Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I think I heard that it would preclude the use of the funds directly, and I hate to put our law clerk on the hot seat here, but I guess I would like to get an outside opinion on whether any of the funds in the revolving fund could actually be used for remediation of contaminated sites? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President and, once again, thank you to the Minister for that response. Next year, I will be a senior citizen, but let's not get too excited. In the longer term, the federal government seems poised to finally get back into housing. The Minister is going to meet with her federal counterpart next week, and I commend her for taking that action. What can we accomplish with the federal government's support to better address the issue of housing affordability for the residents of Northlands and, indeed, all our citizens across the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I understand it would be possible to track the funds in and out separately, and that is good to know. What sort of oversight will the Regular MLAs have if this continues to operate as a revolving fund? Is it going to be separately reported in the main estimates? Are we only going to see it in the public accounts? What sort of oversight is there for Regular MLAs if this is set up as a revolving fund? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I am not trying to give the Minister free advertising here, but this is good. I am sure that the website is going to be improved, for the Housing Corporation, as well. I have commended the Minister in my statement today about the good effort on the housing survey, and she has already started to announce some plans for improvement of programs and services. Can she tell me whether any of these new programs and services will be of assistance to residents in Northlands?

Thanks, Mr. Chair. That is a concern of mine. It is the process as well, then, as to who was consulted in preparation of the bill, and I think it would have been more helpful if there had been opportunities for the public to express some views on this, but I understand the department is in a rush to get this done. Can someone tell me whether this is a requirement for the operation of MTS, or is this just the preferred option for the department? MTS could go off and continue to operate, but this revolving fund is not a requirement for the operations? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I, too, would like to recognize a constituent, Yvonne Quick, who is here on behalf of the Yellowknife Seniors' Society today. I also want to recognize her years of volunteer work on behalf of the Northern Frontier Visitors' Association. Merci, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I sit on the economic development and environment committee, and I do have concerns with the bill. In fact, I most likely will be voting against it. My concerns really revolve around a couple of areas. First off, I do not believe that this is a requirement for Marine Transportation Services to operate; and secondly, I am concerned about the purpose of the revolving fund, and what it covers and what it doesn't cover. Lastly, I also believe that setting this up as a revolving fund will limit the ability of Regular MLAs to have oversight on capital acquisitions of marine...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. So the carryover from last year is, if I get this right, $126 million. How does that compare with previous years and is there any overall explanation there? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am a little bit curious about this $250,000 for community engagement and Indigenous consultation. Are resources going to be provided to NGOs or communities to allow them to hire their own expertise or better engage in this process? It sounds like it is going to be a highly technical legalistic process of drafting this new legislation, so if there are any details on what that funding will actually be used for that, you know, whether the Minister has that at his fingertips or would commit to provide it soon? Either way is fine. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

No, thank you, and I appreciate the efforts of the Minister. Thank you.