Kevin O'Reilly

Yes, thanks, Madam Chair. I agree with my colleague from Yellowknife North on this. In the last Assembly, we worked pretty hard to ensure that our constituency assistants, they're now eligible for, you know, different kind of benefits. And we worked hard to try to promote them as employees here within the they're not within the civil service but trying to make sure that we could find some ways to keep our constituency assistants as well. I can tell you that I pay my constituency assistant more than $25 an hour, and I think they deserve a living wage, and this is probably in about the...

Thanks, Madam Chair. So I've been here for two Assemblies, and I can tell the public that this already happens. This is the case. You know, in the orientation Members are made aware of their options for pensions. There's a deadline. You get a reminder. This already happens. But I'm okay with accepting this but I can tell you from practice it already happens. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Yeah, thanks, Madam Chair. So I would encourage members of the public to actually read the report from the commission, particularly on this area. You know, we budget $30,000 a year as an Assembly to provide child care expense reimbursement for those Members that have children. And we worked very hard in the last Assembly to try to make this place more family friendly and to encourage young people to run for office and to make sure that they had the ability to participate and, you know, get child care expenses covered given the duties and the time and travel that it takes sometimes to be an MLA...

Yeah, thanks, Madam Chair. I think this was probably the result of perhaps just a misunderstanding on the part of the Commission Members. The Board of Management doesn't determine committee membership. And the balance, that's really up to the Regular MLAs ourselves to do with regard to the standing committees. We do that work, and we do it you know, we've done it a couple of times, more than that even in the lifetime of this Assembly, where we've had Members new Members arrive as a result of byelections and we just kind of assess people's interests and then assign people. People can...

Yeah, thanks, Madam Chair. Just for the benefit of the public, if this fund is established I guess it will be up to the Board of Management to develop some rules around how it's allocated and, you know, ideas around whether it's first come first served, or there's some set aside for each MLA on application. I have confidence that the Board of Management will develop some rules around those, and those will come back to the MLAs to have a look at. I do want to make sure that access to this is done in a fair manner and that, you know, those that may not be that there might be some assistance in...

Thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, I too agree with this motion. I think we do need to change the names of at least one riding in Yellowknife, and I'm not even going to use the word because I earlier today called it colonial and racist, and I'm trying to consciously not use that word anymore, so. But I see that, you know, this piece of legislation, and if I can get the name right here, Territorial Emblems and Honours Act, and I think there's an advisory committee established underneath this act if I get this right, or if sorry, Northwest Territories Honours Advisory Council or I think we have another...

Merci, Madam la Presidente. The committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 52819(2), 2021 Review of Member's Compensation and Benefits Northwest Territories; and, Tabled Document 65419(2), Electoral Boundaries Commission Final Report. Mahsi, madam.

Yeah, thanks, Madam Chair. I too will support this. I just don't think we do a very good job explaining what we do here and anything we can do to improve our way and means of telling people what we do here, I am in support of. And I think there's some reasonable ideas and suggestions here, and I know that some of this work is already underway by our public affairs folks. So I have no difficulty supporting this motion and the work that our staff are already doing. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. It's a very interesting position. It's okay to plan and build roads into the range of the Bathurst caribou herd while the herd is in a precarious state but it's not okay to pause this work while we look at the future of the entire region. You know, I'm worried, Mr. Speaker, that this government is going to go ahead and file this project for regulatory approvals, land use permit, water licence, no matter what. We're heading straight for another Mackenzie Valley Highway Environmental Assessment that is now over nine years long...

Merci, Madme la Presidente. I move that Committee Motion 28319(2) be amended to read as follows: That this Assembly recommends that the Yellowknife Members of the Legislative Assembly be permitted to apply to the Board of Management to establish an office in Yellowknife outside the Legislative Assembly building as is the case with all nonYellowknife Members. Thank you, Madam Chair.