Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in the mandate to respond to recommendations in the Northwest Territories’ Environmental Audit for improved environmental management. The Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act requires an environmental audit to be completed at least every five years by an independent auditor. The audit reflects obligations in the Sahtu, Gwich’in and Tlicho agreements and is a key tool for environmental management in the territory. Its recommendations will help guide governments, Aboriginal organizations and other decision-makers. The 2015 audit was completed in March 2016. This is the first time the Government of the Northwest Territories has been responsible for facilitating the audit following devolution. Previous audits were undertaken in 2005 and 2010.
Mr. Speaker, the 2015 audit found the environmental regulatory system in the Northwest Territories has continued to improve since the last audit in 2010. The integrated system of land and water management is generally effective in protecting the environment. The Government of the Northwest Territories was recognized for taking a much more active role in the Mackenzie Valley environmental regulatory system, particularly in the areas of wildlife management, air quality, management of securities, and land use planning in unsettled areas. The audit identified five fundamental challenges that continue to affect the ability of the system to fully function, including the completion of unsettled land claims and land use plans, clarity on federal consultation, capacity for Aboriginal governments and organizations participation in the regulatory system, and the integration of socioeconomics in the decision-making. In total, the 2015 Northwest Territories Environmental Audit yielded 24 recommendations directed at various parties with decision-making roles in the Northwest Territories regulatory system. Facilitated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the audit was conducted by Arcadis Canada Incorporated, an independent auditor selected through a competitive bidding process and under contract to the Government of the Northwest Territories. An audit steering committee comprising a representative from Aboriginal governments and organizations, and the territorial and federal government, assisted in selection of the auditor and provided guidance and support to the auditor throughout the process. The responsibility for addressing recommendations in the audit is shared among many directly affected parties, including governments, Aboriginal organizations and resource management boards. These recommendations are intended for use by decision-makers to improve the effectiveness of the regulation of environmental and resource management in the Northwest Territories. In an effort to increase accountability, the 2015 Audit Report marks the first time parties have been asked to respond directly to recommendations made by the auditor.
Mr. Speaker, the 2015 Northwest Territories Environmental Audit is an important tool the government and its partners can use to improve coordination and effectiveness in resource management systems, while incorporating traditional knowledge and honouring obligations under land claim agreements and devolution. I will be tabling the audit later today and look forward to working with all responsible parties over the next five years to review the recommendations and the responses to them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Ministers’ statements. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment
Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories holds a virtually untapped wealth of oil and gas resources. The jobs, income and revenues associated with the responsible development of those resources represent an enormous economic and social development opportunity for the people of the Northwest Territories. Our government is taking steps to realize those opportunities on behalf of our residents. The Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its mandate to develop a long-term strategy to attract oil and gas development in the territory. I look forward to presenting a draft NWT Oil and Gas Strategy to this Assembly before the end of this fiscal year. The strategy will provide a framework for the environmentally responsible and economically sustainable advancement of the oil and gas industry in the NWT for the benefit of all NWT residents. The need to develop a long-term strategy to attract oil and gas development in the NWT was first identified in the NWT Economic Opportunities Strategy; work is ongoing to develop the strategy. It is informed by public and stakeholders engagements, focus groups, interviews and surveys completed last year, and documented in the Pathways to Petroleum Development Public Engagement Report. Our intent is that it provides a clear set of goals and recommendations that will serve to identify what needs to be done and how it should be completed. The government has also made a commitment in the mandate to advance the territorial vision of land and resource management in accordance with the Land Use and Sustainability Framework by evolving our legislative, regulatory and policy systems. As part of this, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is preparing to advance a legislative review of the Petroleum Resources Act and the Oil and Gas Operations Act. These acts were inherited from the federal government as part of the devolution agreement, and the time has come for us to make them our own, reflective of and focused on the needs and priorities of Northwest Territories’ residents.
