Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I think, if anyone wasn't convinced that there wasn't too much legislation before the House, they should have been here last night at midnight. We've heard from observers who have said this is an unprecedented amount of legislation to be introduced so late in an Assembly. I can speak for the personal stress that it's given me, my family, and my friends. This is not healthy. We're not making good laws for our people. We're not making the best possible laws, because of the amount of work that we've had to accomplish in a very, very short period of time. I think this could have...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I want to concur with what the chair said. First off, what we heard: we heard from Indigenous governments. We heard from municipal governments. We heard from industry. We heard from NGOs, individual citizens. There is a lot of interest in the significant public policy matters that have been shunted off to regulations through these bills. A lot of the important substance matters of public interest are going to be developed by Ministers or Cabinet. There is no requirement in the bills for any public participation.

Committee tried, through amending the bills, different kinds of...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I, too, would like to commend our committee and staff for the work that was done. I have had concerns raised with me about procurement practices here in the Northwest Territories. When some of these issues have been brought to the floor, the Minister hasn't been terribly receptive. I guess committee felt that we just couldn't wait any longer for anything to be done.

We had a retreat in Norman Wells. Certainly, I said to the committee, "Look. If we are serious about this work, we have to do something about it." A survey was conducted, and I'm glad to see this work come out for...

Merci, Monsieur le President. I give notice that, on Friday, August 23, 2019, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on Friday, August 23, 2019, it shall be adjourned until Thursday, October 24, 2019;

And further, that any time prior to October 24, 2019, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may...

Merci, Monsieur le President. I have always said in this House that I support mining as long as it contributes towards sustainability and provides benefits to Northerners. Our job, despite some heckles, is to ensure that our government sets clear rules around sustainability and benefits. The Mineral Resources Act is not about promoting mining. It's about setting up a system for mineral rights management. A lot was promised, not all of it delivered.

The bill is really about trying to balance a complex set of rights and interests. The bill was developed by the Minister of Industry, Tourism and...

Merci, Monsieur le President. I wish to table the Draft Rules of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, dated August 2019. Mr. Speaker, this document reflects the comprehensive review of the rules undertaken by the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures to modernize our rules and to better reflect our current practices and procedures. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

I am sometimes confused with the Member for Yellowknife North. It is not a bad thing.

What we were getting was different approaches to public registries in different bills. Committee worked hard to try to make more information publicly accessible through the creation of registries. That was at the request of the public and even industry in some cases and Indigenous governments. We have different approaches to registries that have now emerged in some different bills. I guess we had understood that some of the early discussions around the Environmental Rights Act was about having a consistent...

Thanks to the Minister for that. Obviously, we will want to make sure that many of our special needs are recognized and incorporated into the national list.

The national advisory council report also contained a recommendation on a way to deal with the supply of medications for rare conditions, which are often some of the most expensive prescriptions. Can the Minister explain how this element of the proposal should work in the Northwest Territories?

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am still learning about the legislative process, but my understanding was that, when a bill is before committee, Ministers are not supposed to be doing something with the bill. It is standing committee's right and ability to work with the bill and get public input and seek changes. That is what the role of committee is.

With two of the pieces of legislation that were before standing committee, we only found out late in the day that the Minister, while the bill was before committee, had actually gone out and had discussions or their staff had gone and had discussions with...

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services regarding the development of a national pharmacare program. First, could the Minister explain what our role was in relation to the national Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare, and what our role will be going forward, especially with regard to prescription drug costs and improved health outcomes? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.