Mr. Speaker, I am trying to advocate for those exemptions so we can get a path to a living wage. I recognize that, the first few months on a job, perhaps it is justified to pay someone a lower rate. However, I think, if we're going to get in trouble with human rights, it's probably the fact that $13.46 at full-time is less than $30,000 a year. People are living in poverty if they earn our minimum wage. The market has moved well beyond this. You cannot hire someone in this territory, a full-time adult, and pay them $13.46. We have simply made our minimum wage irrelevant. Is the Minister willing...

I really look forward to that report. Right now, my understanding is: there are less than 100 people that make less than $13.46 in the Northwest Territories. The vast majority of those people work in bars. I, myself, was a bartender for many years, and I know the paycheque almost becomes irrelevant because you make the money through tips. I want to raise the minimum wage. I want to go high, but I don't want to get pushback from the hospitality industry who's suffering. Many jurisdictions have made a lower rate for liquor servers. Is the Minister willing to do that?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it's a little rich for us to say it's not our mandate to provide home heating and then to tell the communities, which it's clearly not their mandate, to all of a sudden expand and to become a utility. Is the Minister willing to approach the Canadian Infrastructure Bank, where that federal funding is sitting, to fund a territory-wide feasibility study of biomass district heating, and we can find the most cost-effective way to do this for every community in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I echo many of the comments made by my colleagues, and when I look at what we're planning to spend on infrastructure, we're spending $450 million this year. Then, it's going to decline to $364, $282, $275. It's clear we're planning to decline our infrastructure investment because, as the Minister points out, our operating surplus is declining. We are marching toward our debt wall, and we are expected to hit the second debt ceiling we asked for in this Assembly.

I guess what this reflects is a Cabinet presenting a budget where hard decisions have not been made. I...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Hay River North, that Bill 11, Legislative Assembly Officers Standardization Act, be read for the second time. Mr. Speaker, this bill amends eight statues, the standardized provisions related to officers of the Legislative Assembly. The amendments include: standardizing the terms of reference of statutory officers, such that appointments are each for a four-year term; the process for resignation, suspension, removal, and appointment of statutory officers and acting statutory officers; and provisions governing terms of employments of...

I imagine such a process requiring the consent of the Indigenous governments presently in negotiation. To me, that is how we would implement UNDRIP; that is how that would best work. However, this is an issue even in settled areas. There are Indigenous governments up in the Gwich'in and Inuvialuit region where we have settled the claims, who want access to land and they cannot get it because we go, "No, no. We settled those claims." Going forward, the relationship with Indigenous governments should be the same as municipal governments: we will give them land when they access it, when they...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final concern is: the last Assembly made a concerted effort to close the gap, but it barely kept pace with the pace of inflation. Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that this formula needs to be at the will of subsequent Assemblies. I recognize the budget is always fundamental to our approval. However, there needs to be some more certainty. I believe legislation is the tool to do that. Can the Minister speak on her plan to make sure that the gap does not re-emerge for any progress this Assembly does make on it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I did not expect it to be that easy, but I will have a lot more questions for the Minister during our Capital Estimates tabled today. My concern right now is that the way we fund our municipalities lacked any certainty. We agreed to a formula, but we haven't given the money. I believe the right comparative here would be how we fund our education authorities. There're guidelines in the education, there're guidelines in regulations, and then finally, there're guidelines in policy. No one is in doubt that we are not within those parameters. There may be a debate about whether we should give more...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT's economic recovery must be built on strong foundations, and in our case, those foundations are our communities and our municipal governments, Mr. Speaker. Before we want to grow and expand our mandate, we must make sure that our municipalities are taken care of. However, in this case, that foundation is crumbling, quite literally. Our municipal roads, sewers, and basic infrastructure are degrading from the lack of maintenance and unstable footings.

Mr. Speaker, we de-fund our municipalities $9.6 million in operations and maintenance, $6.5 million in...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have no issue with the $110,000 allocated here and the replacement of a chiller. It appears to be necessary infrastructure. However, I have a question about what is not in here. Previously, there were plans for the Legislative Assembly to work with a number of other buildings -- I believe the City of Yellowknife, Joint Task Force North, the museum -- to create a district heating system. I recognize we just replaced the pipes to that area. Was any work done on that, or are there any plans to advance that capital project? Thank you, Madam Chair.