Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me sneak this one in first and just say that there is the GHG grant program for buildings and industry that does give a 25 percent eligible project cost for business and industry applicants. I want to sneak it in so that the business community does hear that and does access those funds.

Mr. Speaker, we've asked, other governments have asked, a number of Ministers have asked, hasn't gotten us very far in terms of being exempted from the carbon tax. So the Minister here has heard it himself. What I'd like to do, though, moving forward, let's get...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's not my place necessarily to speak to what is or is not in the federal budget. What I can say, Mr. Speaker, having spent a lot more time studying in depth what was in Budget 2022 of the federal government is that there is still opportunities to use that money towards addressing the fact of the carbon tax. In addition to which is they're only just starting to roll out what's happening in Budget 2023. We want to strike while we can, Mr. Speaker. I am glad there's a minister in the House from the federal government. We want to use all of the resources of...

Mr. Speaker, this one we've tried. We've tried. I've tried. Other jurisdictions facing similar situations have tried. Other territories have tried. And we haven't gotten very far. Mr. Speaker, I want to look forward, and I want to find solutions that's going to reduce our carbon tax costs in the North because we have less reliance on fossil fuel use. And that's the point of the carbon tax, is to get people off of fossil fuels. We don't have alternatives in the Northwest Territories. But if that's the federal government's goal, then the federal government needs to help us get off of fossil fuel...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to have a page from Yellowknife South here again, Cayley Ibusosch is with us. If we could recognize her today, please.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the carbon tax fails to recognize that the Northwest Territories residents, the majority of whom are Indigenous, do not have access to alternative heating fuels, have no ability to lower their heating costs. Some of our communities are literally falling into the Arctic Ocean and others are being washed away by unprecedented flooding. All are facing the increased financial burden of adapting to and mitigating the risks of a warming climate. But none of our communities contribute meaningfully to Canada's greenhouse gas emissions, and none are responsible for...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 89, Appropriations Act (Operations Expenditures), 20232024, be read for the second time.

This bill authorizes the Government of the Northwest Territories to make appropriations for operations expenditures for the 20232024 fiscal year. It also sets out limits on amounts that may be borrowed by the Commissioner on behalf of the government, includes information in respect of all existing borrowing and all projected borrowing for the fiscal year and authorizes the making of disbursements to pay the principal of...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House Bill 84, An Act to Amend the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation Act, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents: InterActivity Transfers Exceeding $250,000 from April 1st to December 31st; 2022; InterActivity Transfers Exceeding $250,000 from April 1st to September 30th, 2022; and, the Diversity and Inclusion Framework document. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not in disagreement and I don't think the department's in disagreement. I just want to figure out how to roll that out. As I said, I was listening, and the department was listening, I and was in conversation with them as we were listening virtually. So right now it's a $1,200 bilingual bonus paid to employees who have Indigenous language skills. But it's indelible employees, so someone who's in a position or a role where they can see some sort of benefit of speaking that official language.

Mr. Speaker, there's always a benefit in speaking that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it so happens as that report was being read in yesterday, I asked for a status report on action 2.2. I can say that the Department of Finance and ECE are working together with the Indigenous or interdepartmental Indigenous languages committee. We are on track to have that delivered sorry, to have the program ready for delivery third quarter of 20232024. So basically that would be this fall. I don't know obviously yet how many residents or how many employees would be participating in that, but would certainly be looking forward to promoting that to...