Julian Morse

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Great Slave, that pursuant to Rule 9.4(5)(a), the Government of the Northwest Territories table a comprehensive response to this report, including all recommendations, within 120 days or at the earliest opportunity subsequent to the passage of 120 days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that response. Certainly, I wanted to highlight respite services as an item that should be a priority, and I appreciate the Member taking a specific look at that. Mr. Speaker, several of the accepted recommendations in the report that were accepted spoke to stronger -- the need for stronger interdepartmental coordination with Housing NWT and ECE. Has the department made any progress on advancing those recommendations specifically? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Government Operations would like to Report on its Review of the 2023-2024 Annual Report of the Equal Pay Commissioner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's probably some more detail out there so if the Minister is interested in sharing that with Members, I'd appreciate it. But the department accepted recommendation 8, which was to increase caregiver supports and overnight respite options in principle only. Has the department made any progress on this recommendation or explored options related to expanding respite services? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Great Slave, that Committee Report 10-20(1), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2023-2024 Annual Report of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, be received and adopted by the Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Great Slave, that pursuant to Rule 9.4(5)(a) that the Government of the Northwest Territories table a comprehensive response to this report, including all recommendations, within 120 days or at the earliest opportunity subsequent to the passage of 120 days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the Minister pointing out appendix B. Certainly that is the question -- the answer to the question I was looking for in question one. And I would just gently point out that -- or perhaps pointedly point out consideration of the priorities is not considered in that process.

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to drafting a proposal for a new process for capital budget development which helps to better align it with the priorities of the Assembly? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do appreciate that commitment from the Minister.

So Mr. Speaker, can the Minister describe the process that Cabinet goes through to assess the implications of the Assembly's priorities have for our capital budgeting and how we might need to shift resources to achieve them? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, have a look through past Hansard transcripts and year after year, you'll find speeches by MLAs complaining that the capital budget has failed to adequately allocate resources to the Assembly's priorities. I argue that the underlying reason for this pattern is that our capital budget setting process is disconnected from priorities by design, and we need to change that process if we want to see a change in budgeting.

Currently, departments are using a set of criteria for identifying capital projects none of which include priority consideration first. In most...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, Bill 7, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2024, received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on June 12th, 2024, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review. Bill 7 introduces amendments across a range of existing legislation in the Northwest Territories. These changes are administrative and technical, aimed at improving the clarity, consistency, and accuracy of both English and French language versions of the legislation. The clause-by-clause review of Bill 7 was held on October 2nd, 2024, with the Minister of...