Kieron Testart

I appreciate that we don't want to potentially impact the negotiations that would result in the backstop. I don't support the backstop model. I think we need our own made-in-the-North model. Can the Minister assure us that we will get a made-in-the-North model, and we won't be forced to accept the unfavourable backstop model that is being proposed by Ottawa, unfavourable to people in the Northwest Territories and my constituents?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm satisfied with that response. I think we have seen this for a couple of years now, that the health benefits are being exceeded based on demand, and I'm pleased to see we are fixing the problem. I have no further questions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the federal government has put in place a carbon backstop for jurisdictions that don't embrace their own carbon pricing model. I would like to ask the Minister of Finance if he can speak to ongoing negotiations with the federal government over carbon pricing, and whether or not he has prepared our own carbon pricing model for implementation here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have one question about this. The shortfall for extended health benefits and Metis health benefits, this amount, this $4.3 million, appears to be 40 per cent over the current budget. Of course, it seems like we are seeing an increased need for these benefits to be extended to Northerners. The current level of funding going forward, has it been adjusted to address the shortfall in the supplementary health programs? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Visitors to the Legislative Assembly today may have noticed the Union Jack flying over our building, and that is because today is Commonwealth Day, the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations, which throughout the world is being celebrated by the organization 53 member states.

More than 2.4 billion people live in those 53 nations that make up the Commonwealth, accounting for 30 per cent of the world's population and representing every continent on earth. The theme of this year's celebration is "Towards a Common Future." This day not only symbolizes the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Committee would like to consider Tabled Document 63-18(3), Main Estimates, 2018-2019. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that the chairman of the Committee of the Whole leave the chair to report progress. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that the format of our proceedings might not accommodate the same kind of back and forth we have in other reviews, but I do appreciate all of the Members who spoke to this, the time that they have put in, and of course, the Minister's comments as well.

I am certainly not saying that we need, with definite certainty, a brick and mortar facility today, but there are a lot of people who feel that way, and I think the work that the standing committee has done has given new information to consider about the effectiveness of our addictions strategy.

Aftercare...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the Minister's clarity of purpose on this. There are a number of companies that are grandfathered in or are meeting a 50 per cent requirement that are still either owned in part or owned entirely by southern companies that can benefit from southern supply chains, so we are giving those companies a 20 per cent markup through their northern preference, even though they can double dip, so to speak, and benefit from southern markets. Is the Minister willing to look at those requirements and the list of grandfathered companies that are benefitting from...

It is interesting that the Minister is so confident in BIP's success because all the concerns I hear are about BIP. I already know he is not willing to reform BIP, to do a review of BIP to take action on these concerns. So, given the high-profile nature of several procurement issues -- I am talking about the Housing Corporation modular project in Hay River that the failure of the procurement policy resulted in the loss of 40 full-time jobs, a Minister's riding, by the way, Mr. Speaker, and, of course, the NTPC power generators ongoing affair, which is at least half a million dollars of...