Caroline Wawzonek
Deputy Premier
Statements in Debates
Madam Chair, the $451-million proposed capital budget brings with it 990 estimated full-time equivalent jobs, so there is quite a lot of potential here to really have a significant impact at a time when, as the Member has just pointed out, there has been a lot of concern around economic downturn. This plan does have a lot of possibility in it. We've broken it down in different ways between different communities. The goal isn't to spread the dollars in some sort of fashion where we parse it out by community but to ensure that every community's needs are being met.
With respect to schools, for...
Thank you, Madam Chair. I think, with respect to the carry-overs, this is a conversation that has begun and has already been had. I think on that one, Madam Chair, I do want to wait and make sure I have all of the necessary information that is still coming to me, as the Member notes that there is a written question right now that is seeking quite a lot of detail about the state of our carry-overs and where we are at. I do think there is more to come on that, and I think it is still an important conversation to have. I am sorry that I am putting it off, but I do think it's important to actually...
Mr. Speaker, I hope we are ending on a good note because I absolutely agree with that suggestion. I will definitely go back to the department and ensure that we are making available through our channels and through partners in the community, such as the chambers, information about how to run a business, how to do the due diligence, and how to ensure that, when they enter into contracts with a new business, no matter where that business comes from, that they are doing so in a way that is going to be to the growth and the support of both of the businesses that are involved. Yes, I am more than...
It's a deposit, and it is a deposit that is regulating a relationship and a program between the department and an individual who is potentially going to immigrate here. Unfortunately, it is not a compensation mechanism. The compensation mechanism when an agreement between private entities goes awry is typically through the Department of Justice and through the court system or some other form of mediation or arbitration. Again, the service and the process of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment with respect to this program is to try to provide supports to the businesses that are...
The point of the program is to encourage, well, to encourage a number of things. This is meant to be a program that brings folks into the community who can fulfill our labour shortage needs, who can bring direct investment into the economy, who can come and help add dimension to the local business community. However, if, in fact, there have only been three occasions in the last 10 or so years where it got to the point where they were unable to meet that commitment by way of having their deposit forfeited, Mr. Speaker, really that is a pretty good track record, overall. Really, the reason it's...
I believe this program has been in place since 2009, and to my knowledge, we have only kept three deposits.
Again, yes, I am happy to make the commitment on my part, certainly, that we will make sure and put that information together. I recognize that it's an acute problem, perhaps, for our colleagues in the Health and Social Services field, but even more broadly than that, making sure that, if there are programs being run by human resources, that they are known and accessible to those doing the hiring in communities and in regions, particularly in health. That is critical, otherwise all the great programs that we might have aren't adequately being accessed. That is actually a specific issue and...
This year, there have been 24 interns in total. Of those, one went to the Department of Health and Social Services, in addition to which there were four who went to NTHSSA. They were scheduled to go there, but COVID-19 certainly has interrupted some of the processes that we would normally undertake to have interns recruited and placed.
Madam Chair, at the risk of starting to repeat myself here, again, housing is going to be complicated. It's not that there can't be a way to have that conversation here, but the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation's budget doesn't flow into the capital plan the way that would make it easier, frankly, to have this conversation. I'm sure we can find solutions to that. Similarly, with respect to the funding and municipalities, there is O and M funding for municipalities, which is what has the largest sort of gap in terms of the study that was done to where it's at now and no doubt why this...
Thank you, Madam Chair. I am not going to try and go through it line by line. There is obviously quite a lot in the Member's comments, but just to touch on a couple of items if I might, Madam Chair. Importantly, with respect to housing, the housing infrastructure budget isn't in this budget at all. The housing infrastructure budget is in the operations and maintenance budget in the form of a transfer that they get through the Department of Finance, so this just simply is not the occasion when anyone is going to be able to review the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation's operations or...