Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, there is a health working group jointly populated by the UNW and human resources, or Department of Finance. And there are regular meetings a variety of regular meetings between the Department of Finance and UNW and I am told that it's at an officials' level but that that is a standing item specific to the idea of recruitment services, health recruitment. It's a standing item at those meetings. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to present the 20232024 Main Estimates for the Department of Finance. These estimates support the mandate objectives for the Department of Finance, while continuing to meet the Government of the Northwest Territories' fiscal objectives to prioritize responsible and strategic spending.

Overall, the department's main estimates propose an increase of $16.29 million, which is 5.1 percent over the 20222023 Main Estimates.

Highlights of the proposed main estimates include:

A $927,000 reduction to contract budgets in order to better align funding with actual...

Thank you, Madam Chair. There's not necessarily a line item that associates to interoperability but, Madam Chair, as the Member knows that's one of my new favourite words. It certainly is, I think, the goal in speaking in speaking with our new chief information officer, to get to a place of having more interconnectedness. There are, for example, SAM and DIIMS and programs such as that, that are now being rolled out across the whole of government which will hopefully support but also simply making it more of a priority in general because it takes people, and it does take resources to pay for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I firstly want to say that in no way do I want to simplify the issue and while I can give some responses from the perspective of the hiring department, it's an answer that does look back to everything starting from maternal health to education to mental wellness that the more people are ready, able, willing to work, trained to work and healthy to work, then there's more people available to be hired. So this is a responsibility for all of government to ensure that we are all doing those things to have to achieve those goals. As the hiring department for the...

Mr. Speaker, the Member and I are in full agreement on this particular issue. It's true. Mr. Speaker, this is a bee in our bonnet. I have asked about this one as well. I have certainly raised this one. I know certainly at the table, if not in letters or both. I was able to confirm with our department, indexing has not gone, even though not indexed, the deduction amount went up 1991, 2008, 2016, but incrementally increasing it in this way is not effective, it is not reflective, it doesn't keep up with inflation. I think I am certainly, again, preaching to the choir here with respect to this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a point of frustration for many residents and certainly for not only the MLA but me as well. And I can confirm that I discussed this with my other territorial finance colleagues, that we did jointly raise the issue. I'd like to think in fact that that may be why there is now a pilot project, is that we have finally raised issue to a place that it received the attention that it required. Now, that doesn't mean that those to whom we raised it get it right the first time but, again, Mr. Speaker, we will be certainly following up again, and finance...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So actual shovels in the ground will depend on when the capital estimates are approved and then how those estimates and how the money that's appropriated goes through. But again, with the fact that we do approve our capital estimates early on an election year, we approve them in August, and depending on the way that comes out, I certainly don't want to presume any votes or any conclusions of that process, but as that process moves forward, Mr. Speaker, we will see what the next round of capital projects are, where they are at, and have a good opportunity at that point...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I'll be very brief. The Member from Frame Lake actually made my point which is that this the matter of finding a solution to incentivize alternative energy within the power corporation has been acknowledged as a challenge and a problem and one that is a solution is going to be sought for. So did want to emphasize that, again, the finding of the issues, defining the problems, I certainly share that view of it. Bill 60 isn't connected to the it's not directly connected and certainly can't solve this problem. Bill 60 is just, again, raising the tax rates so...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member has been a forceful advocate for this project and certainly I think has convinced many of my colleagues as to its essential nature which is why it was at the place it was at already with the procurement. And although the first way that we were going to go about it as an operations budget item has changed and looking at it as a capital budget, the priority place of it hasn't changed. Again, as I've said, at this point the RFP normally wouldn't issue until the approval of the budget formally in the House even though the project might remain on the...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House Bill 75, Council of Women and Gender Diversity Act, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.