically consider establishing a division or agency within one of those departments specifically tasked with this role as a part of our work to address workforce development? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.