Kieron Testart

[English translation not provided] Mr. Speaker, transparency was a key issue during the election for voters, and I think every Member of this House has made a clear commitment to engaging in government transparency and making that a centrepiece of this 18th Assembly moving forward. I have questions for the Minister of transparency on the Open Government Policy. Could the Minister provide an update as to how the progress is going in developing that policy?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to provide brief remarks. I want to thank both sides of the House for the hard work they did on this document to make sure it's reflective of a full plan moving forward for the next four years. The amendments that were made over the last couple of days I think truly make this document responsive to the people we serve. I do believe it now contains a full range of the mandates we were all individually elected on, which is something the initial draft of the document lacked. Now that has been corrected and I'm pleased to say I can support the amended document...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll keep my comments brief. This is an improvement to the original text that gives more certainty to what the government intends to do with doing a better job. The committee felt that it was vague and wanted to improve in the language. By developing and implementing an effective communications plan that gives certainty to people reading this document about what we're going to do and it gives reasonable expectations to the committee and to the government moving forward of how we will make mechanisms of appeal better available to our residents and clearly explain what that...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Heritage Fund is an excellent way to keep a resource wealth here in the Northwest Territories for the use of future generations. One of the items of the transition report of the last Assembly was to do work on the Heritage Fund Act to do exactly what this amendment calls for: To create a defined revenue stream and stronger public governance of the fund. Right now, the revenue stream going into the fund is more or less defined by an agreement from the Minister of Finance, and it is the opinion of many that this needs to be looked at and defined by legislation so there...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Of critical importance is, although only a small number of businesses would benefit, there are only a small number of businesses in the Northwest Territories to begin with, and that's exactly the kind of thing we need to start changing. I thank the Premier for outlining some of the programs we currently have to support entrepreneurs and private sector enterprises. Those are good programs and they should be expanded. Although this tax relief measure will result in lessened government revenues, it is something we can definitely afford, and again, we need to provide a plan...

Mr. Chair, I move that Tabled Document 1-18(2), Proposed Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, 2016-2019 be amended on page 11 by inserting the words “We will reduce taxes on small businesses.” Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Final question for the Minister responsible for Public Engagement and Transparency. Can the Minister advise on a potential timeline? Of course, not within a day margin, but perhaps within two years. Could he commit to completing a policy within two years, and fully implementing that policy?

I appreciate we're still in the early days of this government and time needs to be taken to put things together. Does the Minister have a sense of what kind of resources or support to put together this policy and other initiatives as they relate to government transparency?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today is International Pink Day, otherwise known as Pink Shirt Day. I'd like to share with this House some background information from the days' organizers. The International Day of Pink was started in Nova Scotia when two straight high school students saw a gay student wearing a pink shirt being bullied. The two students intervened, but wanted to do more to prevent homophobic and transphobic bullying. They decided to purchase pink shirts, and a few days later got everyone at school to arrive wearing pink, standing in solidarity. The result was an entire school that...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I encourage all Members to support this motion. Thank you.