Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, NGOs have been advocating to me to not support the current budget as presented. They feel that, in their words, that they're getting lip service on their issues, their multi-year agreements are largely ignored, and inflationary cost issues continue to be a challenge and are not recognized for the merits that they're trying to explain.

So, Mr. Speaker, NGOs are worried. Ultimately the question for the finance Minister is is what is she demonstrating in this budget that we're meeting those particular needs and challenges that NGOs are facing and what message...

Mr. Speaker, we're getting awful close to a point of order wherein she keeps saying Indigenous people, and I feel it's drawing the attention of I'm trying to separate our field some motivation. There is none. So, Mr. Speaker, as I qualify that point, it's not about a racialized issue in any way. It's about impacts on the community.

Mr. Speaker, I'm asking what type of discussion is the department of health having with the neighbourhoods about these pending impacts that are coming to the neighbourhood? As I've given examples, I won't repeat them, will the Minister agree to meet with the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services with respect to the monolith challenge and the impact challenge the day shelter is going to have on the community of Yellowknife Centre and Yellowknife at large.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask in the context of when a road is built, we have impact funds and other types of things similar. And that is particularly the issue. So my question for the Minister specifically is now what impact fund is being designed to support the impacts of the community of Yellowknife Centre once this giant shelter, to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Tuesday, June 11th, 2024, I will present to the House Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just quickly back to the policy issue about revisiting our having a discussion, can we get a sense of when maybe the finance Minister could have that type of open dialogue so we can -- again, I'm trying to send a message of hope here and I'm looking for a little inspiration, so if she could kind of help me guide them and say, you're going to have valuable input on core funding inflationary issues and multi-year agreements that we'll carve into stone so we can move forward as the format, and I'm hoping she can give me that hope and inspiration. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll provide that specific to the Minister. She's asked me who, I'll let her know. Mr. Speaker, she is in charge of FMB policies which are the overarching financial policies. Would the Minister open up a discussion with NGOs to ensure that our financial management policies do actually reflect their needs? So in other words, things like multi-year agreements are the standard unless, and that type of discussion with them? So in other words, would the Minister be willing to open up that type of discussion to the NGO groups? Because we met with them right after getting...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's a petition that I'll, in the near future, table before the House, not today, but it has over a thousand signatures. The point being is there's a lot of people concerned about the impacts. Would the Minister go to the community again, call a community meeting, and discuss about how to address the impacts? Again, not about removing the shelter, the impacts the shelter will have on the community. Will she do that for the community who needs that conversation again and again until we get it right? Thank you.

It's all yours to use. All yours.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, June 10th, 2024, I will move the following motion:

Now therefore I move, seconded by the Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that the Government of the Northwest Territories reallocate funding resources without delay to implement the revised municipal funding gap policies;

And further, that the Government of the Northwest Territories balance the current discrepancy between communities regarding the percentage of the formula funding they receive;

And furthermore, that the Government of the Northwest Territories make the calculation of the municipal...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to follow up on my Member's statement on the other side of the equation, which first I mentioned I was going to go to housing, now I'm going back to Municipal and Community Affairs with respect to the ideas of creating a fee or tax holiday.

So I proposed ideas in the statement to bring forward to NWTAC. And perhaps maybe the MACA Minister can help lead this initiative. I know tax themselves is for the finance Minister, but this is about working with initiatives for municipalities under municipal legislation.

So the question specifically is to the Minister is would...