Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. What explains the variance in tax commissions between 2017 and this estimates document? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. What is the operational relationship between the Public Utilities Board and the department? Thank you.

Thank you. Does the Minister believe that he will get around to it by the end of the term? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that Committee Report 818(2), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report of the Review of the 20142015 and 20152016 Annual Reports of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, be received by the Assembly and moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, and I do appreciate what Mr. Stewart is saying. I am familiar with the Income Tax Act amendments, and the numbers are moving out of legislation where they can be tweaked; but, you know, the other areas of tax are not moving in a similar direction, and I think my honourable friend the Member for Frame Lake has often raised the issue of creating a new tax bracket for the highest income earners. Those kinds of initiatives are somewhat inflexible using the current legislative process, and my fear is, if we wanted to move expediently on tax reform or tax improvements, we would have to go...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have tonnes of more questions, but I understand I only have one left. You know, for the definition of "tonnes," I think it is a thousand, so maybe a couple of more thousand is what the Minister is getting at, but I digress.

The Minister also said that there is an infrastructure deficit, there is a strain that needs to be upgraded in the short term to cope with the pressure. These improvements that the Minister has listed off today, and on other days, as well, when will Yellowknifers be able to enjoy them? Is it next year? Is it the year after? Is it 10, 20, 30 years...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I asked earlier about tax policies or tax changes. My question is more of a policy one, but it is related to this activity, and currently my understanding is that, if we were to change tax rates in the Northwest Territories, that needs to be done by legislative amendment to the Income Tax Act. Is that correct?

So it does not sound like there is a plan. When they were considering doing this, was the Minister aware of how these fees operate across Canada, or is this investigative report new to the Minister's knowledge, too?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that, but I would hope that we would adopt something similar to this because we have a great deal of expertise. So can the Minister commit to taking this on under the portfolio of Finance so we have some clarity on who is actually developing the regulations for cannabis in the Northwest Territories? It is coming sooner than we would like to think, for this government it seems, and we should be realizing this opportunity and being prepared for the change and not struggling to pass the buck. So if the Minister could commit to taking this on as a Finance...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that the North faces significant challenges when it comes to the health and wellness of our residents. During the last election, and since then, I have heard many calls for a brick and mortar treatment centre or some kind of facility that can offer made-in-the-North, culturally appropriate care for Northerners.

I think, with the very recent and tragic events involving the death of an Indigenous man in one of our communities who was mistakenly thought to be drunk when in fact he was suffering from a stroke, it is further evidence that we need...