Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's time to have that unfortunate and uncomfortable conversation about E-scooters. It is time to ask the government to start looking into regulations.

Now, if Dr. Suess was here today, he might say about E-scooters something along the lines of, I see them zip. I see them zag. On the sidewalks, on the roads, everywhere, who knows. Between cars, between people, eek. The next time I see them laying flat under a steeple. No brake lights for me as they glide through the intersection. Fools only stop. Helmets, signals, intersection stops. Nary a one as they flip their top. Mr. Speaker, it's time to say stop, stop, stop.

Mr. Speaker, some will argue scooters -- E-scooters are a toy. And, you know, to an MLA like me, they may say hey, take it easy, relax. You know, fair enough. However, Mr. Speaker, when you're driving over 30 kilometers an hour on a sidewalk, it's no longer a Nerf gun, Mr. Speaker. On average, E-scooters range between 15 and 30 miles an hour. That's 24 to 48 kilometers an hour. Similarly, do you know another toy that goes that fast through intersections with people? What about we regulate drones? So it's not unheard of to find ways that the public can still enjoy their novelties safely.

Mr. Speaker, looking through the Motor Vehicle Act, there's more regulations on pedestrians than there are on E-scooters. Pedestrians are told they must look both ways as they cross the intersection. But, again, it's silent on scooters. So we, unfortunately, do that.

Mr. Speaker, what about bicycles, for example? It even says bicycles, under section 26(1)(a), shall not ride on a sidewalk, Mr. Speaker.

So my point being is then we have these motorized vehicles, public safety at risk, and it's time to have this uncomfortable conversation. Cities like Toronto have banned them. Mr. Speaker, the Ontario government has done an opt in process by saying all scooters are banned unless you come up with regulations in your own way. And they're running a test period. Mr. Speaker, my point is is it's time to address this through public safety because the last thing we want to do is be looking backwards to say what could we have done or what should we have done for safety. And it doesn't apply perfectly across the continuum of municipalities, and we'll discuss that during question period. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Members' statements. Member from Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take a moment to recognize one of our esteemed colleagues. During my previous engagements, I've been involved -- actively involved with the local Hay River Legion in Hay River, and I was on the executive. I was able to do lots of work with this individual in regards to his commitments.

The one I speak of is none other than our sergeant-at-arms of the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Floyd Powder. Today I stand in the House to commend Mr. Powder for his outstanding contribution to our nation's veterans, a commitment that has gained federal recognition with the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation. This award celebrates his exemplary service, particularly his dedication to the Last Post Fund. Under Mr. Powder's stewardship, the Last Post Fund has made significant strides as evidenced by the federal government's acknowledgement for his efforts in identifying 27 unmarked graves, many of which have belonged to Indigenous veterans. His unwavering commitment is further underscored by his initiative to provide proper recognition having placed headstones on graves in Hay River and other communities in the Northwest Territories.

Considering these remarkable achievements, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Floyd Powder. His tireless efforts and selfless service exemplifies the highest models of public duty. We are truly fortunate to have such a dedicated individual amongst us. Thank you, Floyd, for your invaluable contributions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Hay River South. Members' statements.

Colleagues, yesterday I talked about our Youth Parliament and the great job the youth did. In keeping in the theme with some of my colleagues today, I did ask the youth person if I could do their statement in the House. Leo Ehrlich represented the Nahendeh region. Here is his statement:

