Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Mr. Chair. As I understand it then, in this work that’s going to be done as early as this summer, there will be questions around suitability, adequacy, and affordability. I’m just wondering, I fully understand the need to have communitybased housing plans, but if that information is not rolled up in some way at a territorial level, how can there be a plan, a budget to actually do the work to get our housing out of core need, and to roll that up does require some level of consistency in terms of soliciting information. I’m not suggesting that one size is going to fit all in terms of the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks to the Minister for helping me to understand the difference between these two tools that the Housing Corp is going to be using. I’m still trying to understand how the current surveys that are going to be sent out, is there going to be questions around costs to bring housing stock up to or out of core need? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that commitment, and I’ll look forward to seeing that report. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I have a couple of rounds of questions for the Minister. The first one is on page 184, under contributions, there’s an early childhood development action plan. I see that there’s actually a reduction of $100,000 there, and I’m just wondering if the Minister can explain that because I understand it early childhood development is one of the best investments we can make as a government, so I’m just wondering what the reduction is all about. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. Last week I made a Member’s statement on the future of renewable energy in the North Slave region. I would like today to talk about the role of the Northwest Territories Power Corp. with regard to renewables and its relationship with the new energy plan announced in this House last week. In the fall of 2015, NTPC issued an expression of interest for joint venture proposals to provide 10 megawatts of electricity through wind and solar in the North Slave. In April of this year, we learned that the process was cancelled. A number of proposals were received and...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. While one of my colleagues was talking reductions, I’m looking at increases in this table for the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority and Tlicho Community Services Agency. There’s some large increases in staff, and those are good things, I think. I just want to hear from the Minister the reason behind this. I think the Hay River situation probably has something to do with this opening of the new health centre there, but can the Minister and his staff explain the rather large increases there? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. There are a number of reductions here, and I’m just wondering if the Minister and his staff can describe what these positions are and whether they’re vacant or not. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess the Minister can probably detect some frustration from this Member. I don’t know where this Federal Engagement Strategy is. There’s been a lot of talk from the Cabinet about this for months. I still don’t have an idea about when it’s going to be completed. We already spent $2 million a year for these health benefits, which people should expect, and that’s the way that we’ve carried out our health care system here for a number of years. This is not a question of lobbying the federal government anymore. This is a question of the law, that the Supreme Court of Canada...

Mr. Chair, I appreciate that the Minister raised the issue at the last federal/provincial/territorial meeting of Health Ministers, but it sounds like we’re waiting. I guess I was looking for something a bit more proactive where our Premier or the Minister would actually write to the federal government and put it in writing. Has that happened and, if not, why? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don’t want to jump ahead to page 198, but that’s where it looks like we spent $2.08 million last year on Metis health benefits. Can the Minister tell us when we might hear something from the federal government, during 2016-17 or in time for the next budget or do we have any sense at all when we might hear from the federal government on this? How is he following it up as well? Thank you, Mr. Chair.