Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Has the Premier issued the direction of discussions with Ministers Simpson and Thompson respectively about the completion dates of transformation of Aurora College and the polytechnic to develop a governance of options, and also NTPC?

I have not sat down and had direct conversations with both Ministers that were named, to say what kind of board you are doing and those kinds of things. However, I was the education Minister before, and I know that education does have a timeline when they will be bringing in a board of directors. Ministers are responsible for appointing their boards, Mr. Speaker, and so, therefore, if they wanted a direct timeline, it's probably better to ask the relevant Ministers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's my understanding that the Tlicho Government was involved with the negotiation of the numbers and the quota for the Tlicho All-Season Road, so I cannot speak specifically to why those numbers were not as the Member would like to see. However, I believe, as the Cabinet and all of us together, all 19 of us together, have made retaining our government dollars in the North and maximizing them for the benefits of all residents of the Northwest Territories a priority that we are committed to, one that I am personally committed to, I think that the Member will see that, under a different direction of this Cabinet, we will be seeing more of those contract dollars staying in the North and looking at more of the indirect benefits of retaining northern businesses and Indigenous businesses. I cannot speak to why this one ended up the way it did. I was not part of that negotiation. However, I would be more than willing to discuss that with the Member going forward on future contracts, if he would like.

I understand where the Minister is coming from. She was not part of the process, but she is the Minister today who can deal with this matter. There is an American firm operating at site. The money is going south. We are not benefitting from that in the Northwest Territories, the tax implications and so forth. Mr. Speaker, this is a very crucial issue that we need to deal with. We have experienced Stanton hospital. We have experienced major projects, Deh Cho Bridge and other places. We are still dealing with that in this House in 2020, Mr. Speaker. When is that going to stop?

Since the Minister alluded to the contract that was negotiated, the 19^th Assembly government talked about being transparent and accountable. The names of the contract negotiated for the Tlicho All-Season Road project are blacked out on the document provided by the Minister's office to me. The Tlicho constituents would like to know who negotiated these contracts. When will the Minister demonstrate the required openness and transparency and provide a copy of the contract with the actual signatories' names on it so that I can share it with my constituents?

It's my understanding that that specific contract has gone through the ATIPP process. I do recognize that I need to get more information on why those specific signatories were blacked out. I do believe there are issues around privacy, of actually having the signature of people in documents that were provided so that they cannot be electronically copied. However, if it's an issue of that, then I would look into why the actual name itself is not provided. I will get that information and send it back to the Member.

When is this going to change? I can tell you it's going to change right now. I am a new Minister. I am changing the way my department is going to do things. It's going to take me some time. It would be very irresponsible for me to come in and start making changes before I have a better understanding of what's going on in my department, so, at this moment, I'm collecting my data, I'm gathering my facts, and I can guarantee you that the Member and all of the Members are going to see changes in the contracting system.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. My question is: for every dollar we currently spend providing income assistance, how much do we spend in administration?

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The budgeted amount for the Income Assistance program in 2019-2020 was $32 million. That being said, it's difficult to always estimate exactly how much we'll need, so there have been overruns of about $2 or $3 million every year, so say maybe $35 million would be spent in 2018-2019. Of that, about $6.5 million is for Income Security Program support. The other $27 or $28 million or so goes directly to clients. I'd also like to mention that we also have additional income security programs, such as the Senior Home Heating Subsidy, that also provides some income security. Thank you.

Can I clarify those numbers I just heard? We spent $6.5 million on administration, and then the remainder of the $32 million is actually direct payments to clients? Is that correct?

That's correct. That $32 million is the budgeted amount. It's likely a couple of million dollars higher in actual payments.

By my calculation, we're spending about 20 percent for every dollar we give out on administration. Can the Minister clarify how many different Income Assistance programs there presently are?

There is a distinction between income security programs and Income Assistance programs, and I believe, from earlier conversations with the Member, he wants to know about the Income Assistance program in particular. We have one Income Assistance program, and that program provides financial assistance to residents to assist with their basic and enhanced needs, which include shelter, food, utilities, clothing, childcare, as well as allowances for persons with permanent disabilities, or seniors.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My concern here is that we seem to be spending 20 percent on administration for every dollar we give out, and then we're requiring all of these people to monthly report. Do all of our Income Assistance programs require monthly reporting?

We have the one program, and not all of the clients have to report monthly. If a client has an income that is steady and doesn't change month to month, or year to year, even, they can be put on a payroll system so that reporting can happen every three months, six months, or 12 months, depending on how stable their income is. While most clients have to report monthly on income, a number of clients don't. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Finance. As the Government of the Northwest Territories works to modernize the Public Service Act, what is the process for consulting key stakeholders, such as the Union of Northern Workers and the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before any proposed legislation comes forward, obviously, there needs to be a legislative proposal put together, and in the course of preparing a legislative proposal, there is a process convention that requires that an appropriate standing committee will see a copy of that legislative proposal. That's the early stages of all development of legislation. It will certainly not be our intention to deviate from that. It would be our intention to follow that process convention so that, when we are going through those early stages, the relevant standing committee would be involved. In that sense, the consultation of this House will take place.

Meanwhile, Mr. Speaker, as I believe I mentioned previously, the idea of modernizing the Public Service Act started two years ago. There was detailed research done. At that time, both unions were consulted at length, and they continue to be consulted now in terms of understanding where this idea might go. As far as it becoming a clearer process, that has to go through the same process as every other piece of legislation. A legislative proposal has to come forward first, go to standing committee, and only then does it go to Cabinet, after which a bill would be drafted. Then, of course, at that point, further consultation takes place.

Has the Minister been in contact with the Union of Northern Workers or the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association recently, given that we are about to enter into new collective bargaining later this year?