Kids tend not to like school. The reason we look forward to breaks, the weekend and such, is because we don't want to spend all day, every day, in a dark room memorizing complex formulas and grammatical rules that, unless speaking to an English teacher, will most likely never get used in day-to-day life. Now, I'm not saying that we should abolish the current school system or anything, but I believe that there need to be some changes. Major changes. The most important and easiest thing we can change is escape that dark classroom and take learning outside. Taking learning outside will make students more engaged, improve mental health and well-being, and teach new and valuable lessons. There are countless studies that show that the students tend to be in better more receptive moods outside, are more open to learning, and have boosted creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking. There are tons of things to learn from being outside and not just things like building forts, berry-picking, or climbing. Things like patience and learning to truly appreciate the beauty of life all come best from being outside on top of whatever lessons might have been planned. Many students aren't engaged enough in school, zoning out mid-class, getting in the way of learning. Being outside could make learning way more engaging for most students because children like being outside, too. There're tons of physical benefits as well as, as previously mentioned, mental and emotional ones. We aren't talking about dragging kids outside when it's freezing cold, or pouring rain, but in the spring, summer and fall when it's nice. I believe that it is pivotal for the new generations to take care of the environment, and you can't care about something if you don't know about it. With the wildfires, permafrost thawing, and floods, climate change is playing a bigger part than ever in our lives but, eventually, those currently in power will be too old to fight it. That responsibility falls to the next generation, and we need them to care. The best way to get somebody to care about something is by knowing that thing. And right now, not enough kids care about the land that we live on because they don't spend enough time on the land to truly care about it. And schools without question sometimes to blame.

Being respectful of the time, I would like the rest of the statement be deemed as read.

In closing, I would like to thank Leo for being the Nahendeh representative, willing to share his speech with us today and, more importantly, I would like to wish him and his team all the best at the national debate championship in Vancouver where he is right now. Thank you.

Indigenous peoples have traditionally spent a lot of time outside. The government has been trying to blend Indigenous and new world cultures for a while, yet the school system has stayed for the most part the same as anywhere else. Only 56 percent of kids in the NWT graduate high school, and many of them drop out because they aren't engaged in their work. Taking school outside would probably boost initiative and make the kids more interested in school, because it's not the miserable slog that we know it as today.

There are countless jobs out there, and they don't all happen in cramped, stagnant offices. This is even more so the case in the NWT. The current learning style isn't doing anything to help with any of these jobs and is if anything getting in the way of people approaching any jobs that take place outside by not preparing kids for them. Changing the environment of the classroom to a more fluid one would better prepare kids for jobs that are needed in the NWT, encouraging them to stay. In short, I believe that the economy, well-being of students and land would all benefit greatly from taking classes outside, traditions would be better preserved, dropout rates would lessen, and kids and the adults they would grow up to be would all be better off.

Indigenous peoples have traditionally spent a lot of time outside. The government has been trying to blend Indigenous and new world cultures for a while, yet the school system has stayed for the most part the same as anywhere else. Only 56 percent of kids in the NWT graduate high school, and many of them drop out because they aren't engaged in their work. Taking school outside would probably boost initiative and make the kids more interested in school, because it's not the miserable slog that we know it as today.

There are countless jobs out there, and they don't all happen in cramped, stagnant offices. This is even more so the case in the NWT. The current learning style isn't doing anything to help with any of these jobs and is if anything getting in the way of people approaching any jobs that take place outside by not preparing kids for them. Changing the environment of the classroom to a more fluid one would better prepare kids for jobs that are needed in the NWT, encouraging them to stay.

In short, I believe that the economy, well-being of students and land would all benefit greatly from taking classes outside, traditions would be better preserved, dropout rates would lessen, and kids and the adults they would grow up to be would all be better off.

Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery.

Colleagues, I'd like to recognize Chief Melanie Norwegian Menacho from Jean Marie and her better half -- I mean, her husband Fred Menacho. Welcome to the Chamber.

Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize two pages from Great Slave riding, Oscar Mifflan, who is here with us today, and Oliver Berriault who paged for us yesterday. Both are students at Ecole Allain St-Cyr, and I'm proud to have them here to watch the proceedings. I was also pleased to meet and speak with their parents prior to this sitting, and I know they're very proud of you both.

I would also like to welcome to the Chamber union members from health care and corrections, many of whom who have had to leave to go back to work. Also, Sarah Jane Dempster, president of the NTFL; Chris Parsons, director of membership services for the UNW, and Adrian Cartwright, communications officer for the UNW. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Hay River North.

