Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I, too, am going to ask the Minister if he can clarify this budget commitment to increase junior kindergarten funding or the inclusive education side of the junior kindergarten funding, because I am still unclear. The Minister spoke to a lapse in funding that has allowed the department to fully fund inclusive education and that the mains could not be printed in time for us to see that in the document here, so I would like to ask: where can I find the funding that has lapsed?

As one of the Minister's witnesses said, there is lapsed funding, and that is where we are getting...

We have a way forward document that lays out how the government plans to distribute cannabis products in the Northwest Territories, and mail order is an option for those communities that will not have access to cannabis stores. How are we going to tax mail order products? There have been concerns raised about lost revenue. How are we going to tax mail order cannabis?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's my point; right? It's support to northern performers, and we need something to do that and be specific in providing that level of support.

I want to be clear for the record today that I am not advocating we reduce funding to festival organizations. They are a very important part of our Northern culture and our communities, and I would never recommend removing any kind of funding from them. What I am talking about is that there is a real need that northern performers, some of them nationally recognized and awardwinning northern performers, have brought forward to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Canada's legislation is moving forward in almost every other jurisdiction, and even though we are moving slower than some, we finally have a "way forward." Public engagement was an important step in understanding the concerns of residents before developing legislation for the Northwest Territories. I don't take issue with that, but it would seem that it was less about engaging our constituents on their opinions and more about legitimizing the government-administered framework for cannabis regulation and retail operation instead of a true, grassroots-based consultation.

C...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am assuming that some of the support to northern performers monies are being used by  sorry, let me ask: is this money given on conditions, or is it just transferred to the organizations? Is there an application process that says how they need to use the money? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will be voting on this item shortly, so I don't need the information later. I would appreciate if the Minister had that information when we ask these questions in this Committee of the Whole review. However, I just want to get clarification.

I think the Drummers is an example of a group that should be getting a support to go on tours, but this is particularly broad. It also supports festival organizations and events, community governments, and band councils. What do those contributions look like? Are we providing contributions to Long John Jamboree, to Muskrat Jamboree...

Thank you. Maybe we should. I would recommend that perhaps we look at the impact and value for money of this in conjunction with the Arts Council and our partners so that we can make sure we're meeting the requirements of maintaining steady flow of resources to arts communities and to the Arts Council itself, and that we're meeting the strategic objectives. It's good to get money out the door, but it's much better if we know that money is making an impact. Again, the other reason that I asked these questions to the Minister in this section is this framework is a multi-departmental framework...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As with a number of Members on the issue of arts funding, the NWT Arts Strategy has been raised. This framework has not been reviewed in a significant amount of time. I'm wondering if the Minister can commit to reviewing that framework within this fiscal year. Thank you.

Thank you. Similar to the early childhood program operator subsidy, is this program fully subscribed at this point? Is all the money getting to day home operators? Thank you.

Thank you for that clarification. My question is: it's $3.1 million. Does the Minister know where that's coming from? He has detailed the clear revenue figure. There must be some sense of where it's coming from. My fear is that certain parts of the territory are going to pay higher into this tax than other parts of the territory, especially with his somewhat cryptic statements in the budget address around lessening the impact. Who is going to be paying for this?