Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to thank my honourable friend from Nahendeh for raising this important issue; this is something that the Standing Committee on Government Operations, which I chair, has taken very seriously and made numerous recommendations for. I think the NGO Stabilization Fund will solve a couple of problems if it is moved back to executive. It does appear that the executive is taking action on ensuring necessary funds are provided to groups like the Friendship Centres, and that's an important cause, but it needs to be defined by some sort of policy. I know the Premier has...

Were consultations undertaken with the Indigenous nation that has a claim to that territory prior to that deal being done? Thank you.

I will remind the Minister that this is the not the federal government's obligation. This is our own funding formula, and the money should be coming from this government, or that funding formula needs to change if this government cannot afford it. We need to figure this out, but if the Minister is right and we are spending $1.2 million, it is going to take 32 years to close this gap. If not a dollar amount, how much time has been dedicated to a plan? Do we have a five-year plan, a 10-year plan, a 20-year plan? How long is it going to take to close this gap?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the lease-only policy, is that a policy that this government can change? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is an ongoing issue with the shortfall in municipal funding that is provided through our funding formula to municipal governments of the Northwest Territories. The Minister has indicated that she is looking at fixing some of those. Can we get more details from the Minister on what our municipalities can expect moving forward on closing the gap in municipal funding? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So in doing so, I believe the Minister, and I disagree with his position on this, but he calls it the "honour of the Crown." If the Minister has established a precedent by signing off on that deal and honouring that promise, and that precedent is in the mind of many members of the public who are concerned about these leases, so, again, I want to ask the Minister why we cannot offer the same deal to other lease holders who are expecting the same treatment? Thank you.

I suppose it is too much to ask for specificity on when the Minister will bring it forward, but I want to ask about another subject. Related to this work is Access by Design or Privacy by Design. Is the Minister doing any work to ensure we are designing government projects and government legislation with Privacy by Design in mind? Has any work been undertaken on that aspect?

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and there we have the inherent contradiction with it being both a publicly funded independent institution and yet one that the department can reach into and tinker with when they want to change the services being provided.

Why are we approaching the college, the management of the college, through providing that kind of direct approach rather than entering into funding agreements, those kinds of arrangements that can be targeted, measured, have reliable targeted outcomes that the college would have to meet? Why are we not incentivizing the operations of the college and the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As a publicly funded institution, is it at arm's length from government as other publicly funded education institutions are? Can the Minister confirm that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm sorry if I'm struggling with this amount. I have asked questions about what is presented before us in this budget, and I am hearing a lot of answers about how it was used previously. I understand that this number may change, but I am looking for why the department is requesting an increase of $1 million to this. I think what I am hearing is that, the previous year, it was a considerable amount more and it was redistributed, so they are trying to harmonize it to a degree where they can still support the contract requirements that they think are going to be required for...