Caroline Wawzonek

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.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, very happy to have pages in the House from Yellowknife South today. Rhiarnon AckermanO'Connor and Katelyn Browley are working very hard for us here, delivering many, many things. And, Mr. Speaker, I'm also going to lay claim to the fact that we have some young Yellowknife residents here. I understand they attended today because it's International Women's Day and was very happy that my CA was able to coordinate and that they are staying to see all of the exciting things that happen. That, again, is Maureen, Holland, and Everest Van Overloop. So no matter...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sometimes, Mr. Speaker, we have a sense of some of the themes of what's coming at us, and I was just about to send a quick note over to the Member, but I've been kept busy today. So, Mr. Speaker, ECE, it's my understanding doesn't hold the summer subsidy program. These are actually quite a number of federal programs that exist, and there is a January 12th deadline, for example, for the employment and social development Canada summer jobs program, which might be the program that we're talking about. If so and regardless, if those are federal programs, what we could do...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's not a formal target in place. I will say that for the last three years summer student numbers have continued to go up. We hit 327 in 2022. So if there are some competitive supervisors or managers out there, they may want to try and beat that for the coming here. That would certainly be great. There is and I would just note, Mr. Speaker, it is early days right now, but they departments shouldn't hesitate in getting their papers going now and reaching out to the Department of Finance if they want to hire a student. Thank you.