Rylund Johnson

Thank you, Mr. Chair. What we are recommending here is the wording "access by design" because that is the wording the GNWT uses. This is really about open and transparent government. It's about proactive disclosure. I would like to thank my colleague from Frame Lake. He asked a number of questions of the Minister of Justice today about proactive disclosure. This recommendation has long come from the Information and Privacy Commissioner, largely with a lens that this ultimately saves us time and resources, saves our media headache; it saves people in departments hassles. I don't know how often...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm glad to see you in that seat today. I'd just like to speak in support of this motion. The GNWT Department of Infrastructure on our good building practices has done a lot of great work in including disability and accessibility standards. However, that work we're very much leaders on has not made it into the private sector. Presently, there is a gap in this area. There is the national building code. Builders go out, they build something, and they think it's compliant with human rights law, and it's not. That can cause a lot of frustration for people who are building...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am happy to move this motion. Throughout Assemblies, special committees are established, and they really do show the priorities of that group. I believe this committee has lots of work to do in this area, and I believe a committee comprised both of Regular Members and Cabinet can truly move this forward as a priority of this House. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. One of the other ways that we presently attract apprentices and encourage our journeypersons to take on apprentices is there is a subsidy for the first couple of years of any apprenticeship. That allows or encourages a tradesperson to take on an apprentice. However, I have heard from a number of constituents that, as that subsidy expires and it's not for their entire term, they struggle to keep on those apprentices. Then sometimes, people do not finish their ticket. Is the Minister willing to look into increasing the amount and length that we subsidize apprentices for...

I look forward to that work. I find it's truly exciting. One of the other issues that we have seen is: it has been very difficult for apprentices to find journeypersons and journeypersons to find apprentices, such that, if you are in a community and you want to be an apprentice, you often have to leave. Four years away from home can be a long time. If you are a journeyperson in that community, it can be hard to find an apprentice. However, I think some of the steps we have taken with putting Aurora College online really can be used in the future to pair journeypersons and apprentices up...

I have no further questions, Madam Speaker.

I am glad to hear we're at 25 percent. That's pretty good, and we're on track to getting to 40 percent. I do note that the short-term goals the Minister refers to are to be completed by 2021, so that gives us one more year. Specifically, one of my favourite sections which I've brought up is the support the residual heat and biomass district heating section. Can I get an update on how that short-term goal is working and whether it will be completed by 2021?

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It's good to see you in the big chair today. I hope you can keep this unruly bunch in line. Madam Speaker, the first week of November is National Skilled Trades and Technology Week, and I would like to congratulate all of our new journeypersons and top-mark earners. My colleagues and I have spoken at length about the need to increase the amount of tradespeople in the North, and I know it's a shared priority both for the Minister and all my colleagues in this House.

However, the numbers are not just low in the Northwest Territories. There's a trade shortage across...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Democracy is not a stationary institution. We must remember that innovation is a cornerstone to truly democratic politics, and as such, we cannot allow our institutions to become stagnant or irrelevant. When we stand here in this House and we're happy with 50, 60 percent voter turnout, I believe we have allowed this institution to become stagnant. I believe this House must champion electoral reform, Mr. Speaker. This is not just our elections. We must also remember we control school board elections and municipal elections in this House.

Mr. Speaker, one of the first ways...

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is the problem. I don't know to what level of oversight I should have of the Housing Corporation's budget, given it is arms-length. I have a lot of concerns with the Housing Corporation's budget and the way it does capital. Is the Minister willing to reach out to the Department of Finance and see what applying our GNWT financial responsibility policy to the Housing Corporation would look like, where the differences are? Thank you, Madam Chair.