Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement, I spoke about the issues entrepreneurs are having in Inuvik in processing applications and so on and so forth online. I referenced the 2020 red tape reduction group. My questions for the Minister of Finance is this red tape reduction group proactively addressing these issues to address and streamline the application processes and, if so, how? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Minister of finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the red tape reduction working group was always set up to be an opportunity and a repository where anyone can direct them to an issue of red tape. So there's an email set up. There's an opportunity, @email, it's quite simple. They receive information about people who are running into, frankly, exactly the types of situations the Member mentioned earlier and then they will action them and they will investigate them and can coordinate across departments to find solutions. And I can say it actually hasn't been as fruitful as I would think it should be for the number of times I hear people say there's red tape out there. So, you know, I appreciate being able to sneak that email address in. I really do hope people can use it, but I can certainly say I intend to follow up on the items I heard earlier in the Member's statement. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. And, yes, oftentimes people have complaints and they'll bring them to their MLA or they'll bring them to their community leadership but have an opportunity to bring them to a website or an email like the email said, and unfortunately, don't do that. So we need to find a way to be a little more proactive.
Having said that, Mr. Speaker, does the Minister know how many files or how many policies have been reviewed based on the information that has been collected by the red tape review? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So since November of 2023, when I believe that's when the email went live, there have been three matters formally submitted all regarding different GNWT processes. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comment about being more proactive. We do -- we did also go through the process earlier this year in seeking suggestions about more efficiency and specifically directing that to the public service and in that regard received over 1,800 suggestions about finding efficiency from about 900 individuals with different ones raised by different people. So there certainly is -- there are different ways to bring this out there and to get people involved and don't want to lose track of finding a better way that we can get the ideas that are out there and the issues that people are running into in front of this group. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I know that, you know, this issue runs throughout several departments, this is not just a Department of Finance obviously, and I, you know, appreciate that I'm speaking with the Minister of Finance. But I guess -- and I don't know if this question, Mr. Speaker, is even able to be answered but when you're looking at a terms of reference or looking at putting together this red tape review, does it kind of take into consideration other items like the innovative -- innovation action plan that ITI has and different things like that to kind of look at the terms of reference, I guess if you will, on the types of information we're looking to address here, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, no, the red tape reduction working group really was meant to be focused on when a business or an individual runs into an issue and says, you know, I'm unable to get a license in an orderly fashion, I have to pay -- go to multiple departments in order to do something, I, you know, sought permissions or an opportunity, I can't get it done. This was an opportunity to say okay look, take that to the working group. They will cross those different departmental lines. Sometimes it's divisions within a department and they will -- they'll action that. But other elements of, you know, innovation action plan and such is a different element of what's going on. To the extent that there's barriers or blocks between different silos, again that certainly would -- could come to the working group, they could potentially get involved, but it really was meant to be something looking at how we are servicing the residents and businesses in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.
