Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I'm curious about the funding to health and social services authorities, $370 million. Can the Minister clarify just how this whole budgeting process works for the authorities? Because on the floor of the House, we heard that the budget comes after the mains and I'm still a bit befuddled by this because we do have an information item later that we'll get into that has some numbers there, but we also have this new piece of information that the Minister has not actually received the working budget and, I mean, this is a much longer conversation that gets into how we fund...

Thank you. Nothing further.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know for a fact that the clause or the arrangement with the P3 partner is very specific that the GNWT gets final say about what goes in there. We had jokes about, you know, it not being allowed to be a casino, for example. So the GNWT had a say over it. They could have made it clear that it needs to be health. But I'll say this: Can the Minister produce any evidence that this is actually saving money -- that this -- at the time, it is saving money competitively from leases? We've heard as much as 30 percent savings but there's no dollar figure. Can she...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to follow up on questions raised by the Member for Yellowknife North on the Stanton renewal project.

The auditor general maintains that the leasing -- the decision to lease the Legacy Building, it's not good value for money. Plain English. It's in excess of $70 million that wasn't part of the initial project to a building we own. Does the Minister agree with the auditor general, and can she tell us today that this was not good value for money as a decision? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, has the department consulted with frontline health care workers and -- other frontline health care workers, practitioners, on this people strategy that's due this June? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. My understanding was during the pandemic in particular but additional benefit -- or wage subsidies -- the labour market supplement in actual fact were negotiated to help support frontline workers. And that process occurred outside of the collective agreement, is that accurate? Thank you.

Thank you. So when we have things like labour market supplements or anything that falls kind of outside of collective agreement but represents additional pay or for nursing or incentives for nursing or doctors or any medical professionals, is that this activity as well; would they cover that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the change and support it, just to be clear, but, Mr. Speaker, there are other people of groups that are similarly disadvantaged or similarly of minority status, including people with disabilities. The disabilities council has come out and made it clear that they do not think this is a good move to make for the community. So why can we not include other protected minority groups under the Constitution in the affirmative action policy -- or in the priority action policy? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has announced that there are new changes to the Indigenous employment -- or Indigenous recruitment policy -- thank you -- which replaces the affirmative action policy. We're going to be bringing back P1s essentially and allow Indigenous Northerners to have priority status. Before that wasn't possible because of the Constitution. Has the Constitution changed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I guess I'm confused. This seems to be new information. Was there ever a plan that Liwego'ati would not be used or that Stanton Legacy would not be used as part of a health care campus? My understanding is there was always a component of that in the initial RFP that went out for the rebuild was to demo this building for other uses and that was -- so was there some other purpose intended for Stanton Legacy before it became the Liwego'ati Building? Thank you.