Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I guess just a general comment. I would love for us to get to the end of this Assembly and to be able to confidently say that every school in the Northwest Territories has running water, and I guess I look forward to the Minister's follow-up from his vague commitments. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, today is 15 days after the last breath was pressed out of George Floyd while a police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes. In empathy for his family and all who are suffering, I ask this House to show compassion and join me in nine seconds of silence.

Mr. Speaker, as I speak, Yellowknifers march down our main streets to declare unequivocally that Black lives matter. I struggle with my absence, and I struggle that it will be mistaken as silence, the silence of complicity. This world suffers two pandemics simultaneously: COVID-19 and racism. Black people have suffered from...

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Is there an expected deadline for this school to be complete and open? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. ITI's SEED policy describes market disruption as, "Circumstances when, in the opinion of the regional superintendent, the granting of a contribution will likely adversely and significantly impact the revenue earned by another business within the region." This definition plus the duties of a regional superintendent under Section 7.4(c), make it clear that the authority to determine market disruption falls to ITI's regional superintendents and that this authority is discretionary. Will the...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The length of the pandemic today -- sorry. I'm going to start this over because I'm going to trip all over my words, and I'm just going to cut right to the point to allow for my colleagues to ask their questions. Mr. Speaker, what I would like to know is: how is the Minister working with the Chief Public Health Officer in order to balance the advice of the Chief Public Health Officer with the other needs and requirements of the people of the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

I will take that, thank you. In March, the GNWT put together an economic relief package that offered NWT businesses fee and loan deferrals. At that point, the GNWT did not know the extent of the impact of COVID-19. We can now see the devastating impact the lockdown is having on the global economy. Can the Minister confirm if the GNWT intends to extend the measures offered in the economic relief packages beyond the original timelines?

That's great news. I'm sure many businesses will be happy to hear that today. We are now almost three months from when we went into the COVID lockdown. Our territory has been spared the health effects of COVID-19 because of the swift and aggressive decision-making of the Department of Health and Social Services. However, while our people are not ailing, our economy definitely is. The NWT has suffered the worst fall in GDP from 2019, and I'm sure that number will continue to show this year. Has the Cabinet begun to discuss how to balance our healthcare needs with the economic needs of our...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the Minister's commitment. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to know, when someone disappears, there is rarely evidence that a crime has been committed. However, this is a prerequisite for police to seek the court's permission for a search warrant or for personal records to help their investigation. In the earliest hours after someone is reported missing, access to this crucial information can yield clues to the person's whereabouts held within their cellphone, computer, home, and more. A number of provincial jurisdictions have missing persons...

The Minister mentioned that the working group is currently doing an analysis on the calls for justice from Reclaiming Power and Place. What is the deadline for this analysis?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Because of the swift collective response from this government and the people of the Northwest Territories, COVID-19 has not taken the life of a single Northerner. Sadly, the same cannot be said for Indigenous women and girls. Today, I stand in solidarity with advocate, colleague, and my friend, MLA for Inuvik Twin Lakes in condemnation of the number of Indigenous women and girls who have gone missing or have been murdered in this country. Almost 2,400 Canadians shared their personal, gut-wrenching stories for the June 2019 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls...