R.J. Simpson

(audio).

Thank you. So in Indigenous and intergovernmental affairs, the division we're currently discussing in the main estimates, there won't be any movement. What we're talking about with integrated service delivery is colocating GNWT services. So it could be housing and income assistance and social services. But those are existing positions; it's just a matter of getting them physically close to each other, ensuring there's proper agreements in place so that they can share information amongst themselves. And there are opportunities to work with Indigenous governments as well. I know that TCSA has...

Thank you very much. The NGO sector is more part of EIA than ever given that EIA is now responsible for integrated service delivery. With that comes the homelessness file. The reason that integrated services and homelessness is in EIA is because when it was in Justice, and I was the justice Minister, I found that the Minister had no authority to actually integrate services, that the program with integrated case management was just a program of the Department of Justice. And so to the comments earlier about why homelessness is in EIA, it is beside integrating service as the approach we're...

Thank you. The budget is $303,000 per year. Thank you.

Thank you. So in this division, I don't believe so. But we have or sorry, I guess the PUB is we do have someone in the PUB in Hay River. So that's one example. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And so there is an office in Ottawa that is leased by the GNWT. There has been a position associated with that office. That is proposed as a reduction, that position. But we have a number of years left on that lease. And so we are looking at how to best utilize that space, and there are discussions happening. I know that the space is used by Indigenous governments, by negotiators, by Regular Members. I used the office myself as a Regular Member. So we definitely see the value in it. We want to be able to bring federal Ministers into our space in Ottawa, take them out of...

Yes, I do.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And there were it took time to ramp up the program. There was a requirement to find people, to train people, and that's not always a quick task. And so it didn't move as quickly as we would have hoped. Maybe the deputy minister has more information on that. I can hand it to her, maybe not, but we'll try. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Public Utilities Board is the energy regulator in the Northwest Territories. So if NT Power Corporation wants to increase its prices, it has to make an application to the Public Utilities Board. We have a Minister responsible for the Public Utilities Board, and that is Minister McKay. It is arm's length from government as it is it regulates, you know, government entities. And the budget has remained the same, I believe, for many years. I briefly held this portfolio about four years ago, and the budget is relatively similar to what it was then. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So this is a it's a long story. So going back to February, of course, we sat in this House and there was a request for a public inquiry. That came after the decision was made to hold this extensive after-action review where the department would go out or hire a contractor to go out, look at everything that happened in terms of the 2023 fire season response, hold public meetings, speak with staff, and then generate a report with recommendations. Because there was a desire to ensure that this was not influenced by government, the idea it actually came after a meeting I...