Kevin O'Reilly

Mr. Chair, well good thing I'm not an accountant. So I guess the bottom line here is that we have to this money is now showing up on our books as money that we're spending, and we've got $22.4 million less to work with? I am confused at the best of times. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Mr. Chair. Committee wishes to deal with Committee Report 3619(2), Tabled Document 74719(2), Tabled Document 74819(2). Mahsi, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. So can someone explain to me, in plain language, what this extra $22.4 million is all about? It's some sort of change in accounting treatment. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Madam la Presidente. I want to thank the Minister for that. Well, let's talk about some systemic change here, then. So in our current inflationary situation, price increases have been highest on mandatory costs, including food and shelter, rather than discretionary purchases, meaning poor people suffer more from inflation. So will the Minister take this affordability crisis as the opportunity to construct lasting measures, like a guaranteed basic income, that directly addresses the cost of living? Mahsi, Madam Speaker.

Well, thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that, but I'm not going to continue the debate here. I got the Minister on record, and now I'm going to hold our government to account for that. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Madame la Presidente. I want to thank the Minister for recognizing that the minimum wage is not a living wage, and it keeps people in poverty. So through the work of the minimum wage committee and ECE analysts, you know, there's a lot of information that's been compiled. I also put together this percentage. 90 percent of our workforce received a page topup program because of how low our minimum wage actually is here. So can the Minister commit to developing and regularly update an actual living wage for each of the 33 NWT communities? Mahsi, Madam Speaker.

Merci, Madam la Presidente. I want to thank the Minister for that. Now look, you don't need the regulations to start reporting financial security now. You don't need the regulations; just start doing it. So I know that our government has a protocol with some Indigenous governments around codevelopment of lands and resources legislation and regulations, and I support that process. However, our government seems to have forgotten that it must ensure that the public has a say in the development of legislation and regulations. More than eight years after devolution, there's been very little, if...

Merci, Madam la Presidente. I'm still trying to pick up my jaw because I couldn't find the contract anywhere in the OpenNWT contract website. But Madam Speaker, I think the fix is our government seems to be poised to accept surety bonds without a real plan to prevent further public liabilities like Cameron Hills and Mactung. So can the Minister tell us why his department has identified surety bonds as the top priority when it comes to financial security in preventing further public liabilities? Mahsi, Madam Speaker.

Merci, Madame la Presidente. On October 21st, I volunteered for an interview with staff from Ernst & Young and the Department of Lands concerning a contract to consider whether GNWT should accept surety bonds as a form of financial security for environmental disturbances caused by industrial and commercial operations. I have raised concerns in this House in the past about this form of financial security and whether it is truly unconditional, irrevocable, and immediate.

Members may recall that for the first time in 2014, the GNWT accepted surety bonds backed by insurance companies for the Ekati...

Yeah, okay, thanks. Look, I don't want to prolong this; I just think it should be spelled out in the bill. I trust the Speaker and so on, but I just don't know why we don't write this stuff out in the bill itself as to which parts are going to come into force right away. But I do support bringing the changes to the mandate and the authority of the Integrity Commissioner into force right away, just for the record. And I want to thank the commission for their work in bringing forward a number of matters that are contained in the bill. Thanks, Mr. Chair.