Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We spoke to many municipalities around their concerns with the implementation of 911 and how best the government can support the implementation in a way that everyone can meaningfully participate and have adequate resources. To capture that, the committee has made this recommendation to ensure that municipalities are ready and prepared for the role of 911, that it doesn't impact their existing provision of emergency services, and that everyone moves to a smooth transition after the 911 service goes live.

This motion contemplates it being the responsibility of the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The committee has read its report into the record, so I won't go into the full details, but sufficient to say, a number of concerns raised by the public in our consultations and from Members representing their constituencies were very clear that the bill alone could not address many of the issues that will be required for 911 coverage to be a success in the program.

The committee feels very strongly that this is a life-saving program that is going to make a big difference in the lives of Northerners, but to ensure that, this motion, in particular, addresses the need for...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On February 26, 2019, the Standing Committee on Government Operations presented its report on the review of Bill 31, Northwest Territories 911 Act. The committee report included three recommendations, and I look forward to the opportunity to discuss the report and the recommendations in Committee of the Whole later today. Members of the committee may have individual comments. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to table the following three documents. The first is an article from The Conversation, "Why Insurers are Wrong About Canada's Genetic Non-Discrimination Law." The second is a report of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Canada titled "The Potential Economic Impact of a Ban on the Use of Genetic Information for Life and Health Insurance." The third document is a background paper from the Library of Parliament titled "Genetic Discrimination and Canadian Law." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is always hard to wait for another strategy, but this one is with committee, so I will do my due diligence on that side. I would like assurances from the Minister that he is going to implement the decisions in that strategy, the specific actions, before the end of this government, and that it is not put off for another government to put on the shelf somewhere. Will he implement the strategy within the life of this government? Thank you.

I am not getting into that policy, which is not before the House at this time, and the Minister has already told us that. Is that an area that they looked at when they were developing it? Was one of their policy objectives to correct this inconsistency between product classifications?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak on the GNWT's Business Incentive Program, otherwise known as BIP, and the NWT Manufactured Products Policy. These programs at their core are great concepts, keeping government money in the territory, stimulating well-paying local jobs and spinoff benefits into our economy. Yet, as the old saying goes, the devil is in the details.

Current guidelines to qualify to be placed on the NWT Manufactured Products List require that "the manufactured product must be a product specific and is an item that is regularly stocked or parts of a catalogue of items."...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Government Operations has reviewed Bill 30, An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act, and that Bill 30 is now ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole as amended and reprinted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you to the Minister. That is good news, and I look forward to reviewing that strategy. Looking to the manufactured products application form, it calls for "competitive pricing for the same product or products named above from a southern vendor." Why is it up to small businesses to do market research for the BIP bureau? Is this not something that the bureau could do themselves and then use that to inform the registration of these products? Can the Minister commit to at least changing that part of the application process?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member's statement earlier today I spoke about some of our procurement policies, in particular, the Manufactured Products Policy. I would like to ask the Minister responsible why some of these products are proved in general terms, like winch truck, which has no specifications for what is required in that definition, while others require exact specifications, such as steel garbage recycling containers, 52 inches by 54 inches by 71 inches, bear-proof top. These distinctions seem arbitrary and are applied inconsistently. At least, that is the perspective of my...