Rylund Johnson

Yellowknife North

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 15)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I previously asked questions to the Minister of Infrastructure about extending the hours of the department of motor vehicles in Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, I recognize that this is a small issue, but it is my intention to go through each of my campaign platform points and try my best, and if I can't have an office buy a couple of hours, then I wonder what I am doing here. The Minister responsible for the Department of Infrastructure last said that one of the barriers to implementing this was cost. I would like to know what the cost would be in adding an additional day to...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 15)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd like to begin with the equity leases. Can the Minister of Lands tell me how many equity leases there are outstanding and the total amount owed on them?

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 15)

Fifteen out of 320, I believe, is a statistic that shows that we're really not tapping into a huge section of our labour pool; that is, women who are willing to enter the trades. Is the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment willing to create a women in trades program?

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 15)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I do understand that there is a difference between land lease fees and taxation. I guess my concern here is we have the Department of Lands acknowledging that there are rights-based cabins and then continuing to charge those people fees. I really don't think that this is the purview of the Department of Lands. I think this is a matter of Executive and Indigenous Affairs. One of the problems is we have seen land administration continue to be a colonial tool where we enforce these policies without looking at the larger picture, that Indigenous nations are saying, "No...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 15)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In honour of this Sunday being International Women's Day, and my constituency assistant Cat McGurk recently receiving her Red Seal in carpentry, I want to speak about women in trades. Canada is facing a spike in trade and technology positions, without the skilled labour to fill those positions. The NWT presently heavily relies on southern labour to supply our various trade needs. Our infrastructure projects, our mines, and our private sector are all put at risk because skilled labour has become such a precious commodity in the North. We need to build up our skilled...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 15)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess my reason for requesting it is because securities administration in the GNWT, as we have seen with Cameron Hills, as we've seen with other departments, it seems to be all over the place in this kind of patchwork process. Will the Minister of Lands pursue a consolidated system to responsibly manage all of our securities, identify securities by project, and guarantee timely postings -- this is multiple questions. Madam Chair, will the Department of Lands conduct a review of all the securities in the GNWT and look to set out one coherent policy for the GNWT?

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 15)

Thank you, Madam Chair. If someone comes forward and identifies that it is a rights-based cabin, do we then not charge them lease fees?

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 14)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Over the years, I think, there has been some discussion with kind of expanding the role of the Chief Electoral Officer to also include municipal elections. I know there are a number of different ways that local authorities run their own elections. I think what we kind of see is that the Chief Electoral Officer gets really busy when there’s an election, obviously, and when there is an Electoral Boundaries Commission. Then we see these fluctuations in the budget. I guess my question to the Speaker is: is there any desire or current conversations happening about expanding...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 14)

I am aware, and I am thankful for all the work that CanFASD does, and I also know there is much work being done. I believe there are 150 people right now in Yellowknife receiving training regarding FASD. However, there is much work to do, especially in regard to diagnostics. My question for the Minister of Health and Social Services is: what is the average wait time for a diagnosis for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in the Northwest Territories?

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 14)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to confirm that that is as set out in the Legislative and Executive Council Act?