Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Madam Chair. Yeah, I realize I'm probably straying a bit here, but are there any plans, then, to expand the network in the future as a result of the fires and what we've learned or maybe not learned? Thanks.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I have five following documents to table: Letter from MLA Frame Lake to Intergovernmental council Secretariat regarding Bill 29 dated July 14th, 2023; second one, Mr. Speaker, Letter from MLA Frame Lake to NonIntergovernmental Council Indigenous Governments regarding Bill 29 dated July 14th, 2023; Information and Privacy Commissioner Review Report and Order dated May 26th, 2023; ITI Decision Letter dated June 26th, 2023, Observations on ITI ATIPP Meeting Summaries (revised August 2023); and lastly, Mr. Speaker, revised GNWT Chamber of Mines Meeting Summaries with...

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. So given that most of the evacuation costs are reimbursed well, I just don't understand why our support programs haven't been a little more generous and fairer. So I've received numerous complaints about the unfairness and inadequacy of the Evacuation Travel Support Program. So can the Premier tell us whether Cabinet is ready to reconsider the scope and amount of the current program and better support our residents that were evacuated? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. Like most of us in this Chamber, my family and I were the subjects of the mandatory evacuation orders in August and September. I want to extend my personal thanks to all those firefighters, support workers, and other essential service personnel that stayed behind to protect our communities. I also want to thank the Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Yukon governments, the nongovernmental organizations, the volunteers, and businesses that helped support our residents while we were away. I also want to acknowledge that as bad as Yellowknife had it, other...

Merci, Madam la Presidente. I move that the chair rise and report progress.

Yes, I do, Madam Chair.

Merci, Madam la Presidente. Committee wishes to Consider Bills 29, 77, and 82, and Tabled Document 97319(2), Capital estimates 20242025. Mahsi.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. I believe he's quite sincere, and I do appreciate his efforts on that front, so.

I believe it is time, though, Mr. Speaker, to start to think about lessons learned about a fire and emergency management from these evacuations. There should be an independent third-party public review, and I think one of the options that needs to be considered is the Public Inquiries Act. But I'd like to know from the Minister whether Cabinet has a position and a direction on such a review of fire and emergency management. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I'm sure the Minister recognizes that I'm going to keep fighting for better support for the evacuees. But during my statement, I recognized that it was quite an accomplishment to evacuate most Yellowknife residents safely over a very short period of time. However, there can and should be improvements made to how we work together with Indigenous governments, including legislative and policy changes. So can the Minister tell us how GNWT intends to work better with Indigenous governments in the future on emergency management? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.