Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll be quick. I just -- I don't support this motion. And, you know, I hear what the Minister has stated. I hear, but we don't need to recreate the wheel. We have this stuff. We are a small territory. We don't -- and she's mentioned we don't have a lot of dental hygienists now. And the thing is all this is going to do, you know, is it prolongs the inevitable. We continue to prolong it. This has been an issue. My colleague has mentioned, and I'm not going to repeat it, but, you know, like, the delay after delay of not doing this work and all that I've seen is this fall apart. The services fall apart. We cannot even create different types of programming that will service our small communities, our regional centres, to do health promotion. So, again, I will not support this motion. Thank you.

Mahsi. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions? The motion is defeated.

---Defeated

Clause 1, does committee agree?

Clause 2, does committee agree?

Clause 3, does committee agree?

Committee, to the bill as a whole, does committee agree that Bill 80, Dental Hygienists Profession Statutes Amendment Act, is now ready for third reading as amended? No, not as amended.

Okay, does committee agree that Bill 80, Dental Hygienists Profession Statutes Amendment Act, is now ready for third reading?

Thank you, committee. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 80, Dental Hygienists Profession Statutes Amendment Act?

Mahsi to the sponsoring Member of the bill. Can the sergeant-at-arms escort the witness from the Chamber. Mahsi. And we're just going to have a quick recess to change out chairs here.

---SHORT RECESS

I now call Committee of the Whole back to order. Committee, we've agreed to consider Tabled Document 973-19(2), the 2024-2025 Capital Estimates. I will remind the Members that we concluded consideration of all the detail within the document on September 29th. Does the Minister of Finance have any remarks?

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I'm obviously in support of the capital estimates for 2024-2025. I am. I'd like to give you some details as to why and to the process by which we've arrived here today. These estimates, Madam Chair, propose a total investment, as you know, of more than $361 million for infrastructure in the Northwest Territories and to continue the work that's already being completed on a number of key infrastructure projects across the territory. This includes some large-scale infrastructure needs like the replacement of the Frank Channel bridge, the extension of the Inuvik runway, and the construction of a territorial fire centre, while also still supporting smaller capital projects in communities across the Northwest Territories.

I want to reiterate how much of the planned infrastructure expenditures are supported by federal infrastructure funding programs, with almost 53 percent of this capital budget being eligible for reimbursement under federal programs. We know that capital investment, such as capital roadwork, provides ongoing work for small and medium-sized businesses across the territory. On the topic of roads, Madam Chair, I would note in looking back over the last three capital budgets, the percentage of the capital budget that's being spent on roads, roads that resupply and maintain our transportation connectivity across the territory that is larger than many European countries, that percentage has, in fact, decreased every year including to this year.

I am pleased that, once again, these capital estimates continue to address capital work that is realistic and achievable, within a departmental cap of $260 million, while addressing the priorities and needs of residents through established funding streams on top of that, such as biomedical and information technology, as well as preserving funding available for planning to ensure that our future capital budgets are built on well planned and carefully vetted projects. This also provides better accountability for the projects that are moving forward because a stronger review process that involves and engages all departments is better equipped to ensure that the needs of the territory as a whole are considered. There is also less room for one person or one interest to move something forward that does not reflect a fair assessment of the risks and needs affecting the whole territory.

Madam Chair, this is the eighth budget that I have put forward in my role as the Minister of Finance, the fourth capital budget. The process for both capital and mains is similar. It includes an in-camera briefing with committees followed by ongoing in-camera discussions between the chair, deputy chair of Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight, and myself, all aimed at finding consensus towards the passing of the budget, be it the mains or capital.

This process is one that I believe reflects the values of consensus government. We share significant information with Members of the House and discuss collectively what changes should be made to better reflect or advance priorities on behalf of the people of the Northwest Territories.

In our recent discussions, many people's attentions are quite reasonably still on the impacts of the wildfire season and resulting evacuations. However, I will note I am not able at capital budget to increase operations budgets. In some past years, I made commitments during the capital process to bring forward an operational supplementary appropriation but being at the end of the 19th Legislative Assembly, there will not be any further operations supplementary budgets done or by the 19th Legislative Assembly.

That said, I can commit or redirect resources that are already available in department budgets. And I am pleased to announce that the GNWT is committing a total of $200,000 to support food banks and organizations that support food security in communities that were affected by evacuations this summer. We understand the impacts the wildfires and subsequent evacuations have had on residents and on communities who were hosting residents, many of which were already food insecure.

The response to the GNWT wildfires and evacuations was comprehensive and substantial. We ensured there was accommodations, food, basic amenities, and travel supports, and we have also put $550,000 towards nonprofit organizations who are often better placed to help individual residents with specific or personal needs, may have made them less able to rely on the supports that were otherwise available to all residents. Hopefully, these additional funds now to assist with food security will also help local organizations assist with individual needs.

Madam Chair, I am also very pleased to share with this House that the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is expanding its support for businesses impacted by the wildfires and evacuations by increasing the amount of funding available under its Support for Entrepreneurs and Economic Development Program up to $2 million. The maximum amounts available to businesses will double for Yellowknife businesses, go to $15,000 for Fort Smith, and up to $20,000 for Hay River and K'atlodeeche First Nation, reflective of the lengths of times that each were under evacuation orders over this summer. Further, the period of eligible expenses will extend two weeks past the end of an evacuation order. A formal announcement with these details will be out as soon as possible, and the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment will work directly with businesses who may want or need to see a revision of any previous applications or amounts received.

