Vince McKay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think there was a lot of hardship through the territories with the disasters in no particular riding. I think there was a lot of impacts to people's livelihoods. And, you know, we've all worked through them. The government's worked through them and trying to get federal funding to these impacted residents. However, this new DFAA is starting off April 1st. It is not retroactive and doesn't cover off any previous emergencies. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will be voting "no" against these two recommendations, so I thought it was important that I say a few words as I am a Member of this committee, and I felt it was only fair for me to explain myself.

As a Member and a new Member to the Legislative Assembly, we go sometimes into these meetings, and there's a lot of information, a lot of dialogue going on with all this stuff, and sometimes you don't realize the outcome of these recommendations until you've talked to experienced Members, past Members, and realizing the outcome of a recommendation like this. I believe that...

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to take the opportunity to welcome back all my colleagues to the Legislative Assembly, welcome back all the staff, and welcome back all the interpreters to the Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, Hay River hosted the territorial trials for the Montana's Brier which, by the way, is being held February 28th and March 9th in Kelowna, BC. I'd like to think of this as Hay River's unofficial warmup before we send our champions to Kelowna to battle the best curlers out there. I'm proud to announce that the Hay River team will be representing the Northwest Territories at...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, February 7th, 2025, I will present Bill 17, Municipal and Community Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Workers' Protection Fund provides no-fault insurance coverage for employers and benefits and care for workers in events of workplace injury.

All employers share the cost of this compensation system by making payments based on their assessable payroll, which is the amount of earnings they report for each worker, and the group rate for their industry. Each year's assessment rate must generate enough revenue to cover all current and future costs associated with workplace injuries occurring in the assessment year, including health care, rehabilitation, and wage replacement benefits...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The territorial government is on a working group with the federal government that is talking about insurance and affordability, also insurance coverage that is not available. For an example, some flood insurance is not available depending on the type of flood. So there is a working group out there to work on insurance coverage. And to mention to the point of the gray area, there is a lot of confusion about insurance and what can and cannot be covered. So there is a federal working group, and the government is part of it. Also, I believe the NWTAC is also part of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the last year we've -- MACA has done a good job promoting the Be Ready campaign which also included making sure that you have insurance available for your assets. We have staff, like the Pathfinders, who work with residents to make sure they have their documents or assist them in getting documents from insurance companies. So it's important that, you know, residents reach out and even just work with Pathfinders that are available to see what they need. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize Elise Scott, chief governance officer with WSCC.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission Northwest Territories and Nunavut Annual Report 2023. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue of affordability is getting to be worse. It's not just -- you know, it used to be hard to get insurance for some folks, and now it's continuing to be harder and harder for most of us to get insurance for certain things. And that just relates to a lot of the disasters that have happened throughout Canada. You know, with the affordability, you know, there's documentation that's needed to show that it's not affordable for them to have insurance. You know, if you can't afford it, make sure you have that documentation so that it can help you in an event of...