Kevin O'Reilly

I am always up for a frank conversation with my friend across the Chamber. There is a proposal to renovate the current Garderie Plein Soleil daycare at a cost of approximately $1.2 million. When the first request was made, funds were available from Heritage Canada if GNWT matched the funds, but the project has been rejected twice by our government, even after Heritage Canada increased its potential funding. Can the Minister explain why the project has been rejected twice, even after Heritage Canada funding was increased?

Merci, Madame la Presidente.

[Translation] In August, the Minister of Education brought an end to years of confrontation and uncertainty for French language students and families by rescinding the Ministerial Directive on Admissions for French language schools. The Directive was too long the basis for a series of costly legal actions, and was replaced with new regulations governing admission to First French language schools.

The new regulations were warmly greeted by the Commission scolaire francophone des Territoires du Nord-Ouest, which manages École Allain St-Cyr in Yellowknife and École...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. You're going to remember my riding before the end of the Assembly, I'm sure. Look, I want to defend my colleague's right to bring forward another motion for a reduction. I think the rationale for the reductions is quite different than the previous motion. I want to support his ability to bring it forward. That doesn't mean I support the motion itself. I would hope, too, that we're not going to end up in a game of bringing forward further amendments to arbitrarily reduce this line item in the supplementary appropriations. I think Members would lose patience in that. I'm...

Thanks to the Minister. It's a great day in the House when we get such fabulous answers. No, seriously, I do appreciate them very much. The poverty strategy talked about an integrated continuum of services, and I think that sets a good benchmark for how the seniors' strategy might roll out. How does the Minister intend to integrate cross-departmental delivery of coordinated services now until the development of a strategy with a view to the needs of seniors and elders?

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I do appreciate that commitment, and it's, I think, prudent financial management. Earlier, I mentioned how there have been mixed reactions from my constituents. I had an online constituency meeting I think it was early in October about this, and certainly, it was a big source of discussion. I do need to say that I think the communications around the COVID secretariat left a lot to be desired, and I think we've all learned from that experience, I hope. I don't think it was communicated very well.

This is not about creating some new institution or department or something. This...

Merci, Madame la Presidente. My question is for the Minister responsible for Seniors. In the debate leading to the adoption of the motion calling for creation of a seniors' and elders' strategy, it was the position of the then Minister that a specific strategy would likely not be possible owing to COVID. He said that action on senior-related activities would be pursued piecemeal. I would like to know from the Minister: is this still the position of the new Minister responsible for Seniors? Mahsi, Madam Speaker.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I do have some questions and some comments I would like to make about this particular item. The first thing, though, I will start with some questions. I have had mixed reaction from some of my constituents about this COVID secretariat, and there is a lot of concern about the amount of money that we are being asked to put into this. I want to get a commitment out of the Minister of Finance or the Premier about some kind of regular reporting of the expenditures for the COVID secretariat functions to year-end and maybe into the new year, as well. Can I get some kind of...

Merci, Madame la Presidente.

The committee recognizes that how legislative assemblies across the country operate have had to undergo many changes due to the pandemic. The operating procedures have been adapted quickly with mixed results, with numerous technical issues that may impact individual Members or the Assembly as a whole. To ensure all Members are aware of different procedures during a partial or fully remote sitting, the committee therefore recommends:

The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the Legislative Assembly direct the Office of the Clerk to produce a...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I don't need this information now, but can the Minister commit to sharing what those minimum service levels are with Regular MLAs so we have some sense of what the airlines are committing to? I think that is probably of interest, particularly for the MLAs from smaller, remote communities. Can the Minister commit to sharing that information with us? If it needs to be done in confidence, I'm fine with that, but I think it would be helpful to have. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Madame la Presidente. In June this year, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, who is now the Minister responsible for Seniors, sponsored a motion calling for creation of a seniors' and elders' strategy. As pointed out in those debates, action on this growing sector of the population is now guided by a 2014 strategic framework that focuses on health-related aspects of aging. The motion called for expanding that vision with an integrated strategy that takes into account issues beyond healthcare. The successful motion called for a strategy that "provides a whole-of-government approach to...