Kieron Testart

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair, and I think the Minister's response indicates, you know, a sheepishness around this activity. The actuals, if you look at the budget document, you know, the actual from 2017-2018 was $233,000, and it is down to $150,000. Clearly, the department took a look at this function and cut the available resources, and that might have been because of a fiscal discipline activity or an austerity measure. I am not questioning that. What I am questioning is our government's commitment to the Consumer Protection Act when we have less than a person working on this advocacy. We just...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My constituents want to know, and that is why I am asking these questions. Certainty is what we are looking for, is what they are looking for, what I am looking for. I appreciate the Minister is proceeding through the consultation, so, if there is a decision to implement a, what are we calling it, the "sugar-sweetened tax," when can this Assembly expect to see it? Thank you.

Thank you for that thorough description. I appreciate having a clear understanding of it, but what kind of advocacy is done, then, if as you said, there is no binding authority in the act? I mean, if a consumer feels that they have been treated unfairly, what can they do? Thank you.

Has the Minister learned anything from this consultation that he feels necessary to share with the House now, such as abandoning this unnecessary tax?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That was an excellent response, and I am very satisfied with that. This is a big issue for me. Many people have told me that they share a similar perspective. If we are going to again diversify the economy, it is not just going to be with funding pots through ITI. It is going to be with big, transformative change like that. It is good to know that the department is there, standing beside our communities, behind our communities, and would help them make such a transition. If the Minister of Lands is listening, I will have questions around this topic when we get to that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Committee Report 12-18(3) be received by the Assembly and moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its report on the review of the 2018 report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly (Child and Family Services) and commends it to the House.

Before we begin, we would like to recognize the contributions of the Auditor General of Canada, Mr. Michael Ferguson, to the completion of this report. Mr. Ferguson, who passed away on February 2, 2019, was a dedicated public servant who will be greatly missed. We offer our condolences to his family...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 26, the Statistics Act. Bill 26 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on October 29, 2018, and it was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review.

To permit time for the legislative drafters to complete the proposed amendments, I would like to advise the House of the committee's wish to extend our review of the bill with the intention of reporting back to the House on or before March 11, 2019.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, in accordance with rule 75(1)(c) of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The clause-by-clause review of the bill was held on February 21, 2018. At this review, the committee moved the following motions:

Motion 1: That Bill 31 be amended by adding the following after subclause 4(4):

Subclause 4(5) - [Limit on cost recovery fee amount]:

For a period of three years following the coming into force of this section, the cost recovery fee established under subsection (1) shall be no more than $1.70 per month. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs concurred with this motion, and the motion was carried.

Motion 2: That Bill 31 be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of Bill 31: Northwest Territories 911 Act, and commends it to the House.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations ("the committee") is pleased to report on its review of Bill 31: Northwest Territories 911 Act.

Bill 31, Northwest Territories 911 Act, sponsored by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, has been referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review. The bill proposes to:

Direct the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs to...