Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, employees need to have three years of service in order to be eligible for education leave and then beyond that, the more specific conditions are within the collective agreement. So it is done at a departmental level, and anyone who is considering applying should be speaking directly to their supervisor just to confirm that they're eligible and to go through that process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Madam Chair, I mean I'm I'm not going to speak on behalf of the Government of Nunavut. It does so happen that the deputy minister might know something about what was going over there. So in the interest of collaboration, why don't I see if the deputy minister has any information on that.

Giroque.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the Colville Lake school renovation has been delayed somewhat and so as an interim solution, because the school right now is in quite a dire state, I understand that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment are looking to bring three portables in. Some of that work is getting done now, and that's the money that's reflected here. But unfortunately, the procurement process for these portables was somewhat delayed and so a large portion of those efforts is going to be moved into a future year. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, one thing is that the last year , in fact, I guess the last two summers won't necessarily be indicative of the future costs, and I say that because there's been some efforts there's been an effort to fight more fires in order to ensure that there's you know, basically a lower risk is being taken, and that's as a result of the COVID19 pandemic, the need to, you know, prevent the chances if there happen to be an evacuation of a community, the need to minimize the number of firefighters that would have to come in, the need to minimize the number of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, the first point of contact for all employees is their direct supervisor. We've certainly have employees working with their supervisors throughout the pandemic to ensure that folks who may be immune compromised, for instance, can have access to  to that  to additional information so that their workplace remains a safe place for them. We've worked  the Department of Finance has worked with the WSCC and Occupational Health and Safety. Again, throughout the pandemic, including on the current policy. Always, of course, is mindful not only of the...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the Department of Infrastructure is lead on this. So for that level of detail, I'll turn it over to Minister Archie, please.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am here to present Bill 32, an Act to Amend the Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan Act .

The Northern Employee Benefits Pension Services Pension Plan Act, or NEBS, is a defined benefit pension plan that operates in both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. NEBS provides pension services for municipal, local housing authority, and nonprofit sectors in both jurisdictions. In 2015, each jurisdiction adopted mirror legislation to formally establish the pension plan.

The NEBS pension plan has been in existence, in one form or another, for over 40 years...

Thanks, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I think the Member's listed certainly some of those factors. It's all the same factors as what drives -- when we bring a carryover forward in the spring. It can be a case where a project may not have had its approvals in place, a project might not have been able to find contracting, there may have been delays perhaps in design. There's certainly, in the last couple years, have been projects that have been delayed and, you know, due to COVID. You know, for example, the Tulita Health Care Centre was delayed when people weren't able to literally get into the...

Thank you Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I asked very similar questions when this first came to me. I don't have all the details here. I do know due diligence was conducted. Perhaps I might turn to the deputy minister. He can speak just briefly to the work that was done by the department and by those responsible for our insurance portfolio. Thank you, Madam Chair.