Thank you, Madam Chair. First of all, I would like to give thanks to the residents of the Mackenzie Delta for giving me the opportunity to represent them in this 20th Legislative Assembly. It's a great honour to be in this Chamber with my colleagues. And I would also like to acknowledge the outgoing past MLA, Mr. Fred Blake Jr. for his many years of service to the people of Tsiigehtchic, Fort McPherson, and Aklavik.

Today I would like to address some of the concerns/issues that were raised during my campaign for the MLA of the Mackenzie Delta. The residents of my riding are very concerned with the future of their respective communities and their well-being. Although we cannot, as a government, make certainty to all these issues, we can address the need to make our constituents feel that their concerns are being addressed by the appropriate departments.

Some of the important concerns/issues that have been identified by residents in my riding are as follows, but not limited to, first of all, is the Frank Gruben story where he -- this young man has been missing for a number of years and when I went to visit his family, his family stated that they are left in the dark. The department has not made any effort to come to meet with them, to communicate with them in getting some answers into where they're -- where they are within their investigations into the disappearance of Mr. Gruben. I have given my assurance to the family that I would give this concern my utmost attention to the appropriate department and make sure that the -- they get answers. I would also like to thank Mr. Jacobson, former MLA, for bringing this forth during his time as MLA.

Other issues that were brought forth were, of course, the housing issue. In my riding, we have 128 housing units in the community of Fort McPherson alone. And the waiting list is -- it goes as far as three years you can be on the waiting list, and we have some vacant homes within the community. We cannot build 128 homes to meet the needs of some of our -- most of our residents but we can use alternative measures, like building -- using retrofits where we can use energy efficient homes, build energy efficient homes to meet the needs of our constituents. There is many people who are on the medical list that require housing. We have to find that alternative measures where we can meet the needs of these specific people so that they can get in housing as soon as possible. These are some of the concerns that come within housing.

And treatment centres, I've heard these concern coming to me, the need for treatment centres within the North was much needed because there are people out there who want to -- who want and need the help that they deserve. Sending our Indigenous people south for treatment is not working. We send our people to southern institutions and they're expected to adapt to these -- totally a different culture. And when they come back, there's no aftercare, and they fall right back into the same system.

When I think of treatment centres, I look back at two individuals from my community of Fort McPherson who have passed on since. Mr. Leo Collins and his wife Elizabeth, in 1970s they took it on their own to seek help for themselves, a better lifestyle for themselves and their children. So they went to Henwood I believe, and they seeked -- they got the treatment that they wanted. Then they came back to the community and tried to help their community, other community members. They started up an AA centre, which was used as drop-in centre where they can -- people can come in that feel safe, especially the children of the community. The children of the community gathered there and played games, watch television, and if other members of the community needed some counselling, Mr. Collins and and his wife were there to provide the counselling services within the community, a community-based program that was very successful. But funding cuts took that program out of our community and now are left with finding alternative measures to meet these needs.

The education system is one where we, in the communities, small communities, are left to deal with two departments where socially promoting our students is definitely not working. We find that our students are socially promoted to stay in the same age group. Then when they graduate, they're not adequately educated enough to take on post-secondary education, and they have to look at other alternatives. And one alternative is going to the social services for social assistance. Once they get the social assistance, they're stuck there. Their self-esteem is way down. So we have to find measures to build their self-esteem up and reform our education system where our students are educated so that they can be better citizens and be more in the workforce.

Some of these community-based programs that I talked about need to be -- need to come right down to the community level rather than Yellowknife or some of the other centres, like Inuvik and Hay River. It has to come directly to our small communities where we can work with our members, our residents. What works in Yellowknife or Inuvik may not work in places like Tsiigehtchic. Only the residents of Tsiigehtchic knows what needs to be done. We can, they can work with their own people and find solutions and make it more healthier.

I would also like to thank the -- my colleagues here. I look forward to working with you in this 20th Legislative Assembly to meet some of these needs. I would also like to acknowledge the constituents of my riding that I will and seek your advice in meeting some of these priorities. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, colleagues. I am very honoured to have this opportunity to address you for the first time here today as part of our starting off process to define what we will be as an Assembly together.

Shortly I have three priorities I would like to suggest. But before I do that, I thought it would be important to consider what it is I am trying to achieve with those priorities. If we don't know where we're going, all of our good intentions simply will not get us anywhere. And so I want to just take a moment to consider exactly what is the vision for the Northwest Territories that we hope our priorities will achieve.

