Merci, Monsieur le President. For my second question, my questions are for the Premier. Members of Cabinet and their support staff travelled to Ottawa in November 2016 for intergovernmental meetings and parliamentary presentations. In his January 31, 2017 reply to my written question, the Premier said that "there were no lobbyists or consultants engaged in the planning or coordination of this trip." Can the Premier explain why we pay the lobbyist firm Earnscliffe Strategy Group more than $120,000 per year to provide "media and government relations and communications" services in Ottawa, but did not use services during the one visit the full-time Cabinet made to Ottawa last year?
Did any of the seven Cabinet Ministers and 15 staff members participating in the trip to Ottawa meet with any representative of the Earnscliffe Strategy Group during the November 2016 trip to Ottawa?
Why did the Earnscliffe Strategy Group invoice the GNWT for a total of $30,450 for October, November, and December 2016 service if the firm did not provide services before, during, or after the visit?
Why the Federal Lobbyist Registry describing the activity of Earnscliffe on behalf of the GNWT says Earnscliffe, arranging meetings with the federal representatives, when we do not have these services while in Ottawa?
Will the Premier provide a copy of the Executive Indigenous Affairs Department's contract with Earnscliffe Strategy Group?
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
