Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So not a chance is what I'm hearing. That's disappointing. I think these programs are a way to save money, not spend more, and in a government that's looking for efficiencies, looking for cost savings, and more importantly looking to empower Northerners, these things would be great. So would the Minister reconsider this position or at least bring it forward in a forum where we can all discuss it and perhaps set a new direction for the Assembly? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. These are all estimates. The entire budget is estimates. So, I mean, we're making that's the I don't understand why we can't have a clear estimate on what we expect to expend here. And that's, I think, the issue here, is when we reviewed this at the committee stage, there wasn't a clear cost saving measure for copayment, there wasn't a clear estimate for how much this is going to cost, and all of that. So where I'm sitting right now is I think I know for a fact, because my constituents have spoken to me about this, that there are people who are caught in the gap...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It was stated by members of the public at a public meeting that the urgency of finding missing people is more important to their community than the protection of someone’s privacy. There was no concerns on the privacy of missing persons, as long as common sense was considered when taking into account the protection of someone’s privacy.

Committee received a recommendation to add third party consent clauses to the legislation, similar to British Columbia’s Missing Persons Act. This clause requires the police to gain third party consent first before proceeding with a record...

Okay, so it's so $2.5 million would be the entire program with the 2200 people added? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And if I could just squeeze in one quick question, I would like to hear from the deputy minister just to get the perspective of the actual department. I appreciate what the Minister's background comes from, but I would appreciate hearing from the deputy minister on this. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Well, let's talk about what we're talking about. We're not talking about stopping the change to the beneficiaries. We're talking about scrapping the income testing. That's the issue that has been raised, or that's the request. It's not an all or nothing. If it was all or nothing, we would just delete this and the government would have to come up with a new proposal. So how would that affect this appropriation? If we scrap income testing, we add the 2200 people the Minister spoke of because I think those I firmly believe those people need care or need access to these...

Thank you. I suppose the question is like, and I appreciate that the apology was forthcoming and it was swift. It still made the news, which no communications professional wants. So I'm just wondering if I know, again, a lot of work has been done in previous years to centralize communications corporate communications, and I have heard anecdotically that perhaps that's that hasn't given departments the kind of capacity they were promised. So how is that working from the perspective of ECE in their communications function? Is the centralize is the shared communications function serving this...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, I mean, if I think just about everyone committed to some sort of landbased treatment option, whether it's an ontheland program, an Indigenous cooperated wellness centre, but the priority is getting local options into regions and decrease our reliance on out of territory specialized facilities. I think a good place to start there is to look at cost and to see if there is like, what's realistic here, because we always resort to the same arguments where we can't do it efficiently or effectively in the Northwest Territories due to costs and limitations on specialized...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So this is important work, and I think the Minister laid out quite clearly how it works and how it will benefit clients, in particular clients who are, I think don't want to stay trapped in poverty certainly or even require these levels of services. I think everyone wants to get back on their feet. So this is I do support integrated service delivery. I've always supported integrated service delivery. I've seen how transformative it can be, especially for those who make frequent contact with the criminal justice system. What I think is missing here are some timelines and...

Thank you. And if the department is unable to make up that difference, would then a supp come forward, a supplementary appropriation come forward? Thank you.