Kevin O'Reilly

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. Lastly, I just wanted to follow up on how our territorial museum can better support important cultural practices like the lighting of an Inuit qulliq.

Can the Minister explain whether lighted qulliqs have been allowed in the museum before, what the current policy is, and the basis for that policy for practice. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, I want to thank the Minister for reminding me of a third point. She just made it for me, that with our overspending, or at least overbudgeting, I'll put it that way, on capital side that we are having to increase the debt limit several times even during my lowly six years here. But once again, the conclusions I draw from this are number 1, that, you know, we are getting closer that debt limit because of overspending on capital; number 2, we have to review the fiscal responsibility policy; and number 3, we're taking money away from basic human needs like education...

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that, and I hope to be present during the renaming ceremony whenever it takes place.

I have to confess to the Minister, I like to hang out at the museum in the archives. He probably knows that.

When I first arrived in Yellowknife in 1985 and visited the museum, there was a fulltime toponymist with a dedicated office and workspace. That's somebody who studies place names. It's not clear to me that we have the same resources dedicated to this important function.

Given UNDRIP article 13 and our government's commitment to implementation...

Yes, thanks, Madam Chair. So I guess I want to start to draw some conclusions here to this because I think it means at least a couple of things to me.

Number 1, we need to review the fiscal responsibility policy about how much and when we can spend money on capital and where it comes from and so on. And when we can't spend 50 percent of a capital budget, the fiscal responsibility policy itself I think needs to be reviewed. And I think we may have a commitment from the Minister to do that. But maybe I'll stop there and I'll ask the Minister whether that's something that's going to happen. Thanks...

Merci, Monsieur le President. There are some issues that I would like to follow up on from the recent royal visit. My colleague from Yellowknife North started to raise some of these issues earlier in this sitting.

The first issue is the need for a new name for the territorial heritage centre and museum. I have raised this issue repeatedly, as has the Member for Yellowknife North in this sitting. I was very pleased to hear the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment say basically, on May 27th, that the only obstacle to renaming the museum is political inertia as there is no requirement or...

Yes, thanks, Madam Chair. That's a problem. We can't spend 50 percent of the capital budget that's approved by the Assembly? Look, that's why I voted against the last capital budget because I didn't believe we could actually get the money out the door. And I've been proven right. And, you know, I don't blame anybody in this room, but and there's but I've asked now for tracking of those reasons for at least five or six years. Is the department actually tracking these reasons any better? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, Madame la Presidente. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 65819(2) Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 20222023 be now concluded, and that Tabled Document 65819(2) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you, Madam Chair.

For.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I move that the chair rise and report progress. Mahsi.

For.