Rylund Johnson

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 73(2) and have Bill 6, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are gaps. I think one of the gaps is we have that open policy, and that work was started by the previous Minister of transparency and engagement. That work has largely not been actualized. I'm unsure if the responsibility of that policy lies with ISSS. Can the Premier make sure that there is a unit where someone is clearly in charge of implementing the goals in the open government policy which was developed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I believe, in the future, I will direct my questions to the Minister of Finance. I do think that the centralization of ISSS will bring some of this work, but ultimately, they need to reach in the departments. Each Minister needs to be responsible for this. I think COVID has shown us that more and more government data needs to be public, and more and more services need to be online. One of the things that should come out of this: every single government service should be available online eventually. Is the Minister willing to put that in mandate letters to department that they work to bring...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe this Assembly needs to take drastic steps to become a more open and transparent and digital government. I would like to thank the last Assembly for all their work on the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. I believe that ATIPP Act is truly one of the best in the country, yet it is still not in force and, during this pandemic, I have heard no shortage of complaints from both media and the public that not enough information and data is available.

Mr. Speaker, the Information and Privacy Commissioner presented her annual report to the Standing...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate all that work that is occurring, and I know that is essentially the work in the long-term care review. I guess I am trying to get a number so I can look at the capital budget and get a sense of every one of these units and beds we build, how much this number would increase. If you don't have that right now, it could be provided to the Standing Committee on Social Development or just a projection of even a sense of what the operating costs are for each additional unit we build, and then I could probably do the math to figure out what this is going to...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess just a general question if the Minister could update me of how and any progress we have made on telehealth and kind of what we can see to continue out of the progress we have made due to COVID-19 and if that is expected to be found in this budget or whether there is a supplemental appropriation for a more digital healthcare system coming. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am happy to hear that, and I look forward to continuing those conversations. Similarly, our society is operated on a Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 5:00, schedule for many decades now, and it's difficult, at times, for the private sector to break away from that, as there are a few key industries and businesses who necessitate that model, and then everyone must follow suit. Can the department reach out to those stakeholders? I think, in this territory, which is so small, we could be a little bit more nimble and flexible and reach out to private industries and see what...

I am happy to hear that. Would this policy similarly allow more flexibility in hours, such that if a worker wants to work later, on weekends or evenings. Perhaps we could get the Department of Motor Vehicles open on weekends if our workers were a little more flexible. Will the plan include that, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have seen significant change to the way we do work during this pandemic. We have seen parents juggling both childcare and their jobs, virtual care being delivered from back porches, and work emails delivered in the middle of the night. I, myself, have practically moved my office into my constituency assistant's living room.

If the work week doesn't change as a result of the last few months, we'll have learned nothing, Mr. Speaker. I am not just talking about within government, but globally. Two lessons I believe we should take away from the recent response to COVID-19...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I look forward to seeing the continued work on the long-term care review. I think we already know what it's going to say, is that, despite the beds in the capital plan, which I fully support, there are simply not enough for the rate that our population is aging. I wanted to get a sense of going forward, this budget line item, long-term care and supported living. As we bring each of these new long-term care facilities on board, do we have any projected financials of what this line item would increase or the increased costs as we bring those units online? If I could get a...