Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this week, the Standing Committee on Social Development had received a presentation from an academic on universal basic income which was, I think, informative for many members. This is something I've long been supportive of. One way we could make it work in the Northwest Territories is through a resource dividend. This is something they do in Alaska, something that we could make work and have an easy way of funding and providing financial relief to everyone in the Northwest Territories. Is the Minister of Finance open to developing exploring this idea in...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I certainly can't speak to the practices or policies of Naka Power. I can say with respect to, again, you know, if folks are having to make changes to their own home renovations, you know, that's not necessarily something that we would be in a position to subsidize. There are certainly going to be some distribution challenges. If people are trying to get an EV charging station in their home because you have to go and from different step downs of power but, you know, again, how to best support that, our response has been to make available EV charging stations in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I want to acknowledge the Minister has been responsive to my constituent and the other constituents as well. Is this I'd like to know more of the detail of work with is this bringing an oncologist to the North? Thank you.

Does the Minister believe that we have sufficient resources behind EV charging stations and associated infrastructure to support the transition away from fossil fuel powered from combustion engines or standard combustion engines? We're making this transition nationally, globally. Is the Northwest Territories in a position to keep pace, or will we be left behind and have no cars to drive? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of health clarify the rationale behind Alberta Cancer Care's requirement that all blood cancer patients from the NWT travel to Alberta for blood work and treatment? Thank you.

Thank you. The community government retrofit program is being discontinued. Can the Minister explain why? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when a person learns they have cancer, their world turns upside down. In just one moment, they find themselves in the fight of their lives. Thankfully in Canada, we have a universal public health care system that is always there to connect cancer patients with the medical professionals they need. Unfortunately, in the North, that connection of doctor to patient is a bit more complicated. We can't offer every specialized treatment that southern Canadians take for granted and when that's not ideal, the added travel for medical care is a fact of life for...

Thank you, Madam Chair. It still sounds like a yes to me. But that's all right, we'll have that discussion later.

This also contains the energy programs for sorry, yeah, the energy programs that are funded. Can the Minister speak to the overall energy strategy and where the how the GNWT is moving ahead with its energy plans, especially in the advent of mine closure? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The community access programs, there's nothing in this budget for this program. It's really effective way of getting money into small communities and creating local economic activity. The Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight has called for this money to be restored. Will the Minister restore this program? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I've spoken about it in this House, the Premier has spoken about it, other Members have as well, including the seconder of the motion, the Member for Mackenzie Delta. There is a drug epidemic in the Northwest Territories that has gone from being a public health crisis to a public safety crisis. Organized crime has been infiltrating the Northwest Territories and preying upon those suffering from addictions and trauma, since the year since COVID particularly, and it's reached an alltime high. We're seeing rates of violence that we haven't seen before, of...