Kevin O'Reilly

Merci, monsieur le President. Like many residents of the Northwest Territories, I have been mulling over the dramatic changes to our lives as a result of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Very few of us could have predicted in January where we are today. Many have lost their jobs or had their income severely reduced. Students have lost the opportunity to fully complete their studies this year. Many parents and guardians are struggling with adapting to work from home.

On the positive side, there have been significant government assistance programs developed and delivered in very short order...

Thanks, Madam Chair. I also have some questions about the large-scale commercial and industrial something-or-other related to the Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund. As I recall, there was some kind of proposal submitted to basically give money to industry that did not meet initially with Environment and Climate Change Canada's approval the first time around, so they had to go back and renegotiate something. What is this program all about? If they have to provide details offline, I guess I would appreciate it, but I don't, sort of, ever recall seeing a request for submissions or applications...

Thanks, Madam Chair. I guess we're fortunate the deputy minister knows the deputy minister who served before in ENR. Is this like a scientific study, and who is actually carrying out the work? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Look, I have been up to Canyon Creek. I have seen the road. It was parcelled in a way that allowed the community to take better advantage of it, but that is not the project that was submitted back in 2013 to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. I just want to caution the Minister to make sure that, if you are going to submit something to environmental assessment, you better have it scoped out properly and you better have the money to do it. Otherwise, it's wasting time and it's wasting money.

If I had to pick one of the three big projects, I would...

Thanks, Madam Chair. On page 227, the contract services amount last year was $3,978,000. This year it's $4,332,000. Can someone explain what's happening there? Thanks, Madam Chair.

I want to thank the Premier for clarifying that, and I'll stand down a little bit, myself. I guess I had misinterpreted that to say that the letters have actually been finalized. I understand that they are in draft form. Can the Premier confirm when she intends to share these letters with the appropriate standing committees?

Merci, Mr. Speaker, and I'm sorry I didn't give the Premier a head's up, but it's on the list for today. I'm wondering if the Premier can tell us whether mandate letters have been prepared for each of the Ministers? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the Premier for that. I agree that it is time to review the mandate. Probably, you need to collectively look at the priorities we developed. I want to say that GNWT's economic assistance programs to small businesses have been very slow and uneven. I am going to have a lot more to say about that, but I want to ask the Premier about overall planning for economic recovery. We have had an initial presentation without specifics, but can the Premier tell us now how the views of Regular MLAs are going to be incorporated, and when does she anticipate this effort really starting to take...

Thanks, Madam Chair. There was a review of Arctic Energy Alliance. It's adjusted some realigning of some of their work, and I am just wondering how we are making out with that. There is a lot of additional funding that is coming from the federal government that is going into Arctic Energy Alliance. How is that work progressing, and have they realigned their programs according to the evaluation that was carried out? What's happening? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, monsieur le President. My questions are for the Premier, who is coordinating the GNWT's pandemic planning and recovery. My statement earlier today reflected on some of the lessons learned to date. I recognize that we are still in the midst of the pandemic, but we must have learned some lessons and best practices by now. Has the Premier begun to plan for a thorough and public review of GNWT's pandemic planning and response, and what sorts of specific measures or steps can we expect to see? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.