R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Madam Chair. So I'm I have some questions about this. So this is stating that each Regular Member shall sit on a minimum of two committees in addition to the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight. So it says every Regular Member shall sit on the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight. And so if a Member is not sitting on the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight, they're in violation of the rules I suppose. So I wonder what would be the redress if they were in violation of those rules? I know we don't have witnesses here but this is just...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a lot of engagement to come. So after we get the report back from the phase 2 environmental assessment, that'll determine the next steps. And before there's any shovels in the ground, there will be a significant amount of engagement, hopefully partnerships with Indigenous governments, hopefully economic opportunities that will be realized. So with only, you know, a couple weeks left here, I can't make any commitments to go out and, you know, do more engagement on this. But all of that work will happen. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A number of sites were looked at. There's a number of different options for postsecondary campuses. Some campuses are all located in one area. Some are located in downtowns with buildings located on different blocks of the city. And so the model that was chosen for the for Aurora College North Slave Campus was a model where we wanted to be close to downtown, close to transit, close to places that people can live, but all in one place so that students can live near the school and somewhere near, you know, outdoor areas as well, so that people maybe coming from the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This government did exempt a significant amount of the federal supports that were provided to residents by the Government of Canada. We made clear that certain income from the government would be deducted. And so there should be no reason now why income support is clawing anything back because those residents would have claimed that they were receiving that income at that time. I'll also note that although it is delayed, the rollout of the new income assistance program, this government has increased income has approved increases to income assistance that we haven't...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm pleased to be here to present Bill 65, Builders' Lien Act.

The purpose of Bill 65 is to repeal the current Mechanics' Lien Act and replace it with a more modern Builders' Lien Act to address modern construction practices.

Lien legislation is in place to ensure that parties who contribute work, labour, or materials to a construction project in the NWT are paid, and to provide a remedy if they are not. Lien legislation also creates stability and predictability for owners of construction projects by setting out their obligations to other parties involved in a...

I don't have a problem generally with you know, with I wouldn't generally have a problem with something like this. You know, like the Member from Yellowknife North, I'm not a fan of the recurring statutory reviews. As a Regular Member, I've been part of those. I found that, if anything, they hinder progress on amending acts. But, you know, we just discussed the UNDRIP Act and, you know, we're moving in a different direction in the coming Assemblies. And in this even in this government, we have introduced protocols and processes that limit the amount of legislation that we can do. And going...

Mr. Speaker, this Legislative Assembly has made it a priority to advance universal child care for residents of the Northwest Territories. In December 2021, we signed the Canadawide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement with the federal government, and since then we have worked closely with licensed early learning and child care programs and early childhood educators to advance this mandate. As of April 1st, the average cost of licensed child care for children five years of age and younger has been reduced, on average, by 60 percent. This means that families in the NWT are now saving up to...

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is a standard nonderogation clause. You can find it in other pieces of legislation. I think that this is a good idea. I'm happy to support this. And going forward, we should always consider including these in bills. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So there's settlement lands. There's other types of lands that might be owned by an Indigenous government. And the Member's probably I know the Member's more of an expert on land than I am. I know that's his background. He came here in 1985 to work on those types of issues, so. And I can perhaps hand it to Mr. Yap for some further explanation of how the land if the Member would like. I know we're on his clock here. So, yes, I see him shrugging. So to Mr. Yap. Thank you.

Thank you. So I will hand it to Mr. Yap for a more detailed explanation. Thank you.