Rylund Johnson

I appreciate that, and I know that there is a lot of work to do. It's with each dispatch. I think 911 is a great step, and I think that following these public service standards is great. Sometimes you're better off just calling the fire department directly if you need the fire department in Hay River. We need to eliminate that step. We need to encourage 911 to be always used. When we get the numbers, seeing how many calls are going to the old number, I would also like to see if we, in the report, will have numbers showing how long 911 calls are taking.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think every day there are more and more reminders that we are living in an increasingly globalized world. Whether it be a pandemic or the crashing of oil prices, we are not immune from global forces, Mr. Speaker, none of which is greater than climate change. I increasingly think it needs to be stated that we are not doing enough, nor is any other government. Consistently, scientists are reporting that we will not meet our targets.

I would like to speak to one aspect of climate change adaptation that I think we must take swift action on, Mr. Speaker, and that is food...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I look forward to seeing this first 911 report. I know that there have been some growing pains, and there are a number of conversations. I was wondering if the report will have a comparison of dispatch times post-911 and pre-911.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess I'll be a little more blunt here. I really don't think that MACA currently is being funded properly to get all of its legislation in line, and I would really encourage the Minister to champion this. Let's make MACA one of the most productive legislative departments there is. To do that, you're going to have to fight at the financial management board and fight in this House to bring forward and get the policy work and really push to get this legislative agenda moving. I think everyone who works at MACA knows that there have been requests to get the Property...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess one of my concerns with the local housing authorities is that in many communities you have the housing authorities, you have the Indigenous government, you have the municipal government; we essentially have three or four voices who you could define as the community. I know we're developing a number of community housing plans, I'm supportive of those. I think the first one we've seen is definitely a step in the right direction. In part of those community housing plans would the Minister be looking at changing governance models? I think there is potential here to...

Thank you, Madam Chair. It's an odd theme of our government that we consistently demand to give us less power, whether it be the Power Corporation being run by boards of the Aurora College getting rid of its board altogether, and now also the Housing Corporation. I guess my problem is, with all due respect, this is not a question for staff; this is a question for the Minister. I mean, her staff is not in a position of whether to change the governance structure. That's only something that can be done at the political level. So my question is: would the Minister be willing to look into...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ultimately, I will be supporting this motion. I just wanted to speak to a few things. I think we have to limit expectations of what the role of the Auditor General is. The Auditor General does not make political decisions. They ultimately review financials, and they have been involved with this project extensively and may review compliance with policies. I think there is a larger question here, and it's ultimately a political one, and it's one we're stuck with. If I were in charge back when this decision was being made, I would not have built this hospital, Mr. Speaker...

One of my concerns regarding this is that there are no plans currently to bring the City, Towns and Villages Act forward during this Assembly. I know the department has a lot of work to do regarding the Property Assessment and Taxation Act, which ultimately ties into the city charter issue. My concern is that the municipalities have been asking for the Property Assessment and Taxation Act to be brought forward for over a decade, and the department has been very slow to do so. I don't want to be standing here in a decade, asking about a Yellowknife city charter. Would the Minister be willing to...

I appreciate that answer, and I recognize that this is a new area, but I think carbon offsets and carbon trading are only going to get bigger and they are only going to become a greater source of revenue for the Northwest Territories and green projects. I'm happy to hear that we are working with the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada to make sure we have input into that carbon credit scheme that's being developed nation-wide, so I guess my question to the Minister of Finance is: can we direct the staff who are doing that to make sure that the priorities of the North, and perhaps...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I previously asked questions on carbon offsets to the Minister of ENR and, in time, I will ask them to the Minister of Infrastructure to make sure that any green energy projects can access what is an ever-increasing pool of funding, but I guess, since it's money-related, I will ask the Minister of Finance today: can the issue of carbon offsets be provided to the relevant climate change committee and a policy document be produced?