Mr. Speaker, our work is in its early days but aims to reduce redundancies in the regulatory process, redouble our commitment to environmental protection in all resource extraction activities, and modernize the acts to work with contemporary best practices. As we prepare to advance this work in the Northwest Territories, the Government of Canada is also reviewing the Canada Petroleum Resources Act, from which our legislation was mirrored. In both cases, there is little reference to unconventional gas resources and extraction techniques used to recover them. This is an important point to consider in the wake of the most-recent world-class natural gas find in the Liard Basin. We as a government must do all we can to support the timely delivery of our resources to market with the utmost care for the protection of our land, wildlife and water. This requires a formal made-in-the-Northwest Territories approach, something we are now readying to provide. We will be incorporating the feedback and lessons learned from our 2015 engagement processes, the Canada Petroleum Resources Act Review, and additional consultation and engagement to draft our amendments to legislation, regulations and policies, mindful of our commitment to provide meaningful opportunities for participation in land and resource decisions to citizens of our territory. Mr. Speaker, our work will require collaboration; and Mr. Speaker, the framework for this collaboration is well established. This Government of the Northwest Territories’ Departments of Lands, ENR, ITI, and Finance have committed to work together to advance the territorial vision of land and resource management in accordance with the Land Use and Sustainability Framework to evolve our legislative, regulatory, and policy systems. Meanwhile, our client services and community relations unit is dedicated to building strong relationships with our communities, providing education and outreach services and bringing public questions and concerns to light surrounding natural resource projects. We cannot deny that we sit in the down cycle of the commodity markets right now. This is something we have seen before. Commodity markets rise, they fall, they recover; it’s the natural flow of the markets. As we sit in this downturn, our government is hard at work ensuring our jurisdiction will be ready to capitalize on the next peak in commodities in an economically, socially and environmentally responsible manner, and in the best interest of the Northwest Territories, our economy, and our people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Ministers’ statements. Minister of Lands.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the GNWT has made a commitment in its mandate to finalize the Recreational Land Management Framework and a plan for the Yellowknife periphery area. Engaging with NWT residents while doing this work is critical to making sure public land will be managed in a manner that is transparent, consistent and reflects public values. This has set the tone for the approach that the Department of Lands has taken in developing both an NWT-wide Recreational Land Management Framework and a recreation management plan for areas around Yellowknife. The results of these processes will be invaluable to the GNWT’s future decision-making. The NWT Recreational Land Management Framework will include the government’s vision for how we manage public land for recreation purposes in all regions. The framework will also outline the work that the GNWT needs to do so that we can better manage cabins and recreational uses on public lands. In the coming weeks, the department will begin formal consultation with Aboriginal governments and organizations on the draft framework document. After this process is complete, the draft framework will be available for public feedback before finalization in the fall. We are also working on a recreation management plan for the areas around Yellowknife. This plan will provide direction and guidance for managing outdoor recreation resources and opportunities in the area, and it will identify areas for future cabin leases. Public engagement is underway for this plan, with a variety of ways for the public, interest groups and other stakeholders to get involved. I encourage Members with an interest in the area to get involved. The public has been very responsive to the initiative and we appreciate everyone taking the time to help the department understand how they use this area for recreation. We hope the public interest in the initiative continues. Residents can also visit the Department of Lands website to find out how to contribute. Before finalizing the plan, we will be sharing it with the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment and all Yellowknife MLAs. As part of this Yellowknife planning process, we have engaged directly with the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, the Tlicho Government, the Northwest Territory Metis Nation, and the North Slave Metis Alliance, and these groups have been invited to participate in the development of the plan. The Department of Lands will formally consult with these organizations before the recreation management plan is finalized. Having the framework finalized this year, and a recreation management plan in place for all areas around Yellowknife by the spring of 2017 will allow the GNWT to improve coordination and effectiveness in resource management systems, recognizing traditional knowledge, land claim agreements, and devolution. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Ministers’ statements. