Katrina Nokleby

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'm disappointed to hear that the Minister doesn't have this answer, considering it's an outstanding request that I have into her department that I've yet to see a response for. Maybe the question is when will the Minister respond to me with my answers to my questions? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I'll make sure to follow up with the ECE Minister when he sits in the hot seat.

My last questions are around the scientific collaborative research projects. I'm always a big, big proponent of this type of work. We've only seen an increase in the number of universities and other institutes that are in the North and working and providing great collaborative relationships in that area.

Can the Minister speak a little bit more maybe to, we obviously we didn't spend anything last year it looks like but then we're back up to the 350. What do those projects entail, and do we...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, it's my understanding that work did resume on the health centre over the last while and that since then there's been a demobilization or a stop of work. Can the Minister speak to that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I appreciate that explanation because it is something that I've never actually really delved into but kind of always wondered about. And don't get me wrong, I fully support the tourism industry and I'm super excited to see all of the return of the blue parkas around town and here at the Chamber, coming in to see the Assembly while we've been in session and such, so fully deserved to the tourism industry. They're doing great work in getting our name out there. And, you know, there is also even a crosscomponent there. You know, there is a need now for or an interest in...

Okay, so not much of an update. Can the Minister respond to whether or not Clark Builders, the contractor for that work, has demobilized from site? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I just wanted to start on page 234 with the increase in funding to the NWT geological survey. I do know that $50,000 of that is to explore the possibility of using the fine silica sand at the Nechalacho rare earth deposit, whether or not there's some sort of cement potential for that. And could the Minister speak to, do we have the results of this assessment around the potential there and if so, do we have potential there? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. And Madam Speaker, I was going to thank you for your latitude in that last question. And given that it's not a super controversial topic, I do really appreciate that. I will leave this as my final question.

If it should be required, will the Minister commit to meeting with Cabin Radio to better understand the situation and ensure that whatever correspondence goes forward to the CRTC that it is, you know, with their input and the Minister's full understanding of the situation? Thank you.

Thank you. I just wanted to make sure I was talking about the right thing before I proceeded. Is there any chance then that this community futures group would be brought back into the fold so to say, and what really is this is again another area where I think perhaps some increased money would be useful as it takes the burden off the department to find the people to give money to and gives it to a different organization. However, I have heard complaints that at times these organizations are not being fairly run or at times that there's appearance of favoritism in the communities.

So can the...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, it's my understanding that the Minister of Finance would like to take my question rather than the Premier, as I stated in my statement.

My question has to do with the CRTC, and would the Minister commit to, on behalf of the entire Cabinet, so having the Premier's signature there, send a letter to the CRTC explaining how Yellowknife works and our small business of Cabin Radio versus our southern international firm of Vista Radio, and intervening on Cabin Radio's behalf? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I do appreciate that the Minister does not have a crystal ball to tell us what's going to happen in the future. But I know that I think I can even speak for my colleagues that this is an area where obviously we would support, I think, increased funding.

Another area where we would support increased funding is under the SEED program. And one of the reasons I really enjoyed like the SEED program is that it's not specific to any type of industry, and really anybody can access. And I very much try to promote people when they tell me they have a business idea that they...