Mr. Speaker, every year the grade 6 class from Princess Alexandra School in Hay River travels to Yellowknife, and they visit the ledge. For the last four years they weren't able to do that, but this year, Mr. Speaker, they came back. And so I want to recognize Ms. Hauss' grade 6 class from Princess Alexandra who joined us today. We have Maliki Beaulieu, Skylar Cayen, Katanna McArthur, Noel Peters, Jager Walsh, Blakely Beck, Abigail Belanger, Kennedy Bolt, Shelby Cofwell, Shane Delorey, Nash Fraser, Olivia Frais, Sawyer Hurst, Charlotte Hinesruggles, Michele Longwey, AnnaLee Bunkin, Braden Morrisey, and there's more names that my colleague from Hay River South will be reading. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Hay River North. Member from Hay River South.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize one of my constituents, Mr. David Wasylciw. He is also a YK1 district -- education district board chair and one of the key figures behind Open NWT, which has done a lot to expand awareness of our proceedings here today and our institution.

I'd also like to recognize Maddie Hodson who is one of the pages with us today. Thank you for helping with our proceedings.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize as well the Chief Melanie Norwegian from Jean Marie River and Fred Menacho. Mahsi. Welcome.

Thank you. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to recognize Chief Melanie Norwegian Menacho and her husband Fred Menacho of JMR. Welcome.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Austin Blanchard and Kelly Modeste, correction officers that were here for the budget speech from Fort Smith. Thank you.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize Mr. Tony Brushett who is the executive director of the Salvation Army here in Yellowknife.

Thank you. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we missed anyone, we thank you very much to be here, and welcome to your House. It's great to have an audience.

Replies to the budget address. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have neither a podium nor new shoes, but I will do my best.

Mr. Speaker, I'm delighted to stand today to reply to the Budget Address, if not for its content but for the fact that we are at last able to make real decisions that will affect the aspirations and needs of the people we represent. It has been 192 days since we were all elected to serve our constituents in this Chamber, and since then the pace of our new government has been measured and cautious. We have, as a caucus, opted to take our time to stay in our comfort zone and take decisions slowly as we move to more consequential choices that will define the actions of the 20th Assembly and ultimately deliver on results to Northerners in all of our communities.

While I appreciate that we must continue to move together as one to realize the dream of true consensus government, it is a bit too slow for what the Northwest Territories needs right now. Northerners know we have difficult years ahead and equally difficult decisions that must be made today if we are to preserve a future for our land and our peoples, but slow and steady we have been.

First, with an interim budget that promised little more than to keep the lights on while we went on to plan bigger and better things, our priorities, four collaborative themes that serve as the axis for which the 20th Assembly -- for the 20th Assembly and guide our decision-making.

• Suitability, accessibility, and affordability of housing;
• A strong economic foundation;
• Access to health care and addressing the effects of trauma; and,
• Safe residents and communities.

These political priorities are something we all agree to in this House, and I am confident that Northerners agree to these as well, as the correct choice to chart for our government. But these priorities are not precise actions for our government to take. Rather, they represent the ideal outcomes of the work we set out to accomplish for the next three years. The precise measurable actions that will be taken are in the mandate - a document produced by the Premier and Cabinet. At least it was supposed to be.

Instead, the mandate further refines the priorities by adding additional aspirational goals as bulleted lists nested under each priority. Oh, and, Mr. Speaker, the mandate also splits the third priority in half into access to health care and addressing the effects of trauma. So now we're up to five priorities. Mr. Speaker, we're getting closer to some real commitments. But you won't find them in the mandate. No, instead, you have to look at the four-year business plans, documents that will be tabled later today. These have been created by the departments to meet the priorities in the mandate, priorities based on the priorities of the Assembly. The business plans are significantly better than the mandate as they offer clear and tangible outcomes that the government intends to put in place through its efforts over the life of the 20th Assembly. The public and Regular Members can use these to measure the effectiveness of Cabinet and hold us all to account for the promises we have made. But there's still something missing, Mr. Speaker.