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Mr. Speaker, as stewards of the land, we have a responsibility to make prudent decisions about how we use, share, and protect it in a way that reflects the values and priorities of our residents. This includes the air we breathe. Historically, air emissions and air quality management in the Northwest Territories have been unregulated. The Government of the Northwest Territories is now proceeding to occupy this regulatory field. We have made a commitment in the government’s mandate to advance the territorial vision of land and resource management in accordance with the Land Use and Sustainability Framework by evolving our legislative, regulatory, and policy systems. Developing and proposing amendments to the Environmental Protection Act to provide for air quality regulations is one of the specific actions we are committed to. These regulations will fill a long-standing gap in the regulatory regime for the Northwest Territories. They will create regulatory certainty and consistency, clarity for industry, and benefit human health and the environment. These regulations will allow the Government of the Northwest Territories to set specific emission limits for certain equipment, set limits on the concentrations of contaminants in the ambient air, and maintain air quality that protects and enhances the environment and public health. Similar to other jurisdictions, air permits will be required for larger operations. Some components of air permits will include requirements for assessments, best available technology economically achievable, monitoring, and emission fees, among others. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has developed a regulatory framework with the proposed concepts and ideas for regulating air emissions and air quality. We have been working with other GNWT departments, the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, and other affected regulators for input and feedback on the proposed air regulatory framework and the proposed Environmental Protection Act amendments. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources will be engaging with MLAs, Aboriginal governments, stakeholders, and Northwest Territories residents this summer to hear their views and gather input on the proposed Northwest Territories air regulatory framework. I look forward to hearing Members’ thoughts on this important issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Ministers’ statements. Honourable Premier.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise the Members that the Honourable Caroline Cochrane will be absent from the House today and tomorrow to attend the federal-provincial-territorial Ministers responsible for housing meeting in Victoria, British Columbia. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the commitment of this government to transparency and public engagement. Mr. Speaker, during last fall’s election campaign, we heard from our constituents across the Northwest Territories. Our residents want consensus government that works. They want to feel they are a part of it. They need to be able to see what is going on, Mr. Speaker. During this election process for Premier and Cabinet, and when we forged the mandate to guide us during the 18th Assembly, we committed and recommitted to that openness and transparency. Our mandate includes commitments to hold Cabinet meetings in the regions of the territory, to improve opportunities for meaningful public input, to enhance collaboration between Cabinet and Regular Members, and to establish an open government policy to enhance public participation in government. To support these commitments, the government even established a new Cabinet portfolio of Public Engagement and Transparency, Mr. Speaker.
These are lofty and worthy goals, Mr. Speaker, but I am not sure if the government’s actions today is as strong as the promises made in the mandate. We have heard little from the Minister for Public Engagement and Transparency. Last week, questions were raised in the House about sole-source contracts and the effects new limits might have on small business. Recently, decisions were made about the role of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation that still have many wondering what the real reason for doing that was and what future effects such a decision will have. The picture remains unclear. In these instances, Mr. Speaker, along with others, the provision of more information through inclusive public engagement would ensure more openness and transparency from the government’s side of the House. It would reassure Ordinary MLAs and our residents to whom we all answer of the government’s good and open intentions. Mr. Speaker, like everyone here, I have dedicated myself to public service in this government because I believe that, by working together, by collaborating and learning from each other, we can make life better for residents we serve. I believe that this is how consensus government can be made more successful and find real lasting solutions that will enhance the lives of residents of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will have questions for the Minister for Public Engagement and Transparency. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members’ statements. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. The federal government announced a review of the environmental assessment processes on June 20, 2016. This process is being led by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Ottawa says that an expert panel will engage broadly with Canadians, Indigenous groups, and key stakeholders and develop recommendations to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change for restoring public confidence in environmental assessment processes. Public input is invited until July 20, 2016, on the draft terms of reference for the expert panel. Following this consultation period, details will be announced on the members of the expert panel, and there will be a participant funding process for Indigenous people. The big problem with the federal review is that the North is excluded. The draft terms of reference note, “matters related to northern environmental assessment regimes will be redirected as appropriate to the process launched by the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs to amend northern regimes. Matters relating to northern environmental assessment regimes are outside the mandate of this expert Panel.” When I checked the Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada website, there is mention of Bill C-17 described as an attempt to fix the damage done to the Yukon environmental assessment regime done by the previous federal government. There is nothing about the Northwest Territories and the damage done by the unilateral changes to the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act that resulted in the successful court challenge by the Tlicho government. It is not clear how the federal government is going to approach our environmental assessment process in the Mackenzie Valley, including building a participant funding program other Canadians south of 60 are entitled to access. I will have questions for the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations later today on what the federal review of environmental assessment processes mean for Northwest Territories residents and what the position of this Cabinet is on this issue. