Kieron Testart

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in this House on behalf of my constituents to offer our deepest sympathies to the families and communities affected by the recent tragedy that took place in Fort Smith. This accident came as such a shock for what felt like just another ordinary day to a flight of such dedicated northern workers who have passed away so suddenly who were simply on the job or heading back to work. They were pilots, mechanics, truck drivers, talented young diverse workers whose strength powers our territory towards shared opportunity and prosperity.

Mr. Speaker, we are poorer as a...

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I won't weigh into what I think of our system, but I think we can do some improvement here. My question is the federal government has also doubled the rural rebate supplement for Canadians under the climate action payment systems, the one that's administered by the federal government. Have we also doubled any of our or increased our COLO payments to follow suit and make sure that we're benefitting people who are paying in rural or remote areas for our high cost of fuel? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure I heard a clear answer, but I'll ask what is that number; what is the amount of revenue, tax revenue is being collected off home heating oil in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister. So the Premier, the Honourable Premier, has made public statements calling for a blanket exemption for the Northwest Territories. Has the Minister or her department started those negotiations with Ottawa to get an exemption for the carbon tax in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Thank you to the Minister. I'm just wondering why it's taken so long to get to this point after the decision was made by the federal government. Can the Minister clarify what has taken us to this time? Thanks.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize my friend and former colleague grand chief Jackson Lafferty. It's nice to see you here today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Thursday, February 8th, I will move the following motion:

Now therefore I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Deh Cho, that this Legislative Assembly resolve that the Commissioner cause an inquiry to be made into the 2023 wildfires pursuant to the Public Inquiries Act;

And further, that this resolution include the Commissioner establishing a board composed of four persons appointed by the Commissioner to make the inquiry and to report on the inquiry to the Commissioner;

And furthermore, that the Commissioner receive...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I suppose if Northerners have already received their rebates, this isn't going to make a difference. If our system's already taking care of home heating fuel carbon taxes, why are we exempting this? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to return to carbon pricing and the home heating exemptions. So the Minister said that there's no need to backdate the exemption because residents have received their rebates. So can the Minister confirm that a hundred percent of the fuel charge related to home heating fuel related to the carbon tax in the Northwest Territories is being rebated to Northerners, a hundred percent? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And in the interest of fairness and equity, as this exemption has been enjoyed by Canadians outside of the Northwest Territories since November of last year, will the Minister backdate the exemption to November of last year and pass those savings along to our constituents who are paying a lot during the coldest months of the year? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.