Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd also like to recognize Mr. William Greenland from the New Day program, Ernest Abel, Executive Director from the Tree of Peace. Thank you for all that you do for men in need. I'd also like to recognize Jacq Brasseur for her amazing work with the Rainbow Coalition of Yellowknife. Finally, I'd like to recognize my constituency assistant Garett Cochrane, it's his birthday today, and we're very pleased to have him in the Chamber. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the rate of reported spousal assaults in the Northwest Territories is one of the highest in the country, second only to Nunavut, measuring in at nine to 12 times the provincial average. Members of this Assembly recognize that fact as a crisis. In our priorities document before we created the mandate we committed to taking action on the crisis of family and community violence. When the mandate was developed we made a commitment to continue to support healing programs for men who use violence in intimate relationships, such as a New Day Healing Program. Today...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that we do provide O and M funding, I'm discussing a capital request that Dechinta had made to the federal government, and that was more the line of my question; if we have a competing interest versus federal and capital investment for Aurora College versus other post-secondary institutions. But I take the Minister's point that it's his assessment that all of our post-secondary partners are treated fairly.

If Dechinta or College nordique or anyone else who wants to invest in this Post-Secondary Strategic Investment Fund in the future or a fund similar to it...

Would the Minister agree that it's helpful if the government does write a letter of support for these funding applications? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In speaking with this I guess very important private sector in developing our economy, the number was much higher from them, around $30 million with additional sources of funding lined up for O and M endowments going forward. So my question then is what was Dechinta looking for from the department in order to support their proposal? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is the Minister aware of the total request for funding and the commitment that the federal government had made to this initiative from Dechinta? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm very pleased today to stand in support of this motion, and I'd like to thank the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures for their very hard work and for providing me, as an alternate member of that committee, to join the committee on the regular discussion around this topic.

Transparency and openness was a long-standing priority of many voters in the last election, and long-standing for many Northerners as well. The consensus government always needs to be evolving, and all systems of government do as well. We made some very bold steps early on. Allowing a...

Well, I'll take the Minister at his word, which was "could," but have the residents in that subdivision, are they aware that there will be potentially cameras observing them, or is that not within the scope of this project? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The perimeter fence and security equipment, this is new fencing, as I understand it, apart from what's already completed, to separate the facility from the residential neighbourhood. Is that correct? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that there is funding that goes to Yellowknife's Dene, and they of course in close proximity, but they still have their own community and it's constituated its community. It's the City of Yellowknife that doesn't receive this funding, and the City of Yellowknife that increasingly has the needs of Northerners pressed upon it.

People come here for the services and there's always a constant and rising demand for services. So is there any way that the Minister can communicate that message to Ottawa for a direct partnership from the City of...