Thank you, Madam Chair. I am just looking at 2018-2019, when we provided $25,000 to the Northwest Territories SPCA. I believe this was under the Extraordinary Funding Policy, essentially, because right now the NWT SPCA doesn't fit into any pool of money. I brought this up with Municipal and Community Affairs previously. There is this argument that this becomes municipal jurisdiction. However, I really do think that the NWT SPCA does great work across the territory. My question is: is the Premier willing to assign a department, I think probably MACA in this case, to take some responsibility and make sure that some department's mandate covers the NWT SPCA so that we are not just one-off funding every once in a while through the extraordinary policy? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. At this point, I am not willing to commit that we would actually fund SPCA directly. That would be inappropriate, to go there. Again, not known for being too politically correct, I am going to try to be respectful, though. Municipalities, the term is often used, "dogs, ditches, and dumps," which implies that SPCA care of animals is under the responsibility of municipalities. By-laws would give tickets for homeowners who don't take care; by-law will pick up your animals. They picked up my animal quite a few times. I was starting to fund them independently. What I can commit to is that we agreed that we would do a policy related to the extraordinary funds because, Madam Chair, it should not be that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. That is what I found in this government. When people come crying or they reach out to their MLAs, we tend to be reactive and provide it to them. I also know there are a lot of good causes out there that don't have the capacity to send somebody here. They don't have the capacity to reach out to their MLAs. We can't leave them behind. My commitment is to do enough of policy in regard to all extraordinary funding. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate the commitment to update the Extraordinary Funding Policy, but I don't think this is the place for the NWT SPCA to ever fit. I recognize that the heart of what the SPCA in Yellowknife is doing is municipal, but there is this issue: the SPCA also travels to communities and provides vaccines; they do spay and neuter clinics. This idea that they are not doing territorial work is a misunderstanding of the importance of animal health. A single dog attack in a community, when we throw in the medical travel, costs us more than the SPCA would need to go and do the preventative work to make sure we are not having rabies outbreaks. Right now, we don't have a single department in the GNWT responsible for animal health. I recognize that the Premier cannot make a commitment to provide core funding at this time, but to assign the responsibility for animal health and the work that happens on a territorial level to some department so that they don't keep running into this block of finding absolutely no one to go talk to about larger territorial animal health concerns.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I will make a commitment that I will get the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs to start the discussions with municipalities and hamlets throughout the Northwest Territories because, even though it is a territorial issue, we are not talking wolves or caribou, that is ENR, we are talking domesticated animals that have been not cared for properly, is usually what happens with that or, in my case, not keeping them inside enough and being let go. That is an issue, a discussion that should be happening between the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs and municipal governments. I will make a commitment that those discussions will be taking place in this Assembly. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Just while we are on this Extraordinary Funding Policy, part of the problem is there is no policy. This was raised in the last Assembly. We had some one-offs that made their way mysteriously into the Executive and Indigenous Affairs budget. When is this policy going to be finished? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I know that people are trying to nail down timelines. I would like to give timelines. However, I am also conscious of the amount of workload that we have to take on. What I commit to is that it will be done within two years, but, in the meantime, any extraordinary funding that comes across my desk as the Premier will be scrutinized. Perhaps I will even extend it to offering standing committee an explanation of the requests so that we can do this together as a team, which we should be doing. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Frame Lake.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I recall seeing in the last Assembly a policy that was virtually finished. I think all it needed was somebody to sign it. I am going to leave that with the Minister. I don't think it needs two years. It was already finished. She just has to probably pick up the old document, reprint it, and sign it. I want to move on to the single-window service centres. I think the last one that was established was in Jean Marie in 2018-2019. It doesn't look like there is anything in this budget for another community. Is that the case? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We do have money internally. We are looking at the twenty-third one. The region that we are looking at is the Deh Cho. That is still in negotiations though. We are planning on implementing a twenty-third single-service window. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Frame Lake.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Can the Minister point me to what line item on page 115, where I would find that increase of one PY? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. You won't see it in these mains because it is not an increase. It has actually been there on the books for a number of years. It is just a matter of implementing that program. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Frame Lake.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I want to thank the Minister for that. I want to move on to the Office of Devolution Initiatives. In her opening remarks, she mentioned that one of the purposes of this office is that they are assigned the lead of a review of the NWT Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement transitional provisions as they relate to the MVRMA. I think that I understand what that is about, but what is our objective in that review? What are we trying to accomplish? Thanks, Madam Chair

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Madam Premier.

Martin Goldney.

Mr. Goldney.