Colleagues, by the time my children and your children grow up, I hope the Northwest Territories will be known as a leader, as a trail blazer, and as a place of opportunity. I would hope that we'll be known as leaders in Indigenous reconciliation and known for our style of consensus governance. I want all children of today to have opportunities available to them across all of the Northwest Territories because we have unlocked the tremendous potential that exists in all of our regions for a diverse and prosperous economy. And with this prosperity will come opportunities for residents to be healthy, educated, and ready to maximize their opportunities.

I believe we can achieve this vision of health and prosperity because of the potential that exists in all of our regions. A few examples are climate and permafrost science is world class; sustainable resource development opportunities - gold, diamonds and critical minerals and metals across many regions; rural and remote clean energy systems have an opportunity to innovate; the satellite arrays; forms of art and cultural expression; our unmatched freshwater fishery industries; adventure and authentic tourism; LNG reserves across the Beaufort Delta; Indigenous-led conservation opportunities; innovative agriculture initiatives; a place where the world could come to deliver on remediation projects, and so much more. This is not an exhaustive list. I know I have probably missed something important to some of you. That's not my point. My goal is simply this: I want us to all take stock of the opportunities across the entire Northwest Territories so that we all start to believe in the potential for the Northwest Territories in the future.

The diamond mines may be closing but that is not our narrative. We must be looking to the future.

And so with that, the three priorities that I'd like to suggest are the following: First is governance, that our governance be grounded in treaties, consensus, and responsiveness through all of our systems and services. Second, people, that the people of the Northwest Territories are healthy and have a strong sense of well-being. And third, prosperity, that we create the foundations needed to maximize a potential for economic prosperity that exists across all of our regions. And there are many actions that we can take within those priorities to help us achieve these goals. I will go through a few examples under each heading. And to be clear, these examples are not everything I heard during the campaign month. There was a long list of individual issues and concerns raised, many of which I believe we can continue to work on as part of the work of government. But what I'm looking to do now is create a framework within which we can set those goals and objectives for a future that is better for everyone. I'll start first with governance.

Governance, again, that is founded on treaties, consensus, and responsiveness. Settling land claims comes up year over year at Assembly after Assembly. I'm conscious of that, but it is time that we move this forward. If we look at this as a priority and look at some of the foundational work that's been done, such as the UNDRIP Implementation Act, and the legislative protocols within IGCS, we are well placed to make progress.

I'd like to see the finalization of the Indigenous procurement policy. This would be a perfect example of how better governance, and better governance that's founded on consensus and engagement, can move this discussion forward.

We should be finishing the work to a renewed framework for the human resources in the public service. We need better leadership training for all of our staff. We need to have an empowered and engaged public service. And our Affirmative Action Policy needs to be brought into the 2000s. We should be focusing on ensuring that we are, in fact, providing a representative public service for those that we serve across the Northwest Territories.

And finally, a relationship with municipalities too. Are we truly responsive to the communities, to all 33 communities? I believe that our consensus system presents us with an opportunity that is perhaps unique and distinct to work strategically with municipalities, each and every one of them, for the betterment of the whole territory.

Last, I will add integrated service delivery. This, in fact, is a hallmark of government services being responsive, the idea that we can be responsive to the needs of those that we serve.

Under my second priority, that of people of the Northwest Territories being healthy and having a strong sense of well-being, I have two examples I want to give here. And the first of which is one of the biggest concerns that was raised with me, and that is of the health care system, that we need a health care system that is itself healthy and sustainable.

What we have been doing simply is not working, and we must resolve it. The health and the health care system will always be a key focus of government service delivery, but perhaps by prioritizing health itself as the goal, we can better hold that system to account for what it delivers and ask what can be done to focus on healthier people, healthier communities, prevention, and public health. This may mean not chasing down every new federal program that is presented to us. Perhaps it means that we need to be reexamining what our actual goals are.

Second, is housing. Housing is a very clear example of a mechanism by which we can achieve the goal of residents who have greater health and well-being. Available and affordable housing across the entire spectrum of housing needs from homelessness to market housing is a challenge faced across Canada, and we need to tackle it in a way that is respectful and responsive to the communities of the Northwest Territories. A housing forum established at the Council of Leaders is an opportunity to help monitor the development of community housing plans and ensure that all dollars that are coming in are in fact effectively being distributed and employed in a way that is culturally sound. We want to ensure that elders can age in place and that is person with a disability is properly accommodated. We need to be speaking at the ground level so that every dollar counts.

And last, my third priority I'd like to speak to and give some examples of is the idea of prosperity through the development of our potential. Here, what kind of changes or actions are needed so that all regions can better develop their potential prosperity? I believe there are many common barriers that exist across the Northwest Territories. If we can tackle these barriers, I believe we can help spur development and opportunities for growth and increased productivity. I have four examples, which I may or may not get to in the next three minutes, but I'm going to try.

