Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to -- I too wish to turn to the NTNP worker program that we have foreign workers in the Northwest Territories. We had a town hall a couple months ago. The response was significant, and people are very concerned. So the Yukon has extended their work permits. They were able to do that with their existing relationships with Ottawa. So why are we not able to extend work permits here in the Northwest Territories? This is something that nominees are asking for. They're desperate. They're very concerned about their future. So why can't we extend the permits here in the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, my honourable friend from Yellowknife Centre talked about the challenge to the Taltson project and perhaps the optimism around it that might not be realized, and certainly, these are large scale infrastructures. So she said with projects that will take time and investment to pull off and, of course, federal investment. Hopefully, our northern Prime Minister understands that. Nunavut pays more in subsidies. Will the Minister increase the power rate subsidies to give Northerners a break? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, not only are perspective residents turning away from our territory due to soaring housing costs that prevent them from finding a home, but we're also now losing families long rooted in our communities to a cost of living crisis that is pricing them out of the homes they've lived in for generations. For these families, leaving the North was once unimaginable but with every power bill, the uneasy reality sets in: They may no longer have a choice.

Northerners now pay nearly double the national average per kilowatt hour, prices exacerbated by the fact we consume far more electricity...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, Mr. Speaker, support for this bill, for anyone who's been listening to frontline workers, seems to be a no-brainer to me. We've heard repeatedly about morale crises at the health -- within the health system. We've heard about the inability to staff units. We've heard about recruitment and retention challenges. We hire nurses quickly, and they leave just as quick. And when you have frontline workers who are coming to us and saying we need a louder voice, you know, I think we're obliged to listen. And Mr. Speaker, the intent -- the principle of this bill is to give...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Wednesday, May 28th, 2025, I will present to the House Bill 29, First Responders Workers' Compensation Amendment Act, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, thank you. I mean, in this case it is a surgery for gender affirming care. It is top surgery. But given that Ontario has far more capacity to provide gender affirming surgeries, why can't our health system send NWT residents there, given the political climate in Alberta is compromising access to timely and appropriate care for those seeking gender affirming surgeries? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm glad to hear that we're talking about the whole territory, not pitting regions against each other. To that end, we know that the Inuvik hospital often suffers similar shortages and staff. Can the Minister guarantee to this House that labour and delivery services at the Inuvik hospital will remain open over the summer, preventing moms and their families from travelling to Yellowknife, or farther, to have their babies? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know -- I spy some healthcare workers in the gallery, so I thought I'd ask some health care questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services.

Will the Minister of Health and Social Services give her guarantee to this House that Stanton Hospital's emergency department will have an emergency physician physically present for all times this summer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I've heard from the Minister that one of the reasons we can't extend the permits is because we're redeveloping the program for 2026. So can the Minister confirm if that information's correct? Because that seems like it's our problem and not the federal government's.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, some of -- the net metering policy is long overdue, so I hope the board agrees with the Minister because we could have had some cheaper renewables a long time ago if we had a more favourable rate like they have in Yukon. So we're in 2025, Mr. Speaker. We have AI technology. We have new technologies. There's lots of companies out there who are promising to save this government money by implementing some new systems, some new RFPs.

Will the Minister look to the many, many options out there of AI and new -- emerging technology companies that can provide cheaper...