Caroline Wawzonek

Mr. Speaker, with this first budget of the 20th Legislative Assembly, we are changing how we deliver on priorities in a way that is realistic, responsible, and always with an eye on being financially ready for whatever the future might bring.

In February, we released a fiscal strategy for this government to help restore longterm stability in our budgets. This first budget is step one in the drive for fiscal improvement. What’s new in 20242025 are a series of simple but measurable changes to ensure solid fiscal fundamentals today, while we help the Northwest Territories build for the future...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware of the air barge offers that are out there. Again, it is a private company that is offering those services. So where and how exactly that might fit into a government communication, I want to be just a bit cautious on. That said, I know the MLA's office and my office worked together this past winter when we were adjusting the winter road season as well as when we were adjusting to fly fuel into some communities when there were some shortages owing to last year's challenges. So both of those occasions, those types of pathways actually worked very...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, and firstly, absolutely happy to provide a more detailed inventory not on the floor of the House. I've already committed that our officials from the Department of Infrastructure would be reaching out to regional leadership, regional SAOs to have sort of technical conversation and at then looking forward to having a chance directly to speak with leadership and with the MLA.

At this point, the information we have is that there actually is only a small amount of cargo at the MTS shipping yard, no doubt owing to communications we've put out earlier about, you know...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again echoing what the Premier said already, telecommunications is a known challenge across highways all across the Northwest Territories, across Canada. One of the roles that the Department of Finance has is as the liaison point or an advocacy point with the CRTC. I can say the CRTC recently with their representative member for the region was in the Northwest Territories, and we had an opportunity to meet, and finding a better path for telecommunications was one of the topics on that agenda. One of the challenges we've had O and M funding for cell...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Finance have met several times over the last short while. In fact, quite recently. I have also included meetings with staff from the health care profession. And in the course of those meetings, we are in a place now where we do need we've acknowledged, and we know that we need to work together. Taking the work that's already been happening in health recruitment, which has been successful, and now building on it to ensure that we can translate what's happening there and translate that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm happy to examine my authority in this regard. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like any other new matter, item, concern, question, safety issue, or otherwise, the process would be the same. Obviously, departments would consider often what's happening in other jurisdictions, could consult locally with municipalities, jurisdictions, regional governments to see what needs there may be.

In this particular instance there is, in fact, quite a number of jurisdictions who are struggling with the question of what to do appropriately to balance considerations for Escooters. And so the Canadian Council of Motor Transportation Administers and...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: 20242025 Main Estimates and the 20242028 Business Plans. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Fort Good Hope is still on track and fully expected to receive their barging services coming down from the top. So at this point and we do work the Department of Infrastructure and ECE and their hydrologists do connect and receive water reports regularly, so I could certainly perhaps share that. That might provide some additional comfort to the MLA. And, again, through the leadership channels that was mentioned earlier to ensure that everyone's aware of what we're monitoring, what's able. But at this moment, the information I have fresh off of the moment is that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, at the risk of it, I think I've probably already given away a bit of the answer, and the answer is yes, we will continue to do that work. There are there is some interest in the telecommunications space in the Northwest Territories on this but, really, again, there's not a private market that would support having this kind of service in the North. The market is just too small. We will really be looking to the federal government on this one and, again, really partnering likely with regional governments on whose lands or in whose regions these impacts...