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Good afternoon and thank you for inviting me to speak to you today during the 43rd AGM Luncheon.
As members and stakeholders of the Northern Air Transport Association, you each understand that aviation is an important industry to Northern Canada.
The Department of Health and Social Services announces changes to the Medical Travel Program effective June 1, 2019. NWT residents have access to one of the most generous medical travel programs in Canada, which has remained relatively unchanged since 1995. To bring the cost-share of medical travel costs into alignment with current travel costs of the Medical Travel Program, adjustment to the co-payment rate is being made.
Premier Bob McLeod today announced the appointment of Mr. Sandy Kalgutkar as Associate Deputy Minister of Infrastructure. Mr. Kalgutkar will assume his position effective May 13, 2019.
In his new role, Mr. Kalgutkar will be responsible for leading the development and implementation of major infrastructure projects of critical significance to the long-term economic health of the Northwest Territories, including Taltson Hydro Expansion, Slave Geological Province Corridor, and Mackenzie Valley Highway.
Economic diversification and job creation are key to ensuring a strong and resilient economy in the North. This is why the Government of Canada is investing $2.7M in nine economic development projects in the Northwest Territories (NWT).
This announcement was made today by Michael McLeod, Member of Parliament for Northwest Territories, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for CanNor.
The Northwest Territories Liquor and Cannabis Commission (NTLCC) recently changed its approach to liquor distribution within Yellowknife as the contract for the Yellowknife Liquor Warehouse expired.
While these changes result in lower prices overall, an unintended consequence of the change was higher costs for liquor license holders. To mitigate the impact of these increases, the NTLCC have implemented a discount program for liquor license holders to mitigate the impact of any increases. The discount program will be extended to liquor license holders across the NWT.
A fire at the Mackenzie Place Apartments (also known as the Hay River High-Rise) on March 15, 2019, resulted in extensive damage to the 11th floor and below and displaced approximately 150 residents. Since the building’s evacuation, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has been working with the Town of Hay River to support the displaced tenants.
Minister Schumann delivered the following keynote speech via video-conference at an event hosted by Carleton University:
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Good morning everyone.
I’m pleased to be able to speak to you this morning from Yellowknife, on this important policy symposium on the future of Canada’s north.
Thank you to Carleton University’s School of Public Policy for helping bring attention to the issues that are so critical for the people who live in northern Canada.
In fact, these are issues that should matter to all Canadians.
The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has taken action to support its mineral exploration sector by extending a successful program for two years.
The Work Credit Program (WCP), originally introduced in 2015 to offset costs for mineral explorers since a downturn in the financial markets, will be extended for two years beginning April 1, 2019 to continue to encourage more exploration.
The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has received the report from mediator Vince Ready that incorporates his binding recommendations and other matters agreed to by the parties during mediation.
Following the mediation which concluded on February 10, 2019, the GNWT and the Union of Northern Workers (UNW) agreed to a process for submitting outstanding issues to Mr. Ready for binding recommendations.
Ministerial Travel
Please note that travel schedules may change with little or no notice. This schedule is accurate as of March 25, 2019.
Meetings and Appearances
