Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as Members of the Legislative Assembly, it is our responsibility to act as our constituents' advocates, and though we spend most of our time here working on the bigger picture, we recognize that when policies and processes fail, intervention into individual circumstances is necessary. We are our constituents' last resort but when it comes to working with medical travel, increasingly MLAs are becoming Northerners' only option. Medical travel's inadequacies are becoming so severe that it's consuming much of our constituency work, and this is clear the system...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the ECC has received its report into -- or its after action report that had a number of recommendations. Many of those were capital recommendations that are -- I think you could find here quite clearly. So does the Minister feel that the investment by these expenditures is sufficient to meet the recommendations in that report? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the GNWT does calculate its fleet -- like, its combined fleet in terms of emissions; is that correct?

I'm curious now, Mr. Chair, so I'm going to ask. As the Minister is the Minister responsible for Climate Change and the government's climate change plan, and he's got officials there, is it possible to calculate the carbon emissions or carbon impact of one truck in the GNWT fleet? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Well, that is very positive. And I know most of northern Alberta is on very heavy fossil fuels so creating a pressure valve for them would probably be in their interest. Also the Grays Bay Port project could be a new link for sealift into the Northwest Territories. Is that something the Minister has looked at as well, to lower cost of living in the Northwest Territories by providing sealift from, say, the port of Montreal rather than trucking everything in with heavy trucks? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So as this is a very lively discussion around these infrastructure projects, can the Minister indicate if these, Taltson, Slave Geological Province Road, Mackenzie Valley Highway, if they're revenue generating projects. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can tell you my constituents are frustrated. I can tell you this family is very frustrated. I hope the Minister will bring something practical about how to improve the system. But one thing I'll say, the rates are far too low to cover the costs of today. When is the Minister going to adjust those rates to reflect the reality of today's costs? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And that number is $200 billion over ten years. So, you know, I appreciate that it's going to be divvied out in different places. We need to have a resolution to this. We need to find a way to retain workers. This is a blockage that's been identified to me. Will the Minister at least commit to doing an exploration of this, working with staff, working with the whole team, and coming up with a solution that's meaningful, impactful, and will actually solve this problem instead of just more listening exercises? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, is the Minister willing to look at the length of contracts? A six-month contract means the worker's going to stay in the Northwest Territories for at least a longer time commitment. We're talking about contracts that are two days long, that are a week long. Will the Minister commit to stopping that practice and ensuring contracts are long enough to keep people in the North and keep money in the North and keep continuity of care in the North? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the workers are looking for bold action. They're looking for a clear commitment. So what is the Minister's idea for how to solve this problem? What's the clear commitment and deliverable that she can give hope to workers that things are going to get better and improve? Thank you.