Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Mr. Chair. So is there any money earmarked in this budget for further work on our remediation economy? And I guess I'm not talking about the $20 million contract that went to a southern firm to do remediation at Cameron Hills where nobody's getting any jobs out of it from the Northwest Territories, but is there any actual dollars in here for further work on remediation economy? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Madame la Presidente. I've had two pages in the House this week from Frame Lake, Aiden Tate and David Munford, and I would like to thank them for their service. Mahsi, Madam Speaker.

Yeah, thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate it. I just have one more question. The northern food development program, one of the things that, you know, there was a joint public hearing or SCEDE had a public hearing I think last week on this, or maybe it was the week before. And one of the things that came out of that meeting was there doesn't seem to be any way to actually measure agricultural production in the Northwest Territories. So we give out money, but we have no way of actually knowing whether there's increased agricultural production; there's, you know, some way of addressing food security...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. So let's talk about the knowledge economy piece. I think somehow the name's been morphed into something called the innovation action plan, which I really don't understand what it means. But I think it gives the connotation that somehow something has to be new and swanky before it's going to get funded. It's really looks like it's really aimed at the commercialization of knowledge. I think there's a number of other aspects here, like, you know, intellectual property rights when it comes to traditional knowledge that needs to be looked at. But in any event, I disagree with...

Yeah, thanks, Mr. Chair. So earlier I'd asked about whether there were any organizations that did not receive the 2.2 percent increase, and on page 230, it's pretty clear that a number of organizations did not receive the increase, or at least areas advance the knowledge economy, Business Development Investment Corporation, commercial fisheries, Great Northern Arts Festival, SEED. You know, I recognize that some of these are, you know, programs rather than individual NGOs but can the Minister you know, some of the other ones did, like community futures, community transfer initiatives. Could...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. So I'm going to ask a question here about contributions to NGOs and partly because finance and administration is found in this particular activity. So I know that the Minister, wearing a different hat, talked in the budget address about increasing NGO contributions by 2.2 percent I think across the board. Are there any NGOs that ITI funds that did not receive this 2.2 percent increase? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chair, I move that the chair rise and report progress.

Merci, Madame la Presidente. I wish to table the following document: It's a letter dated January 13th, 2023 from the Minister of Lands; the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources; the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, to myself dated February 16th, 2023. Mahsi, Madam Speaker.

Great. Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yeah, I appreciate that. Pass it on to some folks that I know. So I would like to know, you know, the name of this activity is minerals and petroleum resources. So how many staff does ITI have that are assigned to oil and gas or petroleum resources, and are all those positions filled right now? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Madame la Presidente. I want to thank the Minister for that. I'd be interested in seeing the project charter at some point, but. And the Minister spoke of the difficulty in staffing these positions. So can the Minister tell us whether there's a recruitment and retention strategy for the territorial midwifery program or what special considerations are required as part of an overall health worker strategy to maintain midwifery? Mahsi, Madam Speaker.