Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So under the First Nations Policing Framework Agreement, there's not there's a desire, if possible, to recruit Indigenous police officers. But aside from that, this particular funding agreement doesn't necessarily speak to alternative forms of policing or alternative community supports. It's outside the scope of the supplementary appropriation but I'd suggest the Member might be interested in looking at what's happening in Fort Liard right now where I think there is a community policing initiative underway. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that Bill 5, Supplementary Appropriation Act, (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 20232024, be read for the second time.

This bill makes supplementary appropriations for infrastructure expenditures of the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 20232024 fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So these are demand this is demand driven as I understand it. So I can start one at a time.

We've got the referred diagnostic laboratory services. That is a funding shortfall to the laboratory services that we are under contract. So we send materials for testing to Dynalife Medical Labs, and it's a multiyear contract. They're set fees. If our usage goes up, then we have to pay more.

Under chemotherapy drugs, similarly, Mr. Chair, if we wind up having a greater uptake or greater usage of those or a need, then the costing will, again, go up.

And similarly, radiology...

There we go. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I've lost my train of thought with all the physical activity there. But so it is a SEED program. There's a SEED directive that was issued back in the summer. The SEED directive provides details on eligibility and application process. I believe the application form is online if I'm not mistaken. And that application and that SEED directive is effective until March 31st of this year. This is the first chance given the election for us to come forward and seek a supplementary appropriation for funding that would have been received from CanNor. The Department of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I mean, in this exact moment we are compliant, but depending on where the final numbers come in at the end of the fiscal year and all reconciliations and accountings are complete, if we are running a deficit there could become you do a complete calculation in terms of the available balance for the to provide for the 50 percent of capital funding. If the deficit becomes too significant, there is a risk that we would be offside of that in terms of not meeting the 50 percent. However, within that policy, there is a twoyear timeline within which, if there is an...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. No, it doesn't. That was a good example of the bilateral agreement. Perhaps initially not quite an action as intended but then brought back into the front of mind and being utilized thereafter hopefully as intended. No, this sup appropriation reflects the fact that money can be carried over, and in this point there's some unspent funding that's being that gets held over but can be brought forward, and that's the situation that we find ourselves in, and that money is being brought forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we certainly do have the trends tracked since 20192020. I can share that with the Members if that's of interest.

There is a significant growth in the last couple of years, and I would say that that does track with what's being seen, I believe, over in the Department of Health and Social Services as well. One of the most significant impacts we've seen has been as a result of dental appointments which postCOVID so, again, looking at the last two years and it's postCOVID is the dental services in communities and regions have not been reestablished, and that has...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On March 1st there will be increased foster care rates coming in determined after historically similar to looking at CPI. So with CPI being high, the rates go up. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think so.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd be more than happy to report back. I can say certainly beginning in the last government, I had an opportunity to have some Saskatchewan Research Council folks meet with members of our government, senior officials. I'd like to follow up on that work myself. I do know the GNWT is a part of a federal, provincial, territorial SMI working group that's led by Enercan or Natural Resources Canada. So we do have our finger on the pulse of what's happening but, again, a bit of pressure never hurts to be making sure that we are at the forefront of those...