Shauna Morgan

Okay, and thanks for that. I mean, recognizing some of the challenges, has the Minister had any conversations with the federal government regarding both the potential to fund renewable diesel projects or ways to incentivize the production of Arctic grade renewable diesel? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I have a question on the overall active position summary. So when I was looking at records it was actually a CBC article about the growth in the public service since about 2018, I noticed in particular the Department of Finance, in 2018, had about 357 staff and then it grew to about 490 staff, and now it's sitting at well, for this coming year, 563 staff.

Can the Minister give some explanation of why the Department of Finance has grown from 357 staff in 2018 to 563 now? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I just have a quick question for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. So I mentioned in my Member's statement today that there is a local resident in my riding who is trying to get together or pull together a community art project to paint some murals on public housing units that are boarded up and the department of housing has been super helpful in providing the boards and logistics, and I am wondering if the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment might have any ideas for funding that could help get this project off the ground, just some small...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So my understanding is that this is meant to be a pilot project, which implies that it's time limited, so how long is this pilot project intended to last? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the trades and occupations wage subsidy I'm reading here, that provides financial assistance to employers to hire Northerners with little or no work experience and support that individual to progress through apprenticeship. If we're not getting this program fully subscribed, it seems like there should be a big need for this kind of thing. Does the Minister believe that there is more we can do to, you know, try to recruit employers, try to promote this program more, or are we going about it the wrong way? It seems likes this is one of the key goals to achieve our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So my questions today deal with housing, but I'll direct them to the Minister of health and social services as they relate to a program that is split between the two departments. So there are really encouraging plans to develop a transitional housing program for those returning for addictions treatment, and the pilot will involve one in Inuvik and one in Yellowknife. So does the Minister know, first, how many spot are needed in Yellowknife as in how many folks in Yellowknife do we generally have at any given time who are returning from treatment and need somewhere to...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And so my understanding is that we have an action plan, the Skills 4 Success Action Plan, that is supposed to go from 2021 to 2025. So are we able to continue on with that action plan and accomplishing the goals that we've set for ourselves without any funding in that line item this year? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during a time of fiscal restraint it's easy to few arts as an extra, a nice to have when times are good but a budget line that should be cut when we're tightening our belts. Mr. Speaker, I think it's time we stopped viewing arts as simply a budget line. It doesn't need to be something that's separate from our real priorities, like education, economy, health care, housing. It can be a way of doing things and a way of approaching problems with more creativity, more humanity, more connection.

Art is more than something that professionals do on stage when they...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And so were these reductions done in consultation with education authorities or based on recommendations from those education authorities or I understand some of these are with you know, solely within ECE, but there may be impacts on education authorities and the work that they do. So can the Minister speak to any consultation that was done there or recommendations from the authorities?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And just to clarify, so my comment on the issue of whether retirements would impact programs, that was just sort of globally in general whenever we talk about retirements and vacancies.

Anyway, so is the Minister suggesting that enrolment has gone down by 25 percent from last year to this year? I mean, and it's also significantly lower than the previous year. Is that what we're talking about that student enrolment has gone down 25 percent in the past year?