Caroline Wawzonek

Mr. Speaker, the season for planting may still be a long way off, but February 23rd was Agriculture Day in Canada. We have much to celebrate and work towards in support of agriculture in the Northwest Territories. I will also speak to the connection between the agriculture industry and efforts to strengthen food security. Despite the snow and still frigid temperatures, right now is, in fact, an important time of planning and investment for food growers and harvesters across our country and in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, as we mark Agriculture Day this year, the Department of...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that Bill 26, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2020-2021, be read for the third time, and, Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded vote.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just today, started having conversations with communications around the setup for this spring and summer's budget dialogues or budget engagements. Yes, there will be more. Again, revenue options will form part of that. It was tremendous to me the benefit that we had last summer of doing the budget dialogues and hearing directly from different industries and those who are experts in their own industries about what they were hoping to see, and what would work or not work.

The simple answer is to say, yes. We will have the revenue options portion to add to the dialogues, to...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. If I might turn this one over to the deputy minister, please.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have Sandy Kalgutkar, deputy minister of Finance.

Yes, Mr. Chair. I believe I do have some opening remarks. Mr. Chair, over the past few weeks, the Legislative Assembly has been considering the 2021-2022 Main Estimates. In our system of consensus government, Cabinet does not pass the main estimates without at least three supporting votes from Regular Members of the Legislative Assembly. I know there is, at times, a perception that getting these votes would involve deals made one-by-one with individual MLAs rather than through a process that considers the collective priorities of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, it is to the credit of...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that Bill 26, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2020-2021, be read for the second time. This bill makes supplementary appropriations for operations expenditures of the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that Bill 26, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2020-2021, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 27, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2020-2021, be read for the third time, and, Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. A note of caution that, of course, 85 percent of our budget comes from the federal government, so while I'm certainly always going to look for ways to better streamline what money we get and how we can spend it so that we have the flexibility to do things according to our priorities, that, at the same time, the deal that we have, just to be cautious that we aren't looking for greener grass that might not actually be so green. That said, we can't figure out these ideas without having the conversations, and so point taken that those conversations continue to be had. Thank...