First, high costs are a significant barrier to development and growth in the North. We need to overcome these high costs. And two key drivers are energy and transportation and the lack of energy and transportation corridors. And so those are my first two examples. We must pursue a pathway off diesel and modernize our energy infrastructure across the Northwest Territories and in communities. We need to be ready to adapt to new technologies and intermittent renewable. There are many actions that can propel us here, whether it's Taltson, community-based projects, an increase of various renewables and hydro systems, but we also cannot ignore the new coming technologies of micronuclear better battery storage systems. We need to be ready to be adaptable.

Transportation as well, the Northwest Territories continues to have many communities who are relying on road systems that are disconnected or only by winter road, the season for which is obviously becoming increasingly unpredictable. With a geography so vast, which could be our opportunity, instead our lack of transportation network becomes a barrier. We must face this challenge and resolve it. The Mackenzie Valley

Highway is one obvious opportunity already underway that we must see to completion but at the same time can we work with Indigenous governments on their own settled lands to help support them to increase their community connectivity. The Tlicho All-Season Road won a national award for innovative partnerships. Let's repeat that success.

Third, labour. There is another challenge for labour force across all sectors. There's much we can do to help our education system prepare our students and, as well, at the same time ensuring that those who are able to ready to work have affordable and available childcare so that they can go to work. I'd like to see the completion of the Aurora College. This has been another example of an opportunity where we can take charge of our own future and seek opportunities across the entire territory with all campuses. And here again I put housing. Perspective employees, of course, need somewhere to live.

My last example under this third of my priorities is our regulatory processes. We need to be ensuring that all government entities responsible for regulations, registries, and permitting have the adequate staff who are well trained and have ongoing professional development opportunities. I'd like to see published targets for all of them for all of their processes and make sure that they are properly incentivized to meet them. Let's seek a pathway towards a one-business one-application system, such as in the tourism licensing field.

In conclusion, those are my three priorities that I am proposing with many opportunities to create goals and actions underneath them.

Colleagues, I'm looking very much forward to working with all of you. I want this Assembly to pull in some common directions. That is not the same as saying that every program, every service, and every delivery will be the same but it is an opportunity to have clear priorities, to find common ground, and to refocus on that common ground when we might come to a point of disagreement. And with that, I hope that we can all collectively achieve better health, better well-being, and more prosperity for the residents of the Northwest Territories. Thank you

Thank you, Mr. Chair. First, I would like to acknowledge and thank the constituents of Inuvik Twin Lakes for their ongoing support, and I'm very honoured to be here to represent you all for a second term. I'd like to thank my family, the elders that supported me through my campaign, that gave me good words and strength when I needed it, my team that was always there for me throughout the campaign.

And congratulations to all of my colleagues, and I look forward to working with you all over the next four years as we work for the people of the Northwest Territories.

During my election campaign in Inuvik, the voices of my community highlighted pressing issues that demand immediate attention, so I won't be focusing on what my three priorities are or what a small short list of is. I want to bring the voices of what my community has told me, and the reason for that is is that way we all get a picture of where everyone's coming from and then when we do get in that room and we do start to finalize our priorities, that we all know where we all are coming from.

In Inuvik, like many other communities, our community has been hit hard by drugs. We need to work together with the RCMP. We need them to have the tools that they need to be able to combat this issue. Our people are suffering. Our people are dying from this. This is not something that we can continue to talk about or do any reports or anything. We need to deal with this in many of our communities, and it's not just in the regional centres. It's in our small communities.

The need for a dedicated treatment centre for individuals struggling with alcohol and drugs addictions was a recurrent concern for many of my constituents -- or many of the members in Inuvik Twin Lakes. There is a strong community recognition of the importance of providing support and resources to address substance abuse issues. Constituents expressed a strong desire for aftercare programs, emphasizing the significance of sustained support beyond initial treatment. This also reflects a traditional -- that also reflects a traditional approach to wellness and recovery. Acknowledging that ongoing assistance is crucial for individuals rebuilding their lives after overcoming addiction, and many of the residents raised and expressed that we must work towards a regional residential treatment facility within our -- within all our regions because we are all so different. And we must be working with our Indigenous partners to achieve this.

The escalating cost of living emerged as a shared priority along most of our -- most of the doors that I went to, particularly amongst seniors and those on fixed incomes and single income homes. Those are usually our single mothers. And on occasion, I went to a couple doors that had a single -- couple single fathers so they expressed this as well.

When they have to choose between heating their homes, keeping the power on, and sacrificing the amount of food that they can buy at the end of a month, this is not acceptable when you live in the Northwest Territories. We should be able to pay our bills when we go to work, go home, feed our families, and then maybe even have a little extra dollars to provide some sense of happiness. If we don't have that, then what are we doing?

