Julian Morse

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the Minister pointing out appendix B. Certainly that is the question -- the answer to the question I was looking for in question one. And I would just gently point out that -- or perhaps pointedly point out consideration of the priorities is not considered in that process.

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to drafting a proposal for a new process for capital budget development which helps to better align it with the priorities of the Assembly? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do appreciate that commitment from the Minister.

So Mr. Speaker, can the Minister describe the process that Cabinet goes through to assess the implications of the Assembly's priorities have for our capital budgeting and how we might need to shift resources to achieve them? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, have a look through past Hansard transcripts and year after year, you'll find speeches by MLAs complaining that the capital budget has failed to adequately allocate resources to the Assembly's priorities. I argue that the underlying reason for this pattern is that our capital budget setting process is disconnected from priorities by design, and we need to change that process if we want to see a change in budgeting.

Currently, departments are using a set of criteria for identifying capital projects none of which include priority consideration first. In most...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, Bill 7, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2024, received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on June 12th, 2024, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review. Bill 7 introduces amendments across a range of existing legislation in the Northwest Territories. These changes are administrative and technical, aimed at improving the clarity, consistency, and accuracy of both English and French language versions of the legislation. The clause-by-clause review of Bill 7 was held on October 2nd, 2024, with the Minister of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister feel that that process is sufficiently effective at taking a strategic, high level approach to priority implementation in terms of determining what the best course of action is, you know, for a given -- I guess what I mean by the question is, you know, are we taking a strategic process or are we simply having each department kind of look at the priorities and what that department can do as opposed to kind of thinking holistically what's the best way to attack the problem regardless of what departments we have. So just thinking more...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Finance. In developing the capital plan, what criteria are used by departments to review, rank, and prioritize projects? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is the Minister concerned about the milestones that the college is facing? Does the Minister share my concern that the project appears to be significantly off track and that does not appear to be reversing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, while I generally appreciate the rosy disposition of the Minister for ECE, I have to express a bit of confusion. Mr. Speaker, the college is bleeding staff. They're missing milestones. There's no public statements on the indications about the transition so I have to say I'm a bit confused. The Minister seems to be quite confident about the transition, but all the public indications are showing that it's not going well. So, Mr. Speaker, if things are going well, where are the results? Where's the urgency? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker; we're keeping it short and sweet today. Mr. Speaker, I know that the Minister has a textbook on change management on her desk because I handed it to her myself. Mr. Speaker, has the Minister considered employing change management principles in setting her direction to the board? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I've just made my statement, so we know what my questions are about. Mr. Speaker, why has the Minister of education not sent a new mandate letter to the Aurora College board?