Question has been called. All those in favour? Opposed? Abstentions? Motion has passed. The motion is carried. Committee report number 2 has been received and will be moved into Committee of the Whole for further considerations.

---Carried

Reports of standing and special committees.

Colleagues, I would like to recognize a constituent of mine. We don't get too many from the Deh Cho, but I'd like to recognize Julie Erasmus here and welcome her to the House. Thank you very much for being here.

Reports on oral questions. Acknowledgements.

Colleagues, being respective of the time, we will have a short recess and give the interpreters a bit of a break.

---SHORT RECESS

Thank you, colleagues. Oral questions. Member from -- where do I want to start -- Range Lake.

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I think I'm going to be calling on you a lot today.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a program of that magnitude and of such a change in political direction of the government would need to come from this Legislative Assembly and would be something that would need to be found, I would say, within our business plans and also within the priorities of this government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So not a chance is what I'm hearing. That's disappointing. I think these programs are a way to save money, not spend more, and in a government that's looking for efficiencies, looking for cost savings, and more importantly looking to empower Northerners, these things would be great. So would the Minister reconsider this position or at least bring it forward in a forum where we can all discuss it and perhaps set a new direction for the Assembly? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's some great reports out there and there are some that talk about the cost of some of these programs. There's two different kind of ways that people can deliver universal basic income. There's the universal basic income. There's the universal basic income way, which has got quite a significant price tag on it and puts it somewhere as a potential -- you know, anywhere from $500 million to $800 million. And there's also a negative income tax style of a guaranteed basic income that is out there that is slightly more cost effective, but it is still up there at over $80 million. So this would be a significant initiative and investment of this government and one that all of us would have to be on the same page of. And what I'm hearing from my colleagues on the other side of the House is definitely not everyone on the same page yet as far as this is concerned. So I think in order for the government to embark on such a journey, there would need to be some unity within this House first. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, Mr. Speaker, we don't have to do it all at once. I think that's imprudent. We should probably look at a pilot project. The two examples in Canada that have been universally successful have lifted people out of poverty, until they've been shut down by lack of funding, you know, were pilot projects. Can the Minister at least commit to exploring a pilot project? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I love the idea of new ideas, and I like the idea of being able to explore that and talk about it and figure out what that might look like. So absolutely, I'm more than happy to sit down with the Member and explore that. I think that part of the conversation would have to be what does that look like and where would it be, where would it go, and would it be welcomed there as well. So I think there's a lot of conversation yet to come, and that would have to be with all the Members of this House, and I would be more than happy just with -- as with any subject, to sit down and speak to my colleague and really take the direction of caucus of what they want to see done. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this could be a game changer. So I'm going to ask the Minister if she can bring it to the Council of Leaders. I think they would be best to tell us where their greatest needs are, where they think it should work. And if we get their buy-in, we might be able to get some federal dollars and some bilateral support in making this happen. So can the Minister commit to getting it on the agenda the next Council of Leaders meeting? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not in control and neither is Cabinet of the agenda for Council of Leaders; however, if the Council of Leaders would like to see this on an upcoming agenda, I would absolutely support that and be more than happy to have this conversation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of.

Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's my favorite time of the day, question period. I'm always excited.

Mr. Speaker, the P3 initiative, where we've seen examples such as a hospital, have borne fruit and in the future, we may see the Slave Geological road, or certainly the Taltson, find this route. But one of the challenges of a P3 project is it falls under the management framework and, of course, it has procurement challenges, even the special panel that reviewed it saw. So when it comes to specifically for the purchase of goods by supply, my question to the finance Minister is, is can the finance Minister look at working with their P3 partners to ensure that these types of businesses are supported in the similar manner as the BIP policy does? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we certainly do work with P3 partners, and individual P3 projects that exist right now have different parameters and different contracts to them. Certainly going forward, if there was a future P3, of which there's none contemplated at the present date, we can work to ensure that we are doing that in the best way forward, keeping in mind the priorities of the government and at that point I think that would include whatever type of arrangements would be negotiated to with that P3 partner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the management policy looks at construction, but it doesn't look post-construction, how they intertwine, the relationship between P3s and local northern suppliers. And it was even noted during the review of it is it has caused nothing but problems for people looking for local opportunities.

So my question for her is what can the Minister currently do about the current P3 project to ensure that northern suppliers have a chance on bidding rather than just going south to buy their goods and keeping Northerners out of the game?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the P3 projects we have right now is with the Tlicho government on the TASR road. Another one would be at Stanton. And both of those projects, Mr. Speaker, I believe are under current contractual arrangements. So short of breaching our contract, which certainly the Government of the Northwest Territories does not want to do, I would not try to enter into some sort of renegotiation of what is existing, P3 project contracts do, time to time, come for renewal or for renegotiation and at that point we can certainly look at the contents thereof and ensure that they continue to align with the priorities of the government. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, these contracts aren't one or two years and local suppliers, whether they're born in Hay River or they were born in Yellowknife or even Inuvik, the fact is they're waiting a lifetime for them to finish. So would the Minister be willing to use her influence as Minister to go talk to these P3 contractors to ask them how we can ensure local northern businesses who supply local labour, those people live here and work here, get a chance to ensure that these businesses are able to be maintained, established, working and supporting our community as they are. So would the Minister be willing to go talk to them to find ways to make this work?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I missed one earlier, Mr. Speaker. There's also the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Link. So that, along with Stanton and the Tlicho All-Season Road, are the current three P3 projects that are in their operating phase, and different departments are responsible for each - finance, infrastructure, health and social services, and we certainly, I would expect, remain in contact with the three party -- all of the parties that are involved as we are P3 partners, and we'll continue to have conversations with them to make sure that we are providing the services as contemplated in those arrangements. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Finance. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.