Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Mr. Chair. While I appreciate getting this level of detail now that we are in Committee of the Whole, why was this information not made available as part of the business plan, the exchange of information requests, and so on that have been going on in this Assembly since September? Why am I finding out about this now on the floor of the House in Committee of the Whole? That is probably a question for the Minister. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

More seriously, what systems do we have in place to evaluate outcomes here? I am not talking about convenience for people who work for the government. I am talking about client service. How is the effectiveness of this move, massive move, of resources into Finance going to be evaluated? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I would like to table the following document. It's a letter from Alternatives North to the Premier, with comments regarding the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework document dated February 28, 2019. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. The first day of this sitting, I asked the Minister about the status of the Bathurst caribou range plan, and I still do not have an answer, so I will try again. Can the Minister tell me what's happening with this range plan? Thank you.

Yes, thanks, Mr. Chair. I guess it's kind of hard for us to do this on the fly without knowing what's been moved around in the various parts of the department. I am working from this schedule, and that is not what those folks seem to be working from, which is not a very helpful place to be. That is just a comment. I do not expect a response. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. So do all of these people move on April 1st? Thank you.

I want to thank the Premier for that commitment to share that correspondence with standing committee. I look forward to seeing that. The introductory chapter of the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework starts with "healthy and resilient people" and then has a focus on sustainability. The NWT chapter, though, starts with mega projects and more non-renewable resource developments. Can the Premier explain why there is not a better balance in the NWT chapter, with some coverage of the potential of the conservation economy and the knowledge economy?

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am, of course, just trying to find what it said in the mandate commitment. I think that the understanding was that we were going to actually have all of these remaining agreements signed off, including ones with the Yukon and Nunavut and so on. How come we are not making as much progress on these as we had anticipated at the time that the mandate was put together? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I do not appreciate the Minister speculating or impugning some kind of motives to me on this issue. This is serious. I sat in on the departmental business plan review. This did not get discussed. This was not. This is the first time that I, as a Regular MLA, am finding out that the department is going to contract out the management of our Heritage Fund. This is a serious matter, Mr. Chair, and I don't appreciate the Minister saying that my view is that there should be a 12-person board and trying to impugn that I might want to sit on it or something. That is ridiculous...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Okay, so I guess the business plan is no longer correct, the one that is available on the Department of Finance website. The $25,000 reduction in environmental protection and waste management has now been moved down to environmental stewardship and climate change. Coming out of the departmental functional review, then, there was supposed to be an analyst hired to help to better organize the department, and that position is not going to be staffed now? Is that what's happening? Thanks, Mr. Chair.