Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories speak to questions on codrafting legislation and comanagement beyond resourcemanagementbased legislation and discuss this concept with the NWT Council of Leaders. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Mr. Speaker,

WHEREAS section 40.2(1) of the Public Service Act provides that the Commissioner, on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly, shall appoint an Equal Pay Commissioner as an officer of the Legislative Assembly, who is responsible for exercising the powers and performing the duties set out in the act;

AND WHEREAS the position of Equal Pay Commissioner became vacant on November 30th, 2021;

AND WHEREAS the board of management was tasked with recruiting an Equal Pay Commissioner and as recommended an individual to the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Assembly is prepared to...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we heard previously a lot in this House about how the change in policy from a number of leaders on an annual basis for the seniors home heating subsidy was changed to a dollar amount on an annual basis and the impact that that had on seniors. So even a 10 percent increase would have an impact on the amount of fuel a senior could access to heat their homes. So how is this even 10 percent increase expected to have an impact on seniors across the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I could well, a lot of my colleagues could probably attest to the fact that I'm slightly hard of hearing, but I'm pretty sure I heard a sigh from a lot of artists of the Northwest Territories on that one.

Before I was even elected, before any of us were elected into the 19th Assembly, ITI and ECE did engage with artists across the Northwest Territories. They invested a lot of time and a lot of effort, and it was very well received from the artists of the Northwest Territories. And so I think people would be frustrated in order to go back and say the same things...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's another way that we can do this. We could drive it from the GNWT outwards. It doesn't have to be, you know, continuing on with the whole notion and the age-old anecdote of the "starving artist." We can actually prop our artists up, give them an opportunity to bring in huge amounts of dollars into the territory, and go at it from a GNWT perspective, which I think is what a lot of people are asking for given the GNWT already does have a program that supports artists, and we want to be able to see that organization grow.

And so I'm wondering...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a child I have vivid memories, as my mother's sidekick, as artists discussed the needs of the NWT arts community. Many of the faces that advocated then are the same in today's fabric of arts activists, but they're tired of asking for the same things: core funding, independence, and infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, the GNWT released the next tenyear art strategy. Despite several suggestions to improve the strategy from standing committees on both economic development and environment and social development, not one suggestion was considered or incorporated in...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and Aurora College take note of this request that engagement timelines are respectful and sufficient for stakeholders to support meaningful consultation and ensure that the timeframes for engagement and consultation concerning the polytechnic university are adequate. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the committee's report was read into the record on November 30th, 2021 so I do not have any additional substantive comments to add at this time. Individual Members may have comment on the report, and I would like to thank the committee for their work on this report. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the Minister's anecdote about ECE and income assistance being able to help out so that seniors aren't going without. I'm wondering if that is a separate application process or if that is a back end process that is handled by the staff at ECE so that I guess undue administrative burdens aren't being placed on seniors. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of ECE.

In October, the Financial Post published an article speaking to a 300 percent surge in propane prices. This was reflective of prices seen in Edmonton, just south of us. And so I'm wondering if the Minister of ECE has seen any increases to propane costs in the Northwest Territories specific to the seniors home heating subsidy. Thank you.