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members’ statements. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one morning in the summer of 2011, an Aboriginal man took his young daughter moose hunting near the Highway of Tears. Spanning from Prince George to Prince Rupert, B.C., the Highway of Tears received its name because of the dozens of women who have gone missing or who have been found murdered along its route. As the man watched his daughter skinning the moose they took that day, he thought about those women and how much he wanted his daughter to live a life free of violence. Together, with family and friends, the man and his daughter cut the moose hide into small squares, like the one I am wearing today. He began distributing the squares to men to inspire them to get involved in a movement to end violence against women and children. This is how the Moose Hide Campaign began. Wearing the moose hide signifies your commitment to honour, respect, and protect the women and children in your life and work together with other men to end violence against women and children. This campaign has spread across the country and is well on its way of reaching its goal of distributing one million moose hide squares by 2020. Family violence usually happens behind closed doors. That allows it to be ignored and to continue. Wearing these patches helps bring the issue into the public sphere and allows us to start conversations. That is how we begin addressing the issue. The campaign is a way for men to stand up to violence and say, “no more.” We also need to realize that this issue is bigger than what goes on behind closed doors. While trauma suffered by abusers is often the catalyst for violence against women and children, we must also recognize the systemic discrimination that women face from a very young age that devalues them in the eyes of males. We need to eliminate behaviours that our society passively accepts, such as objectification, cat-calling, and a “boys will be boys” mentality. We must also actively support our mandate priority of getting more women engaged in politics because, despite all our good intentions, laws, and organizational structures, they are designed almost exclusively by men and are necessarily biased. In the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, all Members stood in solidarity with the Moose Hide Campaign by wearing the moose hide square while the House was in session. I have squares for the Members of this Assembly and in the future would like us to do the same. Mr. Speaker, I encourage men across the NWT to stand up to end violence against women and children and be part of this desperately needed change. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members’ statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my statement today addresses the lack of adequate gymnasium space for K’alemi Dene School, the community school of Ndilo. KDS currently serves 120 students from junior kindergarten through to grade 12. This school is one of the few in the NWT at capacity that has no gym. K’alemi Dene School was built for a capacity of 121 students and is presently sitting at 100 per cent utilization. The five-year projection for this school is 140 students, which would put the utilization at 116 per cent. According to the priorities of their capital plan submission, they would like a new gym and classroom space to accommodate increased enrolment. As you know, Mr. Speaker, the physical activity is critical in the healthy development of our youth. It is well known that physical activity positively impacts healthy living with both intermediate and long-term benefits. Healthy habits start at childhood. By providing an adequate gymnasium for K’alemi Dene School, we are making a commitment to the students’ long-term success in life. At this time, Mr. Speaker, K’alemi Dene School is totally reliant upon the YKDFN gymnasium for physical education. Unfortunately, this option is not always available, as the band requires the gymnasium for meetings and current community events. Additionally, the YKDFN gymnasium is very small. The lack of space makes it difficult for older students to develop the skills to be a competitive level and impossible for them to hold any type of tournament. Mr. Speaker, in response to the TRC recommendation, the GNWT committed to working actively to close the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students. Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, in the mandate of this Legislative Assembly, we speak to the K to 12 support systems to improve educational outcomes. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment at the appropriate time. Marci cho, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members’ statements. