Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister issue a moratorium on all future land leasing until he can get this problem solved? Because it's unfair to raise expectations in the hopes of my constituents and any other Northerner looking for a recreational land lease. Let's just call it quits. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, that's good. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's good, it's good to work with the First Nations. It's essential to work with the First Nations. But the Akaitcho process has obviously never been settled, so why have we been issuing these leases in the past? There are cabins out there. There are homes out there. Why have we made these decisions in the past, Mr. Speaker?

Mr. Speaker, frustration continues to grow among my constituents who are stuck in the process of finalizing their recreational land leases years after the department indicated their applications were moving ahead. I've been working with several constituents over the last six months -- the Minister knows who they are -- to figure out how to move forward and along the way to progress. And what I have seen so far has been incredibly disappointing.

When I last spoke on the floor, the Minister responsible, he assured me that this process was consistent and transparent, and he would work to improve...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to stand and support this motion, and I thank the Member for bringing it forward. This is -- as he stated very clearly, this is not one community's issue. It is not a small community issue; it's not a Yellowknife issue; this is an issue for everyone. Everyone in the Northwest Territories, regardless of where they are in -- which is shocking when you consider how far-flung and remote some of our communities are. When it comes to this K-9 unit, this is a very specialized unit of police that serves an essential role in helping combat drug trafficking...

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I can respect that because I could have a lot to say about decisions of his predecessors, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister have an answer for my constituents any time -- will my constituents have an answer, yes or no, any time soon? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I've raised the issue of recreational land leasing in this House before. It seems like we don't have a clear path forward. What has the Minister been able to accomplish on his end since I've raised this leasing issue in the North Slave? 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...

Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for the Minister for joining me in this impromptu debate. Mr. Speaker, if not if we can't do a UBI, can we do a universal can we pilot a guaranteed income program, which the Minister spoke of the differences between the two, so can we do that instead of UBI? She seems to be lukewarm on UBI. Can we get guaranteed income in the pipeline as a pilot? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that the chair rise and report progress. What, no?