Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Madam Chair. First off, I love fish and I'll eat it as often as I can get it. But in here there's $2.2 million for operations of the Hay River Fish Plant, and just wondering is this going to be an ongoing expenditure over time or what's happening here? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Yeah, thanks, Madam Chair; that's what I was worried about. So there's only $2 million left in this supplementary reserve and we're, what, about maybe two months into the financial year, and there's probably likely to be maybe two, three more supplementary appropriations. What happens when that reserve is finished? Do we have to go shortterm borrowing and pay increased borrowing costs and so on; what happens? Thank, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Well, I'm glad we came to the same conclusion. That was the figure that I had as well so glad the Minister was able to find that.

So this money here, is that going to prevent this from happening again? Is that what the basically that's what the objective is? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. Committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 94119(2) and Tabled Document 94019(2). Thank you. We'd like to consider the operations sup first and the infrastructure sup second. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. So one of the line items here is to provide funding for obstetrical services at Stanton Territorial Hospital, $762,000. Can someone just explain to me what period of time this covers and what this funding is going to be used for? Thank you.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I move, seconded by the Member for Thebacha, that Bill 91, An Act to Amend the Petroleum Products and Carbon Tax Act, No. 2, be read for a second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill amends the Petroleum Products and Carbon Tax Act to establish an annual report with respect to the administration of carbon tax under the act. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks. Well, we can quibble over deadlines, but the Minister's words were by the May/June 2023 sitting. We've got, what, three days left, so I would appreciate getting it with enough time to actually look at it and raise any issues that need to be followed up on hopefully in the House. So I appreciate that we may get this tomorrow. But I don't think this is going to solve the rates stabilization fund problem which seems to be ongoing and structural with NTPC. And, you know, I worry that the next Assembly's going to be faced with the same issue again and again and again until we come up with a...

Merci, Monsieur le President. Of course, these projects also have the potential to destroy the Bathurst caribou herd. So I'm well on record as opposing any large infrastructure that will have irreversible effects on the Bathurst caribou herd, especially at a time when the numbers are critically low and without a balanced management response, and that's precisely where we are, Mr. Speaker, because there's been no efforts towards permanent protection of key habitat.

So can the Minister tell us whether there was any discussion of the impacts to caribou or other environmental matters during this...

Yeah, thanks, Madam Chair. I think the real relief here is for NTPC to get off diesel and this is part of a bigger discussion, I guess. But this same thing happened in 2014 and there had to be huge money put into NTPC for rate stabilization at that point. So this just continues to happen again and again and again. And it's because I don't know, I've just NTPC should be focusing on doing itself out of a job and building, you know, energy selfsufficiency for communities and for households, and that's not what they're doing. They're trying to build big projects and maintain systems that are...

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure about her recent trip to the US Embassy. Can the Minister tell us the purpose of this meeting and who else was there? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.