Kieron Testart

Thank you. We're making good progress. Mr. Speaker, so finally, just on the training side, the training required for day home operators, the 55 hours, it's on a screen, it's a virtual program. That's hard for some people with different needs. There's no English -- or non-English language support or ESL supports in place. Can the Minister commit to working with those operators who have those disadvantage -- or those different abilities and work with them to find a better way to do this so they're not at a disadvantage in completing this course work? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. How often does the department look at tax rates comparative to other northern -- or other Canadian jurisdictions? And, yeah, how often is that calculation done to make sure we're competitive with other jurisdictions? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since I've asked my questions about day home operators, I've had some day home operators reach out to me. So they're wondering what numbers are being used to justify the assertion that day home operators earn higher income -- or higher aftertax income because they don't feel that way. So what numbers is the department using to come to this conclusion? Thank you.

Thank you. So is there a -- same question, I guess, around the calculation. Like, when's the last time we looked at this and to see if it's meeting the needs of northern families? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, day homes are also required to complete a mandatory 80-hour course, the Alberta essentials course, but they don't get any time off to do this. It doesn't count as a training day. They're being told they have to use their vacation days to do this training. Why is the department not allowing these to be counted as training days and why are they not -- and let's just leave it there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I wanted to ask about the Northwest Territories child benefits. The limits are -- or when a family exceeds $30,000, the benefit is reduced and then it's completely eliminated after $80,000. Why is the limit set so low? Of course, the Canada Child Benefit is much higher and benefits a higher income bracket and has been a key instrument in reducing child poverty in this country, to the lowest it has ever been. And now I acknowledge that this benefit helps greatly. I was pleased to support increasing it in the 18th Assembly. But it still is quite low. And any...

Mr. Speaker, we certainly have our work cut out for us here in this chamber. From mine closures to the housing crisis, Arctic sovereignty to Indigenous reconciliation, there is no shortage of complicated issues we've been elected to find solutions for. Today, however, I want to speak about a problem that is much simpler to understand but just as serious to the safety and well-being of the public - crosswalks and intersections.

The problem is clear-cut. Motorists are going to drive, pedestrians are going to walk, and children are often going to be a little less predictable when they appear. Yet...

So $11 million is not a lot in the grand scheme of things unless you're $3.2 million away from your debt ceiling. So is the government prepared to lose this revenue -- how will this impact the DAT, the fiscal responsibility policy, the sustainability policy? Like, have we factored in this very likely scenario into our financial projections? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

So just to confirm, the consumer carbon tax is worth $11 million to this government? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. So the increase then -- it sounds like the increase is solely due to the increased cost per ton, is that correct? Thank you.