Richard Edjericon

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will be voting against the budget today when I cast my vote. It's not against the working relationship we built in this Assembly or against our hardworking civil servants. It is for my constituents. They need a budget that truly supports them and a government that listens. The people of Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh tell me -- people, every day, that the government is not working for them, and I agree. I cannot stand by while my communities lose their young people to addictions and mental illness and why elders are forced to leave their home community due to lack of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my beautiful darling wife Elina Edjericon and children for putting up with me while she takes care of the homestead. Also I wanted to recognize my constituents in Dettah, N'dilo, Lutselk'e, and Fort Resolution. Also I want to recognize my constituent assistant Taylor Pagotto and Warren Delorme for all their hard work. And I want to thank my colleagues and ledge staff and cooks and technical people. And finally, I want to recognize Maro Rose Sundberg, Jonas Lafferty, Dennis Drygeese, and the interpreters. Without you, this would never be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the visitor of Canadian Space Agency astronaut Colonel Jeremy Hansen to Yellowknife and celebrate both his work to advance Canada's contribution to space exploration and his dedication to inspiring our youth, our educators, and all, indeed, northerners who dream of technology, science, and innovation.

Colonel Hansen is a highly respected astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency, will make history as the first Canadian set to participate in a lunar mission. His role is the Artemis II mission which will take humans around the moon...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too do have a problem with the GNWT affirmative action policy. It was created back when we were part of Nunavut and at the time it was done in a way that it catered to everybody that's working here in the Northwest Territories - P1, P2, P3. But my concern, Mr. Speaker, is that when this announcement came out when Cabinet made a decision, I was surprised to hear it as well that decision came from Cabinet. I got calls from my leaders, my community members, and members from different ridings of the Northwest Territories expressing their concerns about how...

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize Canadian Space Agency astronaut Colonel Jeremy Hansen; Annie Belanger from Canadian Space Agency; Anne Burrow and Dave Sharpe from Bear Claw Strategy. Also, Ted Tsetta, the former chief of YKDFN; Liza Peiper-Charlo, band councillor from YKDFN. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, committee. Does the committee agree that it has concluded the consideration of Tabled Document 275-20(1), 2025-2026 Main Estimates? Does the committee agree?

Thank you. Committee, we will now move to the Department of Finance. Please turn to the departmental summary found on page 159 with information items on page 160 to 161. Are there any questions? Seeing no further questions, committee, I will now call the department summary.

Finance, operations expenditure, total department, 2025-2026 Main Estimates, $407,895,000. Does committee agree?

Thank you. Does the committee agree to proceed to the detail contained in the tabled document? Committee?

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters, 2025-2026 Main Estimates, conclusion of Department of Education, Culture and Employment and Department of Finance, form and concurrence -- concurrence.

Committee, we have agreed to consider Tabled Document 275-20(1), 2025-2026 Main Estimates. We will consider the departmental totals for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and finance which we previously deferred. We will then consider the borrowing plan for the government reporting entity and established borrowing limits for the Government of the Northwest...

Thank you. Does the committee agree?