Bob Bromley

Thanks to the Minister. When young parents have problems and grandparents fill the gap, often informally, sparing their grandchildren the trauma of apprehension and interaction by child and family services, this often brings a financial burden beyond their capacity.

Will the Minister immediately and specifically begin a process of non-adversarial outreach to grandparents who are fostering informally, to begin recognizing and meeting their needs? There are lots out there. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have a few brief comments. I know there has been a transfer of energy, $6.1 million into this department, which is significant. I am looking forward to discussing this. I am sure there is forced growth, yet those seem, relative to those amounts, a modest increase. In other words, probably a net decrease to the department’s budget in a sense. I am curious about that.

I wonder if I could just get a general comment on carry-overs and how we are doing with that with our infrastructure, specifically maybe how climate change is rearing its head. I know about some shipping...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also would like to join my colleagues in recognizing Ms. Moffit and her award of the Wise Woman of the Year. Fantastic. Also, I would like to recognize Barb Hood, resident of Weledeh and also NWT Seniors’ Society executive director, and of course Sandra Taylor and all of the ladies in the gallery who are clearly leaders in our communities and in the House today. Mahsi.

Again, I’m absolutely disgusted that we would be partnering with entities like this when we are responsible for providing these basic services from our own revenues. I completely disagree with this and I would ask the Minister to closely examine the basis of this partnership and others such as this and the impacts. I would ask him to research the impacts of putting logos from multinationals like this into the homes of our youngest and most impressionable as supposedly part of our early childhood development programs.

What is the investment from this multi-national company that’s partly responsible for the greatest threat to civilization that we are choosing to partnership with, this public government is choosing to partner with? What are the contributions that we are on our knees for, despite our responsibility to fund these programs from tax dollars for our public this year and next?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is basically all I had. I think I will leave it at that with one last question, Mr. Chair.

Would the Minister commit to telling us, or getting back to us through committee, what the standards are that will dictate whether it was a success or not, whether it is working and how we can expand it if it is? Thank you.

I believe I’ve heard our Premier say repeatedly that this is a priority to get these recommendations from our country’s best and pursue them quickly, so I guess I would ask the Minister if he would, the week after the report comes out, if it does confirm an energy efficiency act, that he would be prepared to come forward and seek very expeditiously the resources required to get that legislation in place.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I know the Minister has heard me speaking in a similar vein by suggesting examination of an alternative model that has not been well used but has a record of success where it was tested and that’s the guaranteed basic income. I appreciate the Minister’s agreement to look at that and perhaps consider something like that for a regional model if the economics worked out. I think right now we are doing not too bad a job of holding people where they’re at, but I don’t think that’s the goal of our government. We want to help them out of poverty and into employment and better...

Thanks, Madam Chair. I know the Minister and I had a conversation in the House here about developing an energy efficiency act, and I know the Minister is aware that the most recent Energy Charrette once again recommended both in the short term and the medium term that we get in place an energy efficiency act. Can I ask, is that budgeted for in this budget?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It’s always hard to penetrate the smoke and mirrors, as I’ve said before, but I appreciate that. I’m glad to hear it’s staying within early childhood.

I’d like to follow up on my colleague’s mention of the healthy food for children and youth and just ask the Minister if he’s been aware of this excess of tens of thousands of goose eggs in the Beau-Del and the potential availability of them for consumption by residents, and the geese for that matter. A wildlife management problem where there are excess birds and eggs that we could be taking advantage of. Is he aware of this...