Statements in Debates
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that Section 24(4) of the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to specify that the act applies to additional assistant returning officers, the same as it does to assistant returning officers, except for the limitations specified in Section 24(4). Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to prohibit photography, videography, or phone calls within the polling station and to authorize the Chief Electoral Officer to issue guidance on the usage of electronics in polling stations. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I have two written questions.
The first one is on the Slave Geological Province Corridor. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure. Cabinet's Mandate 2019-2023 proposes to make strategic infrastructure investments, including the Slave Geological Province Corridor. Could the Minister describe the phases of the proposed Slave Geological Province Corridor as found in the Mandate 2019-2023, including the following:
Identify the time frames of construction, how each phase of construction will be financed, and whom the corridor will actually serve;
Identify how...
Thanks, Mr. Chair. This issue was raised by OpenNWT. What they are recommending is that the elections data that is presented is in spreadsheet format or some way so that somebody can take that information and do their own analysis of it. Right now, it is not in a user-friendly format. I think this is in keeping with a more open and transparent government. That's why I think the committee supported this and recommends this for Committee of the Whole. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to expressly prohibit liquor and cannabis as campaign expenses. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank that Minister for that. In the Minister's replies to some email questions that I had sent, the Minister mentioned development of a suicide prevention and crisis response network in partnership with the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority. Can the Minister explain how this partnership will be brought to bear to support communities when a crisis occurs, where these resources will come from, and how communities can initiate the process themselves?
Thanks, Mr. Chair. This issue was raised by OpenNWT. I want to compliment the Chief Electoral Officer. For anybody who has seen her reports, there is a lot of detail in there. There are some good graphics and so on that she has developed and presented over time, but the style and content sort of changes from one report to the next. Sometimes, it is hard to track trends and so on over time. There were also some issues around how absentee ballots are reported, including electronic ballots and mail-in ballots. That arose in the last election. What this does is ask the Chief Electoral Officer to...
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that Section 121 and Section 309 of the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to include a prohibition on the sale of cannabis during the hours a poll is open on polling day. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. In my statement, I outlined some of the good work her department is doing on suicide prevention, but I also pointed out some issues around after-care as highlighted by a constituent with personal experience. Can the Minister tell us whether it is normal practice to develop an after-care plan for individuals who have attempted suicide, how such plans are monitored, and what support is available for affected families? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. This issue was raised by Mr. Wasylciw and OpenNWT. There were some contracts that the Chief Electoral Officer entered into in the last election, particularly around online voting. Although some of the information was disclosed in the report on the conduct of the 2019 general election, it wasn't done in a systematic way. I don't think there was anything that was ever done wrong by any stretch of the imagination, but we just felt that it would be clear and more transparent to have that information presented in a consistent fashion in future reports following the practices that...