Kevin O'Reilly

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that.

Can he tell us, though, a little bit more about the development of these federal regulations, what impact might that have on our trans-boundary water agreement with the Government of Alberta given that there could be emissions. Like, these tailings ponds are huge. They've been storing water for years. It looks like there's a desire now to start to release this in light of some of the flooding that's been happening and climate change and so on. So what impact is this going to have on our trans-boundary water agreement with the...

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. I do have some questions for the minister of environment and natural resources. Again, I haven't given him a heads up but, look, it's in the media now that the federal government is developing some regulations to allow for the release of water from the oil sands in Alberta. Of course, that would flow downstream past our communities, including Fort Smith.

So can the Minister tell us what involvement, if any, our government has had in the development of these regulations? Merci, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Madam la Presidente. I participated in a Standing Communicate on Social Development and public technical briefing on Aurora College's transformation on October 27th, 2021. It appears that the work is largely on track. As the Minister knows, and I have publicly stated, I support further development of, and investment in, our education system as a whole, including postsecondary education. I support a polytechnic university as way to focus development of our knowledge economy; ensure our investment in student financial assistance is maximized; and, to give to our students more options.

One...

Merci, Madam la Presidente. A hot pursuit question for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. What I didn't hear in her response, though, to my honourable colleague from Yellowknife North was the Building Standards Act. Is that something like, I think this is what's at the root of the problem, Madam Speaker, is the lack of a Building Standards Act here. Is that something this Minister and her Cabinet colleagues are prepared to look at, is a Building Standards Act for the Northwest Territories? We're the only jurisdiction in Canada that doesn't have one. Merci, Madam Speaker.

Merci, Madam la Presidente. Thanks to the Minister for that. I just worry that the window of opportunity's closing.

So can the Minister tell us what specific work is being done to encourage, promote the NWT to the federal government as a good place to invest in postsecondary education? Merci, Madam Speaker.

Merci, Madam la Presidente. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I would like to explore why the Yukon seems to be doing much better than us when it comes to federal investment in their postsecondary education system.

Can the Minister tell us what the specific ask was from our government that resulted in the federal announcement of $8 million in their last budget? Merci, Madam Speaker.

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

Merci, Madam la Presidente. Lastly, I think part of the reason we're not attracting federal investment postsecondary education is that our federal engagement is not clear enough, and it's still focused on big infrastructure that has little prospect of actually proceeding or benefitting NWT residents.

Can the Minister tell us what he's doing to convince his Cabinet colleagues that investment in postsecondary education is a very high priority, even higher than big infrastructure? Merci, Madam Speaker.

Merci, Madame la Presidente. Thanks to the Minister for that. I guess I'm just a little bit greedy, and I would like some more.

I think that part of the reason why we're not attracting federal investment is we don't have a budget or a business case together yet for the transformation and, as I understand it, that won't be finished until July 2022.

Can the Minister tell us what he is going to do to speed up the development of that budget and a case for investing in the transformation and facilities for a polytechnic university. Merci, Madam Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I'll talk today about problems with the federal Energy Efficiency Grant Program that are preventing NWT residents from receiving program benefits, saving energy, and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The Canada Greener Homes Grant Program was established in May 2021 by the federal government and provides cash grants up to $5,000 to private homeowners for energy efficiency retrofits. To receive the grant, applicants must have home energy audits done both before and after retrofits. The Arctic Energy Alliance is the only provider of such audits in the NWT that's...