Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said in my Member's statement, there's a real need for a child and youth advocate in the Northwest Territories. I'm hearing from foster parents and biological parents in the system that in many cases there's a revolving door of social workers. Some of the foster families have four social workers in one year. Some have no contact with the kids' social worker for an entire year. They feel like they have been set up for failure, wrong information given, miscommunication. It's always their fault, Mr. Speaker, and when they complain their homes get shut...

Mr. Speaker, in the Northwest Territories, the child and family services system holds extraordinary power over children in care with no real independent oversight. Every choice made affects a child's life, but there's no formal review process. And since young children cannot advocate for themselves, they need someone to speak up on their behalf.

As MLAs, we are meant to serve as advocates when systems are failing Northerners yet even we are limited when it comes to child and family services cases. Because health and social services is the legal guardian of these children, it alone decides...

Well, is it the table of the symposium or the table going forward? Like, I'm trying to get a sense of what the MOU actually produces in operational terms, I guess. Is this -- is there a timeline or a schedule to look like? Is there -- are there contributing pots of funding? Like, what is it beyond a piece of paper and a great agreement? I support this kind of coordination, but what I'm trying to get at is what is the real investment? Because I like to see announcements at Roundup. I like to see announcements everywhere we go. But I like to know what they actually mean in practical terms...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on January 27th, CanNor and ITI signed an MOU to strengthen economic development and diversification, and the substance of this is to align efforts to support resource development and infrastructure, explore opportunities for more efficient pre-regulatory assistance and coordination for projects and convene a first of its kind northern Indigenous governments and development corporations project funding symposium.

So can the Minister just tell us how -- as MOUs are not, you know, structured legal agreements with money attached and all that kind of stuff, what...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, Mr. Speaker, I mean, this problem is seemingly getting worse by the day. There's been a number of very serious child and family services audits that have revealed serious defects in the system. Can the Minister comment on the implementation of audit recommendations and if the department has successfully responded to all of the past three audits of the auditor general to fix the child and family services system. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. New year, new budget, same problems. Here we go again.

Mr. Speaker, we are in a moment, and it is a moment of unprecedented change in the world that we once knew. We have heard our Prime Minister talk about this. We've heard our Premier talk about this. We've heard the Finance Minister talk about this earlier today. And we just heard the chair of the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight talk about it as well. And it is beholden on all governments in Canada to move to meet this moment but, in particular, this one, because the systems that we've always relied...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn't hear a commitment there, but I will ask more details. So has the NORAD northern basing infrastructure program's needs, have they been inserted into that strategic plan? Are we going to see a strategic plan that specifically is focused on those goals, focused on meeting those needs, and focused on bringing those dollars to the North? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I will ask one direct area of public policy. This requires an all of government approach. We need land. We need land available for the development in Yellowknife and Inuvik. My colleague from Inuvik Boot Lake mentioned this as well. Will the Premier eliminate all barriers within the GNWT policy realm to transfer the lands that the City of Yellowknife and the Town of Inuvik have been asking for, yes or no? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, recent news reporting has led to some good news for the Northwest Territories. As much as $10 billion is hanging over our territory as part of the NORAD northern basing infrastructure program with development and design construction to continue to 2039 with some of those contracts out for tender now. I know our Premier has been doing the circuit on television, at FTP meetings, at standing committee. So can he tell us if we are on track to receive this money, to get this money invested in our communities? Are we ready and able to spend it and start to see...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we need community justice committees for these programs. So can the Minister just clarify if there are community justice committees in all NWT communities. Thank you.