These plans lack cohesion towards a shared vision for the territory. They are the best efforts produced by a single ministry in a vast government enterprise of thousands of workers. I'm told behind closed doors I will have to wait for mandate letters to be issued before I truly get to see the full picture of how this government will eventually work together. But I am tired of waiting. It seems that there is also another -- there's always another process around the corner, another step that must be taken before we can get to governing this territory.

I want to empower our Cabinet to lead, but there's too much hesitancy to seize the initiative especially when the answer is always another process, another procedure, another plan. It feels as if we're in a cycle of perpetual planning instead of taking any kind of action.

Mr. Speaker, the Chamber of Mines in Nunavut have been loud in sounding the alarm bell for the future of our economy with their Eyes Wide Open report. The key message of this report is, quote, "at the most basic level, there appears to be no clear unified vision for the territory. The consequence is a lack of urgency that might have otherwise resulted in investments to revitalize the resource sector or that gave way to a thorough exploration into whatever is to be the alternative."

This report has shocking predictions that include the NWT losing more than a thousand residents as a direct result of the diminished resource sector with Yellowknife experiencing as much as 70 percent of those losses. This, of course, means the GNWT stands to lose over $100 million in revenue in a scenario where the resource sector disappears further exacerbating our strained financial resources. This commentary is important for us to consider because it's critical of something I raised earlier - the lack of a cohesive vision from the government as a whole.

This budget suffers from the same problem of divided government as the business plans. Each department followed their marching orders from the Financial Management Board to deliver cuts to meet the fiscal strategy while realigning spending towards the mandate priorities in isolation of one another. Well, what we have here today is a financial Frankenstein's monster, collated interdepartmental budgets brought together by the Minister of Finance, with a first to tell you that she does not make the budget but plays little more than a coordinating role. If we need proof of a lack of vision and cohesive agenda, look no further than the $10 million spending cap on forced growth and new initiatives that this government committed to in its fiscal strategy. This budget proposes to exceed it by $39.7 million. The good news is this is not an austerity budget. The bad news is it's not an anything budget. It does not propose anything transformative, nor does it promise deep cuts and job losses. It fails to reduce spending in a significant way that will restore balance as per the fiscal strategy, and it fails to significantly invest in this Assembly's priorities and, importantly, our communities.

The municipal funding gap remains unresolved with local governments underfunded to the tune of $52 million. The small community employment support program and capital access program are both being gutted to save the GNWT $2.5 million at the expense of much needed investment in small Indigenous communities across the NWT. But perhaps most alarming are the proposed cuts to Housing NWT. The department is reducing its budget by 10 percent or nearly $13 million. Some of these reductions are sunsetting federal dollars. Others are driven by FMB mandated reductions, including $583,000 cut from the rental affordability assistance funding. In practical terms, though there will be 226 units that NWT Housing plans to build in the 20th Assembly, none of them are new. They are existing commitments that represent no net increase to housing stock in the NWT. Using this example, we see a department whose core mandate is essential to realize the top priority of the 20th Assembly prevented from doing so because cuts were mandated by process, and everybody had to chip in.

The thinking behind this budget did not start from a place of how do we deliver on housing priorities and make necessary cuts to achieve that. And therein lies the problem. We need leadership from the centre, and that means consensus-based decision-making needs to change.

I want to be clear that I do not -- I do believe we have Ministers who get it and want to break down silos and get results to make an impact. What we lack is the courage to break free of the systems within our institutions that prevent that from happening. If this Assembly is to succeed, this Cabinet needs to embrace a radical departure from the status quo if we are to see different results. I will acknowledge that the Premier alluded to this in his speech yesterday when presenting the mandate, and the finance Minister today spoke about being creative, imaginative, and taking more risks.

Mr. Speaker, talk is cheap, and Northerners are expecting action. This budget does not deliver on change. It doesn't even try.

