Kieron Testart

Thank you. Thank you for the response from the Premier as well. Is there any correlated data between the strength of the economy and the increased rates of crime? And by that, I mean we've seen a dip in economic activity since the pandemic and also an increase in crime. So is there a correlation between kind of a softening economy and the increased rates of crime, addictions, and cross-border drug trafficking? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the costs to -- for nicotine replacement therapies can be -- and products like nicotine gum patches -- I used the patch. It was very effective. I've used them all, though. What financial supports do they have? Because certainly some of these products might not even be available in a small community. So what financial supports and how are we getting these products to individuals outside of regional centres? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is kind of more of an opinion-based question, but I think it's relevant. But, like, is the Premier of the opinion that, like the -- not the root -- the root cause is obviously public health issues, obviously drugs and addictions that we've been struggling with for some time. But we're seeing this additional level of organized crime who are bringing more drugs into the communities, who are exploiting things like public housing, right, by capturing public housing clients and using their public housing units to deal drugs in small communities. So how would he tackle...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think the Minister answered most of my questions, so she's ahead of the curve. But I think you've spoken about this in the past, Mr. Speaker, but the Butt Head campaign was a very popular program and toured around the Northwest Territories, and I think kids really liked it as well. Why have we stopped promoting -- or using the Butt Head campaign -- antismoking campaign? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, so the increases to RCMP that the Premier's been speaking about, can he just give us a breakdown of where these new officers are -- or how many -- let's start -- I'll do it in smaller checks. How many new officers are being created in this budget? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is World No-Tobacco Day. And this year, it will be special for me - it's been 11 weeks since my last cigarette. It's not the first time I've quit but hopefully it'll be the last.

Mr. Speaker, nicotine is more addictive than alcohol, heroin, or cocaine. So days like World No-Tobacco Day are truly important to raise awareness about the dangers of smoking tobacco.

Created by the World Health Organization in 1987, the yearly celebration informs the public on the dangers of using tobacco, the business practices of tobacco companies, what the WHO is doing...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So would it be accurate to say that we are -- there's a higher expenditure on private lawyers than on staff lawyers in this budget? Thank you.

Okay, thank you. That's more imminent than I expected, so that's good. That's good that we're moving towards that.

So we spend an awful lot of money on the authorities, which is to be expected given the cost of health care. But often I think there's a disconnect between what is accountable -- what the Minister is accountable for and what the authority's accountable for. And certainly when it comes to some of these workplace issues we're hearing about, some of the performance of health care services, there seems to be that disconnect. And I think that the Minister needs to be empowered to...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I just would like to understand why legal aid clinics is substantially higher in this budget than the Legal Aid Commission itself. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. If you look at trends in public health care systems that use agency nurses, private health care, it always starts small. It's always a department here, a hospital there, a clinic there, and they start and it keeps ballooning, ballooning, and ballooning, and soon it's $65 million to provide a service that used to cost $10 million. And this is the case in Ontario, in Quebec, in large centres. It's the case in smaller provinces as well. I am watching the time, so I will wrap up here so the Minister can respond. But if you put an agency nurse into a small community, you will...