Thank you. Yes, and I would encourage you to make use of those professional services. Ottawa is a fierce beast when it comes to politics, of course, as I'm sure everyone's aware, and having people who are used to navigating those waters is probably the best value for money we can do. I appreciate this kind of novel approach to assigning an envoy but when you -- I quickly Googled special or senior envoys in Canada, and most of the results that come back are about envoy -- like, the Government of Alberta has an envoy to the United States specifically around the energy relationship there. Quebec has some envoys to the United Nations, economic and social organizations. And Canada, of course, has many envoys to the Pacific, to Syria, to countries and nations. So it just feels to me -- and perhaps that's because I'm a bit of a nerd on this stuff -- that it's kind of reaching to the realm of, like, foreign affairs. So it -- but I appreciate what the role is supposed to do. But I wonder if instead we just use those resources to retain, you know, political staff rather than bureaucratic staff to engage in decision makers, and we get more value for money. I mean, this is something that I can tell you from my own experience that I have seen those -- that approach yield far more results. And I know the Premier is well aware of Bob McLeod's red alert, and at the time I was skeptical of it, and in hindsight I think it was a brilliant idea, and I think it really raised attention on northern issues and the challenges that the government was facing at the time. And I know that was facilitated by engaging with experts at messaging and political -- and government relations. So I just wonder again, like, are we trying to -- do we have the right tool for the job, right? Are we -- you know, are we trying to fit a square peg into a round hole when we could be using contracted services who are experts in this for less cost and more results? So I know the Premier has a perspective on that, but I share these concerns around, you know, was this the right evidence-based decision and most efficient use of our resources in engaging with the federal government. Thank you.
Kieron Testart on Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
In the Legislative Assembly on February 28th, 2025. 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
February 28th, 2025
See context to find out what was said next.