Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't know if everyone is even aware in this House, but the tariffs have been paused until April 2nd. So this whiplash is, I think, driving everyone nuts. The goalposts keep moving, and I think our entire nation's becoming traumatized. And this is exactly the kind of thing that our new-found enemies, who used to be our allies, want from us. So I'd like to -- I'm sure the Premier has been, as he has been through this whole time, in contact with the Prime Minister, Northerners are looking to their government for stability at a time when it's -- chaos is the...

Thank you for that. I want to move on. But I will point out I have spoken to filmmakers who have left the territory because this funding's just not enough to continue to -- them to pursue their career in the industry. So there is a limit to how effective it is. But if it keeps growing, then, yeah, maybe we can take -- we can develop our own cottage industry like what they've done in -- or they did for a while -- it's different now but, like, in Saskatchewan, which isn't, you know, known for its robust film studios and things like that but they had a lot of activity just because of their rebate...

Mr. Speaker, we know Northerners face challenges accessing public health care services here in the Northwest Territories. Our constituents are spread out far and wide across this vast land. Then when we cannot expect to offer specialized care in every community, our constituents still expect to enjoy their right to care that they are entitled to as Canadians. This is where health and social services medical travel policy factors in to break down the barriers of geography and capacity for Northerners to get them to the facilities and treatment options down south which are vital in providing the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I'd like to just talk about the film industry for a minute. I see the budget's doubled, which is good, and we heard about the multiplier earlier today. But one of the issues with this is it's still a very small rebate program versus other larger jurisdictions. So is this -- I guess, is the intention to this more on the arts side to support northern filmmakers, or is it more on the economy side to grow a film sector, and -- well, let's just start there. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Range Lake page Ms. Tyra Ristau. I understand Ms. Ristau’s family may be watching our proceedings today, so she's doing a great job; don't worry. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a fantastic solution which is the money that Aurora College that is still being granted to them, take that back and use it to fund these facilities. So will the Minister pursue an exploration with that and see how we can keep these -- the productive facilities that are training students, that are important to communities, that are employing local people who will not have jobs when they're gone, stay open. Thank you.

Okay, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, sorry, I was confused by our procedures. Mr. Speaker, I too would like to ask just some clarifying points from the presentation that Aurora College gave to Members this morning.

For the physical assets of the community learning centres, the actual buildings and physical infrastructure that are present in the communities, what is the fate of that with the shuttering of all these facilities in a couple months? Thank you. What will be the fate?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate those conversations but, I mean, we're asking them to invest in what we're already doing. I mean, we had a Prime Minister -- Prime Minister Harper came here every year and apart from a few big projects here and there that some Members are very familiar with, we didn't get much for it. We're still underfunded. We still need more infrastructure. So what we're looking for here is defense spending, and that's still something we're only starting to see trickle out. We do have the leader of the opposition pledging to build bases in other northern...

Thank you. I've looked into it as well, and you know who else has, Mr. Speaker? Mr. Speaker, the childcare providers and their advocates, the associations, have looked to it -- looked into it as well. They want these changes made. So can the Minister commit to doing more than looking into them and actually change these things, make a commitment to change these things before this problem gets worse. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment has signed a deal to extend the Canada-wide child early learning -- learning program, the $10-a-day program. While families are appreciative of these efforts, daycare providers are still -- or childcare providers are still very concerned about a system that looks to be unsustainable. The funding's been extended until 2031, 2032, without any changes, which means no additional funding to address the concerns that have been raised by the sector or increasing wages for workers in the sector for another five...