Question 23-20(1): Portfolio Changes  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not a fan of reorganization of departments unless there's a good reason and a good plan. It can be very disruptive. It can take away from actual work that needs to be done. You know, we don't need people spending time changing letterhead when they coul

Question 23-20(1): Portfolio Changes  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is collaboration across departments; however, if I have an issue as an MLA and it involves a senior and it's about income assistance, I'm not going to the Minister responsible for seniors. I'm going to the Minister responsible for Education, Culture

Question 23-20(1): Portfolio Changes  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There may have been a Minister responsible for seniors, but that didn't encompass ECE and all of ECE's programs that are geared towards seniors. So there was never a one-stop shop. There was a Minister responsible for something, and that Minister did not h

Question 20-20(1): Direct Appointment Transparency  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So there's a number of steps that need to be taken before there's a direct appointment. There's guidelines laid out for the department, how they're supposed to work through this. There is an assessment by the Cabinet secretariat, which is independent from

Question 20-20(1): Direct Appointment Transparency  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I know that the Member is saying I don't want to answer it. I've answered the best I can. I don't know what people think is happening, and I guess that's what the Member is talking about. We don't have a bunch of direct appointments for our buddies com

Question 20-20(1): Direct Appointment Transparency  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I heard a lot of the comments. I don't know if there is a question at the beginning of those comments but if there is, I'd ask the Member to repeat it. Thank you.

Question 20-20(1): Direct Appointment Transparency  Thank you. So when someone is hired through the internship program, it's because there has been an expression of interest put out -- and I'm sorry if that's not the proper term, but it has been advertised, and then people who have enrolled in the internship program can then apply

Question 20-20(1): Direct Appointment Transparency  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I don't think this House is aware of people who are hired through the normal channels, let alone people who were direct appointed. So informing the Assembly of every individual that comes on board and is employed by the GNWT isn't something we do. We d

Question 14-20(1): Responsibility for Seniors Portfolio  Thank you. So I've been asked the question four times of why we don't have a portfolio for seniors, a token portfolio with no money attached, and it's because based on my experience I have seen those portfolios and I don't believe that they've been effective. I'd rather focus on

Question 14-20(1): Responsibility for Seniors Portfolio  Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I'm sorry, I'm a little dizzy from all that spin. I don't think there's any -- I don't think anyone here thinks that, you know, we value seniors less because we don't have a token portfolio. So I don't really know how to answer this. It's -- you know,

Question 14-20(1): Responsibility for Seniors Portfolio  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm more concerned about actions than symbols. So I want the Ministers to work for seniors, not to have a token portfolio with no money or authority attached to it. Thank you.

Question 14-20(1): Responsibility for Seniors Portfolio  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During this government, I chose not to assign any portfolios that had been assigned in previous governments that where Ministers responsible for something without a budget. So we don't have a Minister responsible for seniors, a Minister responsible for you

Question 13-20(1): Requesting Prime Minister to Stop Selling Arms and Military Goods  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We've reached out to all MLAs and encouraged them to organize constituency tours where the MLA would set up -- we would go to the MLA's riding and meet with whoever the MLA would like us to meet with. So if the MLA would like to organize that meeting, I wi

Question 13-20(1): Requesting Prime Minister to Stop Selling Arms and Military Goods  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's a national conversation. That's a federal government conversation. And I've taken the approach during this government to not wade into international affairs. We're focusing on our jurisdiction. There's a lot of work to do here. And I appreciate the

Question 7-20(1): Exposure of Vulnerable Population to Risk in 2023 Evacuations  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I want to encourage everyone, including NGOs, to look to their insurance first. That's often faster than the government than many of these expenses are often eligible. But, you know, I come from Hay River. I've been dealing with constituents who have be