Katrina Nokleby

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...

Good afternoon Madam Speaker. As everyone is aware, Cabin Radio has been a staple of the northern media scene for the last five years. Launching in 2017 with an online format, Cabin made an application in August 2019 for their FM license to begin broadcasting over the airwaves. On Wednesday, 42 months after submission, the Canadian Radio, Television and Telecommunications Commission, or the CRTC, informed Cabin Radio that Yellowknife’s economy could not sustain a new commercial FM radio station therefore ending Cabin Radio’s bid for FM status.

One of the most shocking things about this decision...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I like this area of the budget. It's really the place where given my or really the Minister's reply that I gave to the budget address today, we can tell that the nondiversification of our economy is quite concerning with the sunsetting of the diamond mines. So my first question is going to be around the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. I note that in the estimates for 20232024 that it's at $1.2 million, and prior to that we saw actuals of $488,000.

So can the Minister or the department please let us know what that significant increase of money is for and maybe just a...