Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I believe what the Premier had talked about last week was conversations that began in part with Minister Macdonald who also happens to be the MLA from the region. And, yes, the idea of shifting from having a correctional facility to having a wellness facility at this time is uncosted and unplanned because it's part of a proposed budget. Just as one might want to see changes in upgrades or changes to different departments' budgets, which have certainly been the discussion on the floor of this House, both in COW and otherwise, increasing budgets without costing and without planning can be done but then it's done without costing and it's done without planning. So if we want to make changes, then sometimes that's the situation that we find ourselves in. In this particular instance, we have a facility. We understand what it is, we understand that it is unused. We know that there is a number of well-trained staff in the community who have an area of expertise that can hopefully allow them to align themselves with some new training that would then serve the community. And we know that there's a great ask for a wellness facility, frankly, in many regions across the Northwest Territories but certainly not the least of which would be the South Slave. So the proposal at this time is unplanned and uncosted. It will likely involve some sort of infrastructure budget. Whether this can be moved or not, I suspect not, and the reason for that is it is probably restricted funding, meaning it will not be able to be utilized for anything that it is not assigned for. In this case, it is for correctional upgrades for the intercom system for a project that was undertaken that began in the last Assembly -- sorry, that began in the last fiscal year and it moved forward to now. It's being carried forward because it wasn't completed. Carry forwards require that there be projects either already in progress or already under contract and, in this case, it's in progress and I believe under contract and therefore does need to get carried forward, or at least that's proposed. Thank you.
Caroline Wawzonek on Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
In the Legislative Assembly on June 10th, 2024. See this statement in context.
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
June 10th, 2024
Page 935
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