Caroline Wawzonek

Madam Speaker, I don't know that there could be a better set of first questions, certainly not coming to me.

Applause

That's a statement about consensus government. That's how we do government here. We're going to sit down, and that's where the consultations take place, is that we sit down, we talk, we learn from each other, and I am very happy to do that. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. And Madam Speaker, so individual departments, of course, will have the reporting obligations to their counterparts in the federal government. And as we go through the review department by department, starting I think later today, we'll have I would certainly encourage everyone in the House to engage exactly in that dialogue of, you know, what is that we have to report back to the federal government on, what is perhaps the nature of that reporting, and, you know, always open to having the conversation about whether we are providing enough information as is available...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I'm conscious of time on this one, I have to admit. Yes, I'm struggling with where to start.

So we have quite a number of programs that we do provide to employees, some that were introduced to as additional items in the course of the COVID19 pandemic. I think really, though, Madam Speaker, this is a much bigger issue. I can say that I had inquired with the department and the conversation around morale which is related perhaps in part, though certainly doesn't encompass everything that I know is specific to mental health but about that wellness of...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, there's not a category of leave that is specific to stress or mental health leave. We do, of course, track and are aware of general sick leave but the specific reasons that someone might be on sick leave is, for I suspect fairly reasonable privacy reasons, that's not something that we are tracking. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Main Estimates, 20222023. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't think any Minister of ITI can ever say they don't want an opportunity to build any sort of new opportunities in the Northwest Territories. But realistically, Mr. Speaker, the Member makes an important point. This is not an operating mine yet. It still has some way to go. There still are some gaps to be bridged. And the conversation where I want to be having is, you know, what are any remaining barriers or challenges that they might face before becoming a successful operation here in the Northwest Territories and putting us on the map for critical minerals and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is an exciting opportunity for the Northwest Territories, not a lost opportunity. I appreciate the Member's interest in the area. Building the refinery is a massive undertaking and requires access to affordable energy, clean energy. It wouldn't have been feasible in the Northwest Territories.

That said, the fact that there is now going to be a mine operating here hopefully going to be a mine operating here, but we're tied into another Canadian jurisdiction, in my view is a reason to go back to the federal government and speak to them about the need for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can speak to that a bit. One of the interesting elements would be actually access to more ore, to more minerals and metals. And fortunately, there are quite a large number of projects that are looking into those possibilities across the Northwest Territories. Although at the moment, that would be one barrier, is just simply not having access to enough. Another big one again, as I already mentioned today, Mr. Speaker, is more green energy opportunities which, again, is something that is a priority for this government. Another one, Mr. Speaker, being access to skilled...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, apparently there were some early discussions with respect to this as a possibility. It didn't go very far, and it was before my time. It's not a conversation I've had despite having opportunities to meet with this company during the virtual roundup week. So, again, not something that occurred in great depth here. But, again, I do think the conversation can advance where, you know, we can now be part of the Canadian critical minerals and metals approach that's happening a strategy that's happening across Canada, and we can be an important part of that value...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This is the third budget of the 19th Assembly. It is an opportunity to restate, and reset, our vision for the economic future of the Northwest Territories.

The first budget came only months after this government was sworn in and was an occasion to describe our approach to managing the government's finances and, more important, our vision for how we would work to improve the overall fiscal outlook for the Northwest Territories. Before that first budget session was even concluded, the COVID19 pandemic began.

Our second budget in 2021-2022 was focused on stability: Both in...