Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a set of questions here that I'd like to ask the Minister of Infrastructure today.

My first question is in regards to the DIMS system that the GNWT uses to house all of its documents. And I'm wondering why is DIMS housed within the Department of Infrastructure and not within the Department of Finance where the Office of the Chief Information Officer sits? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And, yes, a good message to all Ministers, I am watching your social media very closely.

Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering how this framework will help reduce silos and how will it be ensured that departments are coordinating in their software and hardware purchases? Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, why has the GNWT overspent its computer hardware and software budget for every year during the 19th Assembly, and how does the GNWT intend to more accurately budget its digital infrastructure spending? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, every session we pass a capital budget, operations and maintenance budget, or a supplemental appropriation budget for government spending. Tucked away in every one of those budgets are million dollar expenses to sustain or improve our government's hold in the digital world. Over the years, these dollars have turned paper medical records into digital archives that allow residents to access more consistent healthcare across the NWT. Some of these technology upgrades allow us to now order birth certificates or healthcare cards online, and some, in turn, are...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is it reasonable to expect for this to be done before the end of the 19th Assembly? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I, once upon a time, used to work at the Department of Finance, I had the privilege of using DIMS. I adored DIMS. It makes it easier to finds documents and store them and share them with your colleagues. So, Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering what departments still need to be loaded on to the DIMS system in order to access it as part of their regular workspace? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the things that the government is doing is currently evaluating all of the redundancies and efficiencies of its programs and services through government renewable. And so I'm wondering if ISSS itself is involved in its own government renewal process focused on the interoperability of GNWT digital infrastructure and redundancy reduction between GNWT departments. Right now there is a lot of silos happening, there's a lot of fragmented digital systems, there's a lot of purchasing that's happening individually within departments, and so I'm wondering if...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the department is taking note and putting in better controls to look at the spending on digital infrastructure. And just to be clear, I'm not opposed to digital infrastructure. I want to be clear as to what my interest is in this. Since the very beginning, I've been asking about integrated service delivery of the public service, and this is one of the barriers to being able to do that properly.

So given the great need for interoperability to properly serve NWT residents, does the NWT intend to create an interoperability framework? Thank you.

Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker. I don't think his MLA can see him, but I'd also like to recognize Dave Brothers who is up there. I've known him for a long time. He's here as a happy grandparent, I think, today, and also Corinne Nitsiza is also a very talented beader and I think a couple of us own some very gorgeous earrings by her. So it's always nice to get to have the artist in the House too. So thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a second round of questions for the Minister of Housing NWT, specific this time to the homelessness strategy.

Mr. Speaker, last year the OAG audited public housing in the Yukon. The OAG found that the Yukon Housing Corporation did not have complete, timely, and relevant information to manage programs and benefits. Three of the nine recommendations coming out of Yukon's audit were on data collection and analysis. Has the Minister been briefed on the results of the Yukon audit and on how those lessons could be applied here in the NWT? Thank...