Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am satisfied that the BDIC will have the resources they need to continue to do its work, but it strikes me as odd that we have done two years of cuts now to BDIC without a program review and without passing legislation to allow them to do things. It just seems like the cuts are coming ahead of other work that needs to get done, and the Minister is, in fact, relying on these program reviews and legislation in order to continue to support the operations of BDIC.

It just seems odd that, again, we are cutting first and fixing the cuts afterwards. It seems like those things...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have spoken before in this House of the need for the NWT to implement the guaranteed basic income pilot in the life of this Assembly.

Whether it is a way to address income disparity or prepare for major changes in our economy, this innovative policy initiative is not only the right course for our government to take but, in all reality, an inevitable change we will have to implement even if this government chooses to remain idle and continue supporting paternalistic and punitive income support programs.

I've used historical examples of Dauphin, Manitoba, but...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I find it difficult when this is responded in this manner, to say, “Well, we have money, but I can't tell you what it is or where you can find it.” I would hope the Minister would have a more satisfactory answer, but I will remain unsatisfied.

On the manufacturing strategy, what is the progress-to-date on the consultation engagement and drafting of that strategy, the progress made to date? Thank you.

Thank you. The Minister also mentioned a program review and that the review would help identify the need to change legislation and other issues. Is the review going to be completed before the legislation comes forward in May and June? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to speak to an issue that I unfortunately wasn't allowed to or wasn't able to ask questions on in a previous section, but I'll just flip over to 207, the departmental total, and just ask about the manufacturing strategy. What money has been attached to the manufacturing strategy in this budget? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

That money the Minister just referred to or those financial resources, does the BDIC have access to those own-source revenues, essentially, to plug the gap that has been created by successive years of cuts to their appropriation? Thank you.

Thank you. Can the Minister account for the difference in mineral, oil and gas royalties? I know some of these issues were raised, but if he could just clearly account for the difference between the 2017-2018 revised estimates and this year's estimates. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My understanding from stakeholder engagement is that the program review is not really the issue. Most clients are satisfied with the level of service of the programs the BDIC offers. The issue the government seems to take is the operational side, that the appropriation to BDIC is in excess of what it needs to do its job. Is the Minister also undertaking an operational review to restructure the corporation to be more costeffective? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In 2016-2017, we budgeted double the amount of applicants. Sorry, those were the actuals, okay. Again in 2016-2017, we had nearly twice the amount that we budgeted for in the preceding year. What explains the drop in that number of applicants? That's what I'm looking for. How do we understand? I understand how the budget works or how the budget works for this program. Why did we lose so many applicants when the program was doing so well?

Thank you. The last budget, there was a cut in that budget to BDIC. Now, we're seeing a second year of cuts. Is this an ongoing reduction to the BDIC? Are there going to be future-year cuts moving forward, or is this the final round of cuts to BDIC? Thank you.