Rylund Johnson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In October 2020, the City of Yellowknife voted to end fire services on the Ingraham Trail. The most frustrating part of that decision was that residents were only given six months to find an alternate solution. I implored the Minister during the multiple city council votes to send someone from MACA to ask for more time, knowing full well that the GNWT could not find a solution within six months, but GNWT bureaucracy doesn't move quickly and the idea of someone approaching city council to pitch a case without going up and down eight levels of bureaucracy first was an...

Mr. Speaker, I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, it shall be adjourned until Thursday, May 27, 2021;

AND FURTHER, that any time prior to May 27, 2021, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, or at a time later than the scheduled resumption of the House, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House...

This is stemming from the larger long-standing issues where the GNWT and federal government gave a bunch of people fee simple, they started allowing more and more leases, and they created a cabin built-up area, as the Minister refers to it. However, it is not designated as anything, and people on the trail pay taxes every year and receive no services. They live off grid. They do not receive power, water, or sewer, so it has fallen into this area where, the Minister is completely right, it's confusing who exactly is responsible for what.

However, one of the concerns I have is that the department...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Presently, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is consulting with Ingraham Trail constituents and they are giving them the option of paying $1.7 million to start up providing fire services and, thereafter, $1.2 million annually. I'm a little confused, and in the resources provided, there is no real explanation of what these numbers are, where they came from, or what they're going to get. Can I just have some explanation of what that $1.7 million and, thereafter, $1.2 million would actually be paying for? Is it buying a fire truck? Is it hiring staff? What...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would have preferred committee to support the recommendation of the Chief Electoral Officer. The days of having prohibition on election day are long gone. They arise from the time when politicians used to fill bars and buy votes. Nowadays, it's an annoyance and a loss to the hospitality industry. I know many people who would like to watch the election results come in and maybe enjoy a beer, and here we are saying that they can't do that nor can they go purchase cannabis. I am opposed to this motion. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am glad to hear that this is something that the Minister is looking into. I think that one of the concerns that I have in this area is that the resources seem to be in a lot of different places. I know that Legal Aid does good work, and I know that the court workers do good work. The law resource centre could use a little work. There seems to be a lot of resources in different places. I think the solution here is really bringing them together into some sort of arm's-length law centre, a place that could take on articling students. I know there is talk in this...

I was really hoping that we could free the books there. I think there is a larger question here about, since the cut was made to the law library, whether there are any plans in this area. That would begin with reinstating a law librarian position. Does the department have any plans to reinstate a law librarian?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thought I moved to Hay River for a minute. Mr. Speaker, I love libraries. Libraries are community hubs. They are one of the last true public third spaces. They are keepers of knowledge for generations. I also love the law. I love the work we do in this House. I love the complex work society does of putting all of our norms into the written word. It should come as no surprise that I love law libraries, and one day, I wish to live in a place with a law library. In fact, if I lived in any other province or territory in Canada, I would be able to access a law library...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Despite my willingness that maybe bars and restaurants could serve alcohol on election day, I think it would be ridiculous to allow Members to expense alcohol and cannabis as part of the campaign. Thank you to committee for this explicit direction. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the Guiding Principles and Process Conventions for Consensus Government in the Northwest Territories dated August 2020.