Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that, on Tuesday, June 4, 2019, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife North, that Tabled Document 442-18(3), 2030 NWT Climate Change Strategic Framework 2019-2023 Action Plan, be referred to Committee of the Whole for consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 100(4) and to have Committee Report 16-18(3), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of Bill 29: An Act to Amend the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that the chair rise and report progress. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize two residents of my riding of Kam Lake, Caitlin Cleveland and Jan Vallilee. It's great to see you take an interest in our proceedings today. I, too, am excited to hear about your interest in our democracy and look forward to seeing your names on the ballot, as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have some written comments here, because this motion is quite complicated. Mr. Chair, clause 17 of Bill 29 proposes to add a provision requiring that, where someone makes an access-to-information request, the head of a public body must refuse to disclose labour relations information that could reveal information supplied to or the report of an arbitrator, mediator, labour relations officer, or other person dealing with a labour relations matter. The committee was concerned that the provision, as written in the bill, did not provide clear enough direction on what...

Mr. Chair, I move that the Committee of the Whole take a short recess. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister. The final recommendation I might propose, and I am wondering if the Minister would take this up, is to form some sort of mental health advisory body specifically for youth mental health and specifically representative or made up of youth from across the territory. Can the Minister work to establish some sort of advisory body to inform the department's operations? Clearly, they have a lot of good stuff going on. It's just not getting to the target audience, so I think having a body like that, made up of young people, would greatly enhance the...

That's great news, and I think that this is a really key initiative that young people are speaking out and speaking up on, and that's why we need to really pay attention to it. It sounds like we're making good progress.

They also brought forward the need for online mental health resources for youth to be made available, including online peer support and anonymous counselling options. In many ways, young people want to engage through mobile devices or by keeping their identity somewhat depersonalized. Does the department offer these services, or are these services offered in schools or some...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. I will finish off the end of the report once I find the page. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Clause 5 of Bill 29 proposes to amend the deadline for a public body to respond to an access request from 30 calendar days to 20 business days. Under subsection 11(1), the act allows a public body to extend this initial deadline "for a reasonable period." Clause 6 of the bill changes strikes out "for a reasonable period" and substitutes "for a period not exceeding 20 business days," placing a hard deadline on the extension a public body may grant itself. The...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier this month, youth from across the territory came together here in the Chamber for the annual Youth Parliament. Model parliaments such as the one recently hosted by this Legislative Assembly are incredibly important in not only ensuring continued democratic participation of future generations, but as also integral to passing on the knowledge of how our system works to the next generation of leaders.

Our young parliamentarians showed us that they already have a strong grasp of the issues which face our territory today and made compelling arguments for increasing...