Caroline Cochrane
Statements in Debates
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do know that it is one of the issues that we will be addressing at the Council of Leaders coming up because all of the Premiers are experiencing that. We're looking at what we can do with the prices. However, I can't make a commitment on that.
We spend a lot of money in this government and, you know, at some point, we're going to have to make hard choices and so are residents. But I would like to turn it over to the Minister of Finance to see if she's got anything more that she can give to the Minister online. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just learned as well that the federal government just released the new reduction plan today, and my understanding is they're going to be briefing the provinces and territories tomorrow. So until we get a full briefing of that, I can't make the commitment of what that looks like because I don't know. So what, again, I can commit to is that we do have a committee that looks at these things. And so the same committee that I said I'm going to bring mitigation to, at the same time we'll bring the new federal guidelines to and get back to committee, whether that be a briefing...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We want we would like to make all of the agreements concluded but that's not a reality. So you know, we're hopeful that the southeast and southwest ones will be concluded. We're also hoping that the Nyak Dun one will be concluded. We we've got a tentative agreementinprinciple with the Akaitcho but they've got to go to their membership. And, you know, thought we were close with the Gwich'in and then they joined back. What I'm trying to say is that things happen and, you know, there's changes in leadership; there's changes in negotiations. There was questions today about...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. There's a lot of questions in that and just kind of trying to figure out who to best to answer.
I think I'll start with saying it's multifaceted. It's not as easy as that. The working group is done; there's one aspect of it. ECE is doing things around regional plans. EIA is working with the Indigenous governments on their own economic achievements. And I kind of like that model because I always feel that it's not good to always have your eggs in one basket. The more that we branch out, the more flexibility. But I think I'll take the chance because I did hear about the...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think what I'm hearing the Member saying is that it's bigger than just the Municipal and Community Affairs. It's like an allofgovernment issue. I always like to get federal money. So what I can commit to is that I will I will bring it to a committee of Cabinet, I think the Member knows that, and so that we can have a more fulsome discussion as Cabinet to look at what we can do. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm not seeing it on the list of mandates, but I will turn it to the Minister of ECE to see if he has anything he wants to add to that.
Yes, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, this mandate, the priorities were set by the Legislative Assembly, 19 Members that are in this House. Also the mandate was set by the GNWT. So it's only an internal document for us as this Assembly.
However, in saying that, I agree that it's really important to work with the Indigenous governments, and that's why we've started the Council of Leaders table. And in my opinion, one of the most progressive things we've done, not only the Council of Leaders, but also the modern treaty and selfgovernment tables that are looking at implementation of their agreements. A big...
Chair, that'll go to the Minister of ENR, Minister Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, so the food security is a concern for everyone in the North, no matter what your income is. It's one of the highest things that we spend our money on; it's just the reality of being here. And so when you're low income, it's even more dire. So I agree with that. There's different components. The Nutrition North Program is about getting food. It's a federal government program. It's about getting food into the communities that don't have access to highway systems 24/7. And so that is federal government, and that I took on, and I when I asked, I mean, we got...