Mr. Speaker, most important to me and many Northerners -- and I think all Northerners -- is our health care system. Of all responsibilities of this government and all governments in Canada, this is the most important because it is struggling not only in the services it provides to our residents but as a matter of financial sustainability. The Auditor General has taken the uncommon approach to draw the attention of the public to ongoing questions of health care spending because, quite frankly, it is destabilizing the very system of our government's financial resources. This budget proposes health and social services spending of $644 million, a 6 percent increase from last year. This is not a case of underinvestment. It is a case of good value for money and ensuring these dollars are improving patient outcomes and recruiting and retaining new clinicians, doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals. Our results on both fronts have been poor for many years, and spending more is not resulting in better care. We must get health care spending under control and make it both efficient and effective. And just as well because we need to get health care management under control.

Health care professionals I've spoken to have warned me that they have true belief that the present state of a health care system and the day-to-day functioning at Stanton Hospital are placing the public at risk, and they fear that something serious and irreversible will happen soon. There is a staffing crisis at the hospital and throughout the health care system. Nurses on the frontline often work short. It is even alleged that they are required to take unsafe patient assignments that are against internal policies and against Canadian standards of practice. Given the grave situation on the frontline, it should come as no surprise that the health authorities have made great use of private health agencies. Last year alone, NTHSSA spent $4.4 million on private health agency nurses, the equivalent of 31 registered nurse positions. A long-term reliance on agency nurses will cripple the budget and overall health care system. If agency nurses are going to be used in a great number, I foresee a huge exodus of local nurses and locum nurses. This will reduce services available to Northerners and raise costs ever higher for the provision of basic health care in our communities.

Finding a solution will require significant investment and time. We could create an environment that would attract health care talent and be one of the premiere employment facilities nationally, just like it used to be only ten years ago. But if we make this a priority and bring the management of health care dollars under closer scrutiny, we must phase out the use of private agency nurses by the end of 2026 as many other jurisdictions in Canada are currently doing.

Mr. Speaker, it is important to point out where I think this budget gets it right. And perhaps my opinion is solely colored by the priorities of my Range Lake riding but, nonetheless, they are new and promising initiatives being proposed.

I commend the Premier for making public safety and community policing a top priority of his ministry of Justice. There is a welcomed and much needed investment of $1.8 million on crime reduction resources, including nine new RCMP members and a dedicated organized crime unit in G-division. Likewise, the Department of Justice promises an ambitious and novel legislative agenda with the Trespass Act, Civil Forfeiture Act, and Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act as clear examples of tools that will assist in enhancing community policing in Yellowknife and all our communities.

The Department of Infrastructure has a good handle on its many capital projects with clear and often costed timelines indicated in its business plan. There is planning in place for the electrification of highways, implementation of electric vehicles, or EVs, and the expansion of the Taltson hydroelectric dam - necessary investments in clean energy that cannot come soon enough.

Likewise, Industry, Tourism and Investment has the Sisyphean ordeal of reviving a flagging economy. The much delayed and deflated Mineral Resources Act implementation remains a concern, but I am confident that the Minister's well aware of what needs to be done and is bringing forward spending to get it done in this budget. I wish there was more support for the minerals industry, particularly an increase to the mining incentive policy, funding that results in five times the amount of funding invested in local NWT communities. There is low hanging fruit in many of the programs that are successes that we should be investing in a time of economic contraction.

Mr. Speaker, as it stands, this is not a budget that I can support without significant change. While I acknowledge it's not my place to make the budget, it is my place to recommend changes that support the needs of Range Lake, Yellowknife, and for all Northerners. I simply do not believe there's enough imagination and ambition to move the government forward towards growth and change in the years ahead. We must get this right from the start. We cannot afford to start on the wrong foot and risk the progress that Northerners expect from us and elected us to deliver on their behalf. I made a promise not to let them down, and it is promise I intend to keep. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Replies to the Budget Address, Day 1 of 7. Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.