Frieda Martselos

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this project is extremely important to the community of Fort Smith and all people of the NWT. Delays in this project could occur if there's no communication with this group. As the MLA for Thebacha, I would be very concerned if this happened. Does the Minister agree, yes or no? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Number 1,

It is important to confirm where the authority to establish the Affirmative Action Policy comes from. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms establishes that "every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination" (Section 15(1)).

Section 15(2) provides the legal grounds for establishing the Affirmative Action Policy by enabling "any law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups including those that are disadvantaged because of race...

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to speak once again about the Taltson Hydro Expansion. As Thebacha MLA, I have particular interest in this project because Fort Smith is the closest community to the Taltson Dam.

Mr. Speaker, currently I do have some concerns about this project. I know that throughout this Assembly our government has been in consultations with various First Nations and Metis governments that are nearest to the Taltson Dam, as they should be. In fact, the Government of the Northwest Territories signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2021 with a number of nearby...

Madam Chair, I will have the clerk explain.

On my left is Tim Mercer, clerk of the Legislative Assembly. On my right is Christina Duffy, legislative division, Department of Justice.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I am pleased to speak to Bill 73, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, No. 4. This bill would adjust the indemnities and allowances listed in parts 1, 2 and 3 of Schedule C, annually using the average change in the consumer price index over the past five years.

Currently, indemnities and allowances for Members of the Legislative Assembly are adjusted each year on April 1st based on the CPI for the previous calendar year. If the status quo is maintained, MLA indemnities and allowances will increase by 6.8 percent on April 1 of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, P3s have a purpose, and I've always said that in this House. They're you know, you're not using capital dollars to advance something in small communities or regional centres, and hopefully not always in the capital. I am I don't like what happened. That was inherited by another they inherited this with another government. And, you know, governments have to inherit bad files sometimes. I've inherited a lot of bad files when I was at Salt River. And I will be voting for the supplementary for that reason because I'm very much about making sure that we move...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Thursday, March the 30th, 2023, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, second by the Honourable Member for Hay River North, that the Legislative Assembly express its sincere gratitude to Mr. Mercer for his dedicated and exemplary service to this House;.

And further, that the Legislative Assembly designate Mr. Tim Mercer as an honorary officer of the Legislative Assembly with an entree to the Chamber and a seat at the table. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this project is probably one of the most important projects on green energy for the NWT. This is a major priority in reaching our emission targets for 2030. Therefore, as the MLA for Thebacha I've supported this project wholeheartedly so we must ensure that there are no roadblocks with the success of this project. Does the Minister agree with that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.