Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS public safety is a key priority of the 20th Legislative Assembly established through "safe and healthy communities"

AND WHEREAS climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of flooding, wildfires and other natural disasters;

AND WHEREAS the 2023 wildfire evacuations of two-thirds of the population of the Northwest Territories, and subsequent evacuations due to severe climate events, have resulted in continuing trauma and negative mental health impacts;

AND WHEREAS, on June 13, 2024, the Government of the Northwest Territories contracted Transitional...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to my colleague from Mackenzie Delta.

During his briefing to committee, Hale also responded to the possibility of expanding the provision of legal aid services in the territory, highlighting that civil matters, including matters related to estates, may be addressed within the legal aid outreach clinics. It was described that legal aid tends to be focused on criminal and family law matters and that the expansion of services would necessarily also require an expansion of the funding envelope to legal aid. Committee acknowledges these challenges and supports...

Mr. Speaker, we've been at this for ten years, whether it's an MOU, an MOC, an MOA, M-O-U-S-E. Can the Minister just commit to transfer the land to the city of Yellowknife and to all municipalities as laid out by several motions that have been brought to the floor of the Assembly before, that's been passed in this Assembly. Will the Minister just make the decision today to transfer the land so our communities can grow? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I have spoken to information system's consultants, and this is a concern. So will the Member -- the Member's going to get me information -- will the Member -- sorry, will the Minister explore this with her department and see if there are holdups in the Health Information Act and identify any legislative change that needs to be done and report back to either me or the House? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Members have raised the issue of online bookings for primary care appointments in this House often. If you go to a private clinic in Yellowknife, you can do online booking, as I have done from time to time, to stay out of the emergency room. So my understanding is the Health Information Act is preventing this change. Can the Minister confirm if it is, in fact, the Health Information Act that prevents us from online booking systems in primary care appointments? Thank you.

Well, thank you for that clarity, Mr. Speaker. First, that kind of just slipped by because the fiscal strategy I think should be something that we're consulted on. Will the Minister bring a new revised fiscal strategy to the attention of the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight so we can review the fiscal strategy for the next two years and make sure it meets the needs of our constituencies. Thank you.

Okay. That is helpful. There's also a concern about a lack of guardrails at these sections and other sections as well, where if there is a slip on the road, that you can fly right off of it. So is there a plan to improve -- do those safety improvements to the highway and install guardrails? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister commissioned independent study to look into why this happened. What actions has she directed the department to take to ensure there's accountability over decisions that are being made? We've had health protocols in place. We've been a -- this government's been through COVID. So are we going to ensure that the chief public health officer is consulted going forward any time there's a situation like this again so we can ensure the safety of our kids? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have just a few more details on the questions I had about Highway No. 4.

So the sections in question where accidents over the summer occurred are the corner of Prosperous Lake and kilometer 21. So can I get some reassurances from the Minister that those two sections are going to be addressed by the rehabilitation? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when we last sat, the drinking water situation at Yellowknife schools was just starting to break. The priority then was getting information out to the public about the safety of children and staff, and then we saw the entire situation play out over the summer.

Mr. Speaker, why did it take until August for drinking water measures to be taken at NJ McPherson when measures were taken at two other schools in May? And that's a question for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Thank you.