Kieron Testart

Mr. Speaker, the spotlight is on the North as the circumpolar world takes stage in the geopolitical arena. Manmade climate change is causing Arctic ice to melt rapidly each year opening up shipping routes merchants died trying to forge ages ago and unlocking resources which were once unreachable. Now, rival powers like China and Russia are militarising the region as their posturing becomes even more hostile. As our Arctic seas continue to melt, the open waters beckon them to escalate their challenges to our sovereignty in an effort to establish an even greater foothold in the region.

If those...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, so these -- we've heard that there's -- we've heard directly -- Members have heard directly from people working in some of these facilities that they're seeing clients, you know, there's some that are very productive. So is there a pathway that the Minister can take -- can keep these facilities going under a different mandate, keep the staff going, doing the work they're doing of offering programs, and then, you know, the ones that are less productive, maybe hand those over to the local authorities, whatever they may be. But, like, I think what Member --...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, allow war packaging that way but unfortunately these projects -- else I'm mistaken, and I invite the Honourable Premier to correct me, but these don't count toward our NATO -- or 2 percent of GDP NATO spending. They don't count. So what I'm trying to do is if we're moving to 2 percent, or maybe even 3 percent now, if we're going the way Europe's going, to divert some of those, if not most of those dollars, into the Northwest Territories. So defense spending is crucial. It's more nuanced than just repackaging our current asks. So can we get a commitment to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member's statement, I spoke about the importance of defending Canada's sovereignty and making sure the Northwest Territories is one of the leaders in that effort. Arctic defense spending has become a national subject of -- or subject of national interest, especially from those who want to be our next Prime Minister. The leader of the opposition has pledged to build a military base in Iqaluit. Next door, our neighbours in Yukon have established a security advisory council, and they've already been successful in finding some federal funding as well. We can't wait...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I mean, it's becoming increasingly apparent that this program's not working. I don't think it's working anywhere in Canada. But leaving money on the table is not an option but finding money from within is. So one way we can do that is the funding formulas may be the same across all provinces and territories, as the Minister pointed out, but there's different legislative environments. And in some cases, they allow for extra fees, voluntary fees to be charged in jurisdictions, including Alberta. Will the Minister bring changes to policy and legislation to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to take a moment to recognize two pages from Range Lake North School, Sophia Regidor and Arpi Ghalyan. Thank you very much for being here today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And arising from those conversations, is there a mechanism, again, to provide -- to seek some sort of exemption or some sort of request for exemption or appeal for service based on the advice that a patient is getting from their medical provider? Thank you.

Thank you. And thank you for that. There's certainly opportunities with these changes, but there could be risks as well. If our tiny brewing company is put into a national wide market, they might be, you know, washed out by all the other brands out there. So what did -- will the Minister -- obviously details are scant. But will the Minister make sure that in these negotiations, we keep in mind that we have an industry here that is chugging along -- it's their tenth year in place -- and make sure that they are one part -- well, that they are part of the conversation and that their interests are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, speaking of provincial trade barriers, alcohol is one of the most cherished areas of protection by provinces. That's why US beer, wine, and spirits are coming off the shelves because governments control what goes on those shelves for the most part in this country. Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure who to ask this to, but this direct sale -- direct-to-consumer sale system that's being proposed, can we get more details on that and how it will affect our businesses in the Northwest Territories that provide sales of alcohol to consumers? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I mean, I'm curious as to why the Yukon feels they need to do this, but maybe that's something the Minister could speak to her territorial counterparts. I'm sure businesses would be assured by that. There are a number of other things we can do by eliminating the red tape, reducing fees and services, make it cheaper to do business for northern businesses and Canadian businesses. Will the Minister undertake to do that work, to find ways she can cut those fees and barriers to doing business in the Northwest Territories to protect Canada's interest in the NWT? Thank you.