Caroline Wawzonek
Deputy Premier
Statements in Debates
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 45: Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures) 20222023, be read for the third time. Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded a vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 45: Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures) 2022-2023, be read for the first time.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 24(n) so that I may make a ceremonial offering. Thank you.
Unanimous consent granted
Mr. Speaker, I have just made a ceremonial offering to you as the presiding officer of this House to represent the people of the Northwest Territories. The offering is presented to you representing the traditions of many First Nations, Metis and Inuit, and their spiritual beliefs, values, and the principles by which they live. Through this offering, I am paying my respects and asking for their blessing but more importantly, to honour those Indigenous women...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is no surveillance being conducted. Mr. Speaker, I understand that these meeting minutes continue to be a source of great consternation. They are minutes. They are taken by a note taker, they are not transcripts, and they certainly are not something to which I would say speak on my behalf about what the department is or is not doing or the priorities of the department. So just to put that context on the quotes that are coming, again there are notes taken by someone at a meeting.
That said, Mr. Speaker, philanthropic organizations, this quote, this has...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Northwest Territories Carbon Tax Report 2020/21. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are meetings between officials happening across sectors. So the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, in particular, meets with Northwest Territories Tourism on a very regular basis. They are funded to do the majority of the marketing on behalf of the Northwest Territories and are really a key partner involved in understanding what's happening in that industry.
So what I understood last week's conversation to be about maybe reaching out individually to some of the operators who might not be as directly involved in the tourism association. I...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is work that was done by the three territories jointly, along with the federal government, and funding was provided accordingly. The statement of work, requirement of work was drafted jointly by the three territories. I think that was a working group in fact, and then with funding. So as the project went underway, and was already conceptualized, most certainly they did go and ask industry who should be participating. The purpose of the study was to determine how to increase investment in exploration and the mineral resource sector in the three...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, this is now definitely probably outside the realm of anything I have the expertise to speak to. I mean, again though, in terms of procurement in the Northwest Territories and achieving the goal of maximizing benefits to residents and to businesses, maximizing keeping dollars circulating in the North, that is a mandate for the whole-of-government. It's a mandate that applies to every one of the Ministers, not just to me, and I am quite confident that the working group that we have set up to do procurement review for the GNWT can, and I'm sure has, but...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the more specific we get the less I'm probably able to make commitments here on the floor. The negotiated contracts policy right now, which is actually a policy of EIA, not Finance, not ITI, not Infrastructure, not procurement shared services, is one that is meant to provide a tool or a mechanism by which we could go directly to an Indigenous government. But, of course, as soon as there's more than one business that comes and requests a contract under a negotiated contract policy, the assumption is it goes to public tender. The result of that being is that...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, given the multiple times we've now spoken about these meetings, I'm not sure I agree with the characterization of them as being particularly secret in any fashion. And indeed even after the last round of exchanges that the Member and I had on this, the Chamber of Mines themselves put a number of the meeting minutes onto their own website to demonstrate that they too are more than happy to make known the fact that they are working to advance the interests of the industry with the GNWT.
As for the ongoing work there, Mr. Speaker, I certainly took note of the...