Julian Morse

Thank you. I appreciate the numbers, but it's a little bit hard to know what to do with those out of context so it would be interesting to see -- like, is the department producing -- it sounds like the Minister's got a report coming. I guess my next question is, is that something that's going to be provided to Members or committee (audio) expand upon that question. I mean, it would be helpful to see numbers presented in context. What was -- what were numbers of uptake like and covers, like, prior to adoption of the new policy and what are uptake numbers like now and have they changed...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. First thing I wanted to ask about was the extended health benefits. I note that the cost went up from 13 to 16 last year and continues to be 16 this year. So my understanding of the original reason they brought about the HB changes was to save money. So how did we end up with the program that costs more?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's an exciting development so amazed at how fast we've been able to move on this issue in the short ten minutes I've had. So thank you for the detail there. I do appreciate that and will just say, I mean, I am going to continue to advocate for midwifery as I already said, so. I am going to leave it at that for now and maybe cede the floor to another Member and will let you know if I have some further questions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yeah, that's exactly what I was looking to find out, and I appreciate the answer on that. So it sounds like we're going to have to do a bit of commitment for a follow-up there. But in that commitment, I'd appreciate them helping us understand why the funding wasn't spent as well. You know, I've raised midwifery pretty much every sitting since the beginning and, you know, have some constituents who are very passionate about it and so will continue to do so. And so I am just wondering, you know, there was a controversial budget cut a few years ago where midwifery...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 26, An Act to Amend the Public Service Act.

Bill 26 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on May 26, 2025, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review. A motion extending the committee's review of Bill 26 by 120 days was adopted by the Assembly on October 20th, 2025.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the Minister's points there. I guess where I was trying to go with this was just ensuring that our infrastructure investment is not just focusing on this southern grid tie-in because it's such a big project, and it's got -- it requires so much funding. I am just wondering are we focusing on smaller solutions as well? So infrastructure investment north of the lake, policy, or legislative change. As I said in my statement, Mr. Speaker, let's pull out all the stops and focus on what we can do to help reduce power rates in the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I live on a street in Yellowknife that's become locally famous for festive Christmas lights displays. At the height of December, you'd be filled with Christmas cheer driving by all the twinkling lights, and many folks cheerfully kept them up through the beginning of January, at least until the December power bills showed up. Just like that, Mr. Speaker, Christmas was over on 57th Street, and the reality of our rising cost of living landed with a dull thud, like a sack of coal.

Residents are struggling to make ends meet and are asking what we can do to help...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do want to just go back to the Minister's staff. There was a potential commitment on the table, but I haven't heard it specifically referred to. So can staff get back to me with details about the lapse in funding and why it lapsed. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I recognize your generous indulgence of Members' questions. I want to dig into something that dates back to a previous budget but shows as a line item here, and so this one may be a bit of a history lesson that I am hoping the staff can maybe take us through.

So the Health System Investments Agreement is listed in this budget as activities related to climate change and wastewater surveillance in NWT communities, illicit drug toxicity. It has -- this line item has previously been described as funding from Indigenous Service Canada for activities related to improving...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I appreciate the Minister's answer there, and I certainly hope in our federal engagement on military investment, we're raising our power infrastructure as a concern.

Mr. Speaker, does the Minister have any idea for us what kind of timeline we can expect this North Slave grid modernization to take place. So when can residents expect to start seeing those improvements come online and help stabilize our system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.