These additions are yet another result of consensus government. Earlier in the life of the 19th Legislative Assembly through the process, the consensus process of discussing and negotiating every one of our budgets, we have collectively advanced other important initiatives, such as the early childhood infrastructure fund, increases to Housing NWT's operations and maintenance programs, and some of the initial funding for the homelessness strategy, just to name a few.

What is common throughout all of this, we are able to act collectively to increase funding strategically. We all have residents that we represent with needs that are not uniform across the whole of the Northwest Territories. And there are communities, and we all represent communities, in some cases we represent several communities, with needs that, again, are often different from one to the next. But we are collectively able, when we work together, to find areas of sufficiently common concern or agree on areas where the need is greater. I am proud to have been part of the consensus government of the Northwest Territories that has been so consistently represented throughout budget discussions. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Did the Minister wish to bring witnesses?

No, thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Do any Members have comments? Member for Frame Lake.

Yeah, thanks, Madam Chair. Yeah, I just -- a few things I guess I want to say that -- having sat eight years on this side of the House, one of the few points of leverage that Regular MLAs have is in budgets and -- both on the capital and O and M side. And, you know, I think Regular MLAs can and should and do use that leverage to negotiate what we believe sometimes should be priorities for our residents as well. Sometimes we maybe have a slightly different take than our colleagues on the other side, but that's how consensus government is supposed to work. People don't elect us here to agree with each other. They elect us here to get work done and try to find ways to work together.

I do want to say that it's been a privilege to represent the Regular MLAs for at least probably two -- two years in the budget negotiations with the Minister of Finance. It was definitely a lot more collegial in this Assembly than it was in the last, and dare I say, and sometimes even fun if you can believe it. So -- no, you know, very seriously, I think it's been a good collaborative process on the budgets that I've been engaged and involved on in this Assembly. We have a responsive finance Minister who's prepared to go out and do work and work with her colleagues on the Cabinet side. And likewise, on my side, I bring, you know, reports back to colleagues on my side of the House and, you know, we manage to reach agreement on a bunch of additions to budgets. We even manage to agree on cuts in one case. I think it was the travel during the COVID pandemic as well. So we -- you know, it's not that we're always asking. Sometimes we try to find ways to save some money to pay for some of the things that we would like to add into the budget. And I would say that the things that we tend to try to add into the budget are for the residents of all of the Northwest Territories because we -- that's why we're here. We do represent our constituencies, but when we try to secure improvements in programs and services, it's for all of our residents.

So I want to thank the Minister for the commitments that she's made in terms of the -- you know, it's no secret, Members on this side of the House have raised a number of situations and experiences of our residents. You know, over half of our residents were evacuated. And I think it's fair to say that most people are quite thankful that we got evacuated. They're thankful for the work that people did to stay here and save our communities. But in some cases, residents didn't always get the supports that they needed when they were away. And in the cases of businesses, they've come back and they need our help now to try to recover. Some of them had not quite even recovered from COVID. So I do want to express my personal appreciation and thanks for the work that the Minister has done, certainly within her own department, with ITI on expanding the SEED program, increasing the amount of assistance that's available to communities, making it a tiered approach so that the communities that are more affected for a longer period of time, those businesses can access more money. I think the increase in food security's helpful. Perhaps it could have been more but it's a help. But I think it did highlight the need for some more work, perhaps in the next Assembly, on food security. The expansion of the period that can be covered, the eligible expenses that might be considered, those are all good things. And I would encourage the Minister to -- and I know that she would do this, is to encourage her staff to actually reach out to applicants that are already in the system to work with them proactively to ensure that they can maximize the funding that they can receive under this expanded program.

So the one area that I guess I would have appreciated some more from my Cabinet colleagues is in making for a more adequate and equitable set of assistance for individual evacuees and their families. I know that the Evacuation Travel Support Program, $750 per vehicle, that was a good start. And as the Minister, I think has said, we can never make everybody whole again but I think there's problems with the equity of that program not addressing some people that flew out, and those people that were on government charters, or drove out and could not receive assistance because of a whole variety of situations, not able to access evacuation centres or the programs and services there and so on. So a number of us have raised these issues. So I would encourage our Cabinet colleagues to continue to do some work on those areas. And, of course, all of this is rather unusual because we are talking about O and M expenses in relation to a capital budget. But that's, I think, something that this Assembly has -- that the Regular MLAs have had successes not just in capital and O and M budgets and, maybe getting some leeway in other area -- sorry, in a capital versus an O and M, but also in policy issues. I think that's something that's been a significant development in this Assembly. And I would encourage the colleagues that come after us, as Regular MLAs, to continue to use the leverage that they have to get policy changes that will improve life for all of our residents.

So, Madam Chair, I think that's all the comments I have. Again, my appreciation to the finance Minister and her Cabinet colleagues for trying to meet some of our interests and the collaborative approach that we've had in place for much of the budgeting in this Assembly. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. If someone over there, who knew, would just tell me the price of the estimated building the Taltson Hydro Expansion Project, I would vote for this capital budget. I've been asking for four years. This House has approved tens of millions of dollars on that project never knowing how much it's going to cost. I think it's embarrassing for all of us that we're doing this. So one number, and I'll vote in favour of this. I don't even care if I like the project; I just want the number. Thank you.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Well, Madam Chair, I know that the Members did receive the preliminary business case back in May of 2022. So I realize that that is a number. I don't know if that's a good enough number. But if the MLA wants to look back at his materials, he'd certainly find a number in there, add a little inflation, and maybe he'll vote for the capital budget. Thank you.