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, Mr. Speaker, I am going to talk about negotiated contracts. In my research, there has been over 180 negotiated contracts, over $5,000 for the timeframe of 2010 to 2015. This worked out to be just over $508 million. Mr. Speaker, the negotiated contracts policy was introduced during the 12th Assembly. The goal is to improve opportunities for emerging northern businesses to benefit from government contracts and ensuring the maximum of capital investment stays in the local community. Mr. Speaker, in this House we heard about the great benefits of the negotiated contract for the Inuvik to Tuk Highway. These are two strong regional companies, one from Inuvik and one from Tuk, that were able to successfully get this contract, I totally agree with the government doing the negotiated contract process. The money stays in the North where it can be reinvested. There is local employment and training. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, recently a request from my riding was turned down. As I tried to figure out what was happening, I was told it was a political decision, and I should not take it personally. Well, Mr. Speaker, I do take it personally. This type of decision has a huge impact on the small communities I represent. These contracts mean local employment. This means that people who want to work get the opportunity. As well, there could be the opportunity to be trained, as it was on the Inuvik Tuk Highway. Mr. Speaker, it is very sad to have men and women come to me and ask why the company was not even given the opportunity to negotiate the contract, and they see folks from outside their community working in their town. Later today, I will have questions for the Premier. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members’ statements. Member for Kam Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. Monsieur le President, last Friday Northerners celebrated Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day. Today I would like to show appreciation to the vibrant francophone community that calls the NWT home. The Franco-Tenoise have a long and storied history in our territory. To start with, the first person of European descent to reach the Great Slave Lake was a francophone, Laurent Leroux. In 1786, Leroux built the trading post at Fort Resolution, and in 1790 he founded the original Fort Providence trading post, just 20 kilometres from our modern-day capital. The Franco-Tenoise have dealt with many substantial pressures throughout their history within our territory, but through their tenacity and pride in their cultural inheritance, they remain to this day a vital part of our cultural fabric.
[English translation not provided.]
The Federation Franco-Tenoise was founded in 1978. Their original mission was to provide a radio antenna that could pick up Radio-Canada, but they quickly came to the conclusion that they deserved more cultural recognition within the territory. At the end of the 1980s the federation took an active part in the creation of a French school in Yellowknife, Ecole Allain-St-Cyr, a structure that stands to this day and serves as monument to all future generations that the Franco-Tenoise are here to stay, and to flourish.
[English translation not provided.]
Monsieur le President, at this time I’d ask for unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Merci, Monsieur le President. Merci, colleagues.
[English translation not provided.]
Merci, Monsieur le President.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we draw closer to the conclusion of our Session, Mr. Speaker, some of us are going to be heading home and entertaining local groups in our communities as we enter the summer season of assemblies and gatherings and community council meetings, et cetera. At this point in time here, we would also experience the new transition of our new health system here taken into effect from the previous government on August 1st, and later I will have questions to the appropriate Minister on start-up operations and preparation for that date. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members’ statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the growth of the film, television and media arts sector is an economic success story in the Northwest Territories. In early 2015, ITI tabled Take One, a strategy and action plan to grow the economic potential of the sector, then at $9.7 million a year. The introduction of a $100,000 pot of money for a rebate program to be spent on training, spending and travel provided incentives to film on location with local residents. The feature film, The Sun at Midnight, was one of two films approved for the rebate last year. With a total budget of $250,000, the producers were able to employ 34 Northerners in various capacities. Over 70 per cent of that budget was spent in the NWT, and half of that in the community of Fort McPherson. The filmmakers only spent money in the south when expertise and services were unavailable in the north. An early valuation of the film says it looks like it costs $2 million to make, a tremendous complement to the whole crew. The film will be completed in July and shown at various festivals. There are successes on TV as well. Dene: a Journey has highlighted the culture of the NWT for a national audience. It was renewed for a second season with APTN. Another program, Fur Harvesters NWT, shot in Hay River, averaged a viewership of 2.2 million, the highest ever for a new show in the history of WildTV. The government has wisely, yes wisely, recognized the success of this sector by doubling rebate funding available for this fiscal year. Just this month the Minister said the program is no longer a pilot, but a permanent fixture. The world is obviously hungry for northern stories. With increased experience, exposure and proven products, Northern producers now have the opportunity to access greater pots of money both nationally and internationally. Notably, the Canadian Media Fund has just raised the Northern Incentive fund to $1 million this year because of the desire to see more northern/regional programming. The film, television and media arts sector has proven returns. Companies working in this sector should have proper financial incentives to develop projects that can prove profitable and generate returns in the North. I propose the GNWT create financial incentives similar to the Mining Incentive Program. I seek unanimous consent, Mr. Speaker, to conclude my statement. Thank you.
