Rylund Johnson

Thank you, Madam Chair. There is nothing built into the legislation to specifically clarify that decision. It would be up to the rules and procedures committee and subject to the Speaker, depending, you know, exactly what the scenario was. I suspect all efforts would be made to reconnect the Member and to find a way to make sure they could digitally cast their vote, should they be disconnected. Thank you, Madam Chair.

I look forward to seeing that plan and the timeline for it. Another big, key question in getting this polytechnic off the ground is getting the capital funding, specifically, the capital funding from Ottawa. I know there was work to be done at the Fort Smith campus, work to be done at the Inuvik campus. Yellowknife is looking at the possibility of a new campus. Can the Minister update us on any progress that has been made towards obtaining the capital to building new infrastructure for the polytechnic?

And Mr. Reddy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe now more than ever, we have to ensure that our plan to create a polytechnic university is on track, and ideally, I'd like to see it sooner rather than later. My question is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Is the current timeline as set out on the mandate to establish a polytechnic university on track? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd like to introduce Tim Mercer, clerk of the Legislative Assembly, and Mike Reddy, director of legislation, seated to my left at the witness table.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Although this is a short piece of legislation, it is very much a historic legislation. I am pleased to provide opening comments on Bill 6, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act. Madam Chair, this bill will provide the Legislative Assembly authority to conduct all or a portion of our sittings by way of virtual means. The test for that will be in the hands of the Speaker, and we will sit virtually in exceptional circumstances.

Madam Chair, this bill was drafted in response to efforts to avoid face-to-face meetings of this House in a global...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah, I recognize perhaps the level of detail. I'm looking forward to breaking down this $80 million figure and looking at what is in capital is a bit too much to ask right now. If I could have the department provide it to me? Ultimately, I'm looking to try and get a sense, I know we've done some of this capital planning, but how much we currently spend on road maintenance, whether that is in per mile and what the future looks like for our road maintenance. I know a number of our highways are in really significant need of repair. I don't believe this $80 million comes...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am looking at the item "highway operations" specifically, $80 million, and I would like to get a sense of what this line item entails and where exactly road maintenance falls within the operations budget versus the capital budget. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I respect that, and I know that land issues in the Northwest Territories are extremely complicated and that they can often get held up because they get tied into other, much larger, reconciliation issues. My final question is: can the Minister of Lands update me to any conversations that are ongoing with the North Slave Metis Alliance in regard to this transfer? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

One of the concerns here is that, before the Department of Lands divests itself of lands, there needs to be section 35 consultation. I recognize that there are going to be multiple meetings and there are a number of processes here involving EIA. Can the Minister of Lands commit that they are doing the section 35 consultation, or is that work the responsibility of the city? I'm trying to figure out which party is actually responsible for the Section 35 consultation here.