Rylund Johnson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. What is the department presently doing to make sure my residents on the Ingraham Trail do not lose fire services? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My other concern is that there are a number of residents who I am sure do not know that their fire services got cancelled after decades, and I'm worried that they are going to call for fire and either we will be liable or the City of Yellowknife will be liable, as no one told them this service was cancelled. Can the department reach out to all those who have cabins on the Ingraham Trail and inform them of the cancellation of the service and our plan to remedy it?

My concern is that the municipality has been asking for changes to the Property Assessment and Taxation Act for decades, and Ingraham Trail residents have been asking for a resolution to how their taxes and fees are spent for decades. We simply have months to resolve this problem. I believe there are some longer-term solutions, such as a volunteer service, perhaps, such as incorporating the Ingraham Trail such that they can have some control in their governance, but that can't be done in the next six months. Will the Minister approach the City of Yellowknife with funding for an MOU to buy us...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Firstly, I appreciate MLA Cleveland's passion for, she called it the "ice castle," but I feel I'd be remiss if I did not correct that. It is a snow castle. The Snow King would not allow me to get away with that.

Mr. Speaker, starting April 1, 2021, the City of Yellowknife's fire department will no longer respond to calls along the Ingraham Trail in my constituency, leaving residents of that area without fire protection.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I want to reflect on how we got there as I believe, if many systemic problems were not solved, my constituents still would have access...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, October 19, 2020, I will move that Bill 11: Legislative Assembly Officers Standardization Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What's happened over time is that we have allowed more and more people to live on the Ingraham Trail such that it has close to 200 constituents out there, making it larger than many of our communities in the Northwest Territories. Coincidentally, we have not adjusted our Hamlets Act, which has a threshold of 25 residents. They could incorporate tomorrow and would be entitled to millions of dollars such that I do not think it is too early to be having the financial conversation. If we do not address this now and if we lose fire services, I'm going to recommend incorporation, and I'm going to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I speak for most of us in that I am saddened that we got here today, and many of us could picture a path where we were not standing here, and I hope we can find a path forward, moving forward.

I believe that any one of the allegations heard here today would constitute grounds to remove a Minister. No public servant should ever fear their Minister making degrading comments about them. In fact, any time any of us run into any of the vicious rumours that surround this job, I think it is our duty to tell that person to stop gossiping and get back to work.

I am happy...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that, on Thursday, August 27, 2020, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on Thursday, August 27, 2020, it shall be adjourned until Thursday, October 15, 2020; and further, that any time prior to October 15, 2020, 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 later...

The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question is that there is a number of programs going on right now. I don't think we are quite where we want to be. I understand that we are working towards that. Can I get a sense from the Minister of whether this programming is ultimately intended to be run by an NGO, a non-profit organization, or whether we are anticipating, as a government, to be running the managed alcohol programs? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.