Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister of Finance some questions about how we are using our potential in the satellite industry to grow the knowledge economy. My first question for the Minister is: can the Minister advise the House on what resources have been allocated by this government in its budgets to promote the NWT as a destination of choice for the global remote sensing sector? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I know that the appropriation line for Aurora College is reduced this year. What is the cause for that reduction? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and there we have the inherent contradiction with it being both a publicly funded independent institution and yet one that the department can reach into and tinker with when they want to change the services being provided.

Why are we approaching the college, the management of the college, through providing that kind of direct approach rather than entering into funding agreements, those kinds of arrangements that can be targeted, measured, have reliable targeted outcomes that the college would have to meet? Why are we not incentivizing the operations of the college and the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As a publicly funded institution, is it at arm's length from government as other publicly funded education institutions are? Can the Minister confirm that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm sorry if I'm struggling with this amount. I have asked questions about what is presented before us in this budget, and I am hearing a lot of answers about how it was used previously. I understand that this number may change, but I am looking for why the department is requesting an increase of $1 million to this. I think what I am hearing is that, the previous year, it was a considerable amount more and it was redistributed, so they are trying to harmonize it to a degree where they can still support the contract requirements that they think are going to be required for...

Thank you. Just for clarity, then, this increase to the contract services line is in order to support those programs going forward into this year? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can we have an explanation of what contract services are, then? I am still a bit confused, and this line seems to have fluctuated quite substantially in previous fiscal years. In the 2016-2017 Actuals, it was $939,000; in the 2017-2018 Main Estimates, it was $5,050,000; and in the Revised Estimates, it was $2,085,000; and again, now we see this increase. Why is there so much volatility in contract services in this activity of the department? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the Minister finds that an official submission has not been made or the consultation has not been done on improvements, is that something he will undertake? Can he make that commitment to pursue this issue, working with his Cabinet colleagues so we can clear up this regulatory bottleneck and get certainty over our remote sensing opportunities in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Maybe we should. I would recommend that perhaps we look at the impact and value for money of this in conjunction with the Arts Council and our partners so that we can make sure we're meeting the requirements of maintaining steady flow of resources to arts communities and to the Arts Council itself, and that we're meeting the strategic objectives. It's good to get money out the door, but it's much better if we know that money is making an impact. Again, the other reason that I asked these questions to the Minister in this section is this framework is a multi-departmental framework...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As with a number of Members on the issue of arts funding, the NWT Arts Strategy has been raised. This framework has not been reviewed in a significant amount of time. I'm wondering if the Minister can commit to reviewing that framework within this fiscal year. Thank you.