Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today the Minister spoke about safe communities and I spoke about the need to remove the politics from emergency services, especially in our smaller communities. It’s clear when one hears about a stop work order for an entire fire department that we should be asking those bigger questions. My questions today are for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Back in December 2014 the Fort Resolution fire department was issued a stop work order by Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission. Reports did cite deficiencies reaching as far back as July 2013.

Ca...

I’m encouraged by what I’m hearing from the Minister. I strongly know he is committed and passionate about wanting to get this back on the air, and I’m pleased to hear that the funding model might come under the one-roof model which would be administered through the GNWT.

But there are still some key areas of operational challenges that CKLB is still facing. The first one is the ongoing debt that this organization has been saddled with for so long. This debt is an albatross around its neck which prevents it from getting to the next level as a business entity.

What opportunities are there for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Ms. Bisaro.

Closely related to the proposal allowing the retroactive reduction of ancillary benefits is the issue of how Bill 12 would affect the nature of the NEBS plan. Presenters who spoke against Bill 12 expressed the view that the NEBS plan is a defined-benefit pension model and that the provision allowing the retroactive reduction of ancillary benefits, if and when put into effect, would effectively shift NEBS to a target-benefit pension model.

A defined-benefit pension plan is a type of plan which pays a guaranteed, predetermined benefit on retirement...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the deputy minister’s reply on that. To the subject of daycares, daycare operators in general and the communication and interaction with the department. There have been, I guess, some barriers to that in the past, as a Member trying to facilitate a better collaboration with our daycare providers. What is the department prepared to do in this upcoming year to reach out to daycare providers in the Northwest Territories to engage them in a fulsome discussion, talk about their issues, engage with them in terms of what’s best for them and best practices? Is there a...

I appreciate it. No further questions on this activity. Thank you.

Maybe it’s a pre-ERI birthday gift. Again, it’s just something to note and, again, trends are something, I know, that many Members here pick up on and I’m sure we’ll have more questions in the future.

Mr. Chair, first when we took on this job four years ago, almost four years ago, the Auditor General report tabled information regarding the Adult Learning and Basic Education. Without getting into the details of that audit report, this is a report that, literally, it was scathing to a certain degree, but there were issues in terms of how we were evaluating this program and some of the monies...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The other day the Minister was very kind to walk us through, I guess, some of the dance steps in terms of some of the changes with respect to the different levels of structure under corporate management, and there has been a relatively large change in the last year or so. I guess to the question. We did get a sense of who some of these new players were and we did get a feel for some of these new divisions.

But to the question, how is this new structure working today? We’ve had a chance to drive this new structure for about a year-plus and we’ve had some new players in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Section 52 of the act under general offences and punishment reads: “A person other than an inmate who (a) contravenes this act or the regulations, or (b) conducts himself or herself in a manner that is detrimental to the good order and discipline of a correctional centre, is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both.”

Can be Premier indicate to the House, will the Minister of Justice authorize an independent investigation into whether charges should be laid under...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today in my Member’s statement I shared my dismay on the way our Department of Justice is handling our corrections services. Ironically, the office of the Auditor General agrees with me.

As set out in our NWT Corrections Act, there are consequences and processes clearly defined for the contravention of the act. My questions today are for the Minister-designate. Without belabouring the long list of contraventions and violations of this act in the wake of the recent Auditor General’s report, can the Premier indicate if the Department of Justice reviewed its legal...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my honour to have been asked by the leaders and the elders of Deline to ensure that government negotiating teams and their officials who worked on this agreement are recognized on this historic day.

I share Deline’s appreciation for the hard work of so many government officials, particularly efforts of the negotiating teams who spent a great deal of time over the years travelling and away from their own families, making personal sacrifices required to complete this agreement.

In particular I have been asked to convey the thanks of Deline elders to these individuals...