R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I stated last time, if this was as easy as cutting a cheque we wouldn't be here. This issue would be dealt with. The fact is we have an education system that is built on equality, not on not about being equitable; it's about being equal, so. And if I pay for busing in Hay River, I'd have to pay for busing in Fort Smith, and Yellowknife, in Inuvik, in Simpson. It doesn't matter if the communities need or not; we have to give them the money. I am working towards an equitable system where money goes where it's needed but currently, we have an equal system. So that...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Sahtu, that Bill 33, National Indigenous Peoples Day Act be read for a second time. This bill replaces the public holiday National Aboriginal Day held on June 21st of each year with the public holiday National Indigenous Peoples Day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: "Plain Language Summary for Bill 33, National Indigenous Peoples Day Act." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The emergency payments are one time and so they were issued when the emergency occurred, and, you know, if you look at, like somewhere like Aklavik, it's my understanding that there hasn't been flood damage and power outages the way there has been in places like Jean Marie and Fort Simpson, and so the benefits haven't been issued there. But if that were to change, then I'm sure the director of income assistance would issue those benefits accordingly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Depending on what you prioritize, you can get a lot done in the next couple years. That being said, there is a lot of work that, like I just mentioned, we want to do in conjunction with this. And that is reviewing the programs that we have, how effective they are, determining if there's better places we could put our money, and one of those things we're going to look at is the arts council and what it could look like in the future. So I'd like to say that we could just get it done, but I also want to make sure that we research it, we look at what's happening in other...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When the Member for Frame Lake asked these questions not long ago, I gave the answer that I would look in to the viability of creating an independent arm's length arts organization in the territory, and that is still the plan. We are going to look into this, what would it look like, what would it cost, and what could it do. So we're beginning that work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, I have limited tools at my disposal to remedy this. But some regulatory changes is one of those tools and splitting the Hay River DEA from the South Slave DEC could be done through regulation. So I've asked the department to look into that process, what the costs would be, you know, how we could go about it. Ideally we want everyone to work together. I mean, it's a simple solution. This is a  there isn't a nuclear option, you know, for a very simple problem. But I have started looking into that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Sahtu, that Bill 25, An Act to amend the Education Act be read for the third time. And, Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, food security is a priority of this government. This Cabinet and the Government of the Northwest Territories recognizes food security as an issue that is foundationally important to the health and wellbeing of the people of the NWT.

The mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories includes a commitment to increase food security through locally produced, harvested, and affordable food. Work is advancing to address these aspects of food insecurity throughout the territory. As a result of this mandate, partner departments are collaborating to build common momentum and create...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So as I stated, they are the onetime emergency payments. So if there is a flood and the power goes out, someone loses all the food in their refrigerator. This is a onetime payment to help them buy food and things like that. So there is no plan to continue these onetime payments. And as for additional flood relief, that is a different department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.