---Unanimous consent granted
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi, colleagues. I propose the GNWT create financial incentives similar to the Mining Incentive Program for northern professionals to develop northern content. In addition to attracting more outside productions to the NWT, we can actively continue to grow the film, television and media arts sector from within. If we are to take this sector seriously, we must further increase investment in it in the next budget. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members’ statements. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories is a beautiful place in northern Canada. We have the second largest river in North America and several of the deepest lakes in Canada. “Wild” and “pristine” are words we use to describe the North in the promotional materials to draw in visiting tourists that may either fly or drive north. Mr. Speaker, I went home on the weekend and drove from Yellowknife to Fort Providence. I understand that summer time is the time when repairs and construction for our highways take place. I came across intermittent stops for construction. I ask travelers on the highway to obey all signs and especially the areas where construction is taking place. Of particular interest is the area of the highway between Yellowknife and Behchoko. This section is riddled with potholes and dips that could cause even the most experienced driver to slow down and be weary of possibly careening off the road. Some potholes are not marked and provide no warning to the traveler. A few people describe this section of the highway as ad and in terrible condition. The road has seen better days. Mr. Speaker, the Deh Cho Bridge has enabled uninterrupted traffic 24 hours a day, from Enterprise to Yellowknife. We also have heavy transportation of goods during the winter season, with large truck hauling supplies for the diamond mines. We need to remember that it’s our lifelong residents that use the highways the most and efforts have to be made to improve the road conditions so that they are safe and enjoyable roads to travel on. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I’ll have questions for the Minister responsible for Transportation at the appropriate time.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to bring your attention back to the Premier’s Awards ceremony that took place June 15, 2016. Mr. Speaker, Members of the Mackenzie Delta as well as the Gwich’in Tribal Council were honored for various awards. Please allow me to congratulate Shirley Snowshoe from Fort McPherson, Velma lllisiak from Aklavik, Alestine Andre from Tsiigehtchic, Sarah Jerome originally from Fort McPherson, as well as Norman Snowshoe and Diane Baxter from the Gwich’in Tribal Council for the collaboration award for Gwich’in curriculum development. Also David Krutko from Fort McPherson for NWT-Alberta and NWT-British Columbia Bilateral Water Management Agreements. Also, Mr. Speaker, Robert Charlie from the Gwich’in Tribal Council for the collaboration award in the NWT ASETS for the Aurora College. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ll direct my question to the Minister responsible for the Department of the Executive. Mr. Speaker, the 2016-17 operating budget contains funding proposals for four new communications officers in the Executive. The positions were recommended in a functional review of the communications activity “to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government communications through an increased focus on communication that is centered, digital, open, and engages residence.” The budget presentation said that a rigorous, transparent and public results reporting tool will be created to provide ongoing updates on progress being made to fulfill the government’s commitments in the mandate. Can the Minister tell us how he plans to roll this out in collaboration with Regular Members? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will work closely with the Regular Members in developing this report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