Some of the people said that they can't afford to stay in the Northwest Territories because there's no other option for them. They can't remain in their homes. They can't pay their bills. And where are they going to go? There's no other housing options for them. And they look to the south because that's where the options are. The strain on household budgets call for strategic interventions by our government to help find creative solutions to the financial burdens our people face and to ensure that essential needs remain within reach of all our residents.

Childcare availability is vital for our families. If people don't have childcare, then they can't work. So we as legislators need to work with organizations and people who provide this service to ensure that we are supporting them. We need to make sure that our universal childcare agreements are accurately getting what is needed for the Northwest Territories for our daycares, our day homes, so that they can be successful in providing this service to our residents.

Dental care has emerged as a focal point. If you live in Yellowknife, as it's the only place right now with a dentist at this time, you wouldn't understand how not having access to dental care year after year impacts people's health. Constituents expressing the need for more options and accessibility, strengthening the dental service is important to the overall well-being of our community, and its efforts should be made to expand these services to meet the diverse needs of our residents.

Changes were made in the last government to the legislation. Now it's time for this government to ensure those regulations are complete. This will help alleviate some of these concerns by allowing more services in small and remote communities. Many of our Indigenous populations are covered by non-insured health benefits. And with this, it includes dental services. GNWT needs to be working with NIHB on streamlining access to dentists for our residents. There needs to be a clear -- there needs to be clear public information for people to know how to access these services. There needs to be training for our frontline staff. And we heard about locum staff. Well, we can't train every locum staff on what we provide, what we can and what all of the people of Northwest Territories have access to, so people get turned away when they go to access services because our locum staff do not know that the service is available. So training is very important.

Medical travel was also identified as an area needing urgent improvement. When people are aware, any one of us in this room has ever had medical travel, we know when our next appointment is if we have ongoing appointments. We know when the doctor has told us to follow up and return to an appointment. We pass that on to medical travel. Well, once it gets to medical travel, you know, this could be months, weeks, days before their need to travel. They should not be missing appointments because of a delay in approval to book their travel. And then when they do get the late approval, in our region good luck if you can get a seat on the plane. This is unacceptable. We shouldn't be missing appointments because we're waiting for somebody somewhere else to approve this.

People said to me that the necessity of streamlining the process to ensure they have easy access to medical travel and health care service is another important issue. Addressing these challenges will contribute to the overall health and well-being of our community members. People utilizing medical travel are already going through stressful situations. We should not be adding to their stress. We should be ensuring that there are service standards that can ease this process.

The lack of affordable housing has emerged as a critical issue. With new housing costs out of reach for many young families, they don't even dream of owning their own homes, because it's a dream. It's not a reality as they couldn't even afford a down payment. The rental market with very limited vacancies and high costs many people cannot afford. Even if they could find a place, they can't afford it. Inuvik housing authority has a long waitlist. And this goes through every single community in the Northwest Territories. There is a waitlist. There is no community that I can't say that doesn't have a waitlist. Many people -- this is causing many families overcrowding, moving into parents' homes, moving into cousins' homes or being homeless. We've heard of people in the community in the last -- Member from Nunakput from the last time had families living in tents in the Northwest Territories with newborn children. This is unacceptable. Tackling this housing crisis requires collaborative efforts to explore innovative solutions making housing more accessible and affordable for residents across different income brackets.

The availability of land in Inuvik was raised to me by the Town of Inuvik. The town would like to see the lands owned by the GNWT within municipal boundaries transferred to them. They can develop those plans with the Indigenous governments within our municipality. That's where we work together collaboratively, so that these lands could be utilized for public sectors to build much needed housing that we need in our communities. This is not just in my community, and I think this in every community. If we are truly working with our Indigenous partners, we can do this. There's also a strong call to continue the efforts to build the Mackenzie Valley Highway to help reduce the cost of living and open up new economic [audio interruption] and the bask cager. My children were able to do this. Our children can't do this anymore because the cost to fly is astronomical. And this is putting an impact on our youth who come from low -- and more so from those youth that come from low income families. Having healthy options in all our communities, when it comes to sports and recreation, is a must. We need to be looking and expanding opportunities for our youth and teams over this term.

I will go on. I could go on. I'll talk. I'll highlight regional decision-making is very important, but I just want to stress that the voices of Inuvik want action on multiple fronts. And I know all these are issues that we collectively have as a territory. We have lots of work to do. I am only one MLA, and I want to work with all of you to try to make a better Northwest Territories for our residents. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am grateful for the colleagues around me and all of our ideas and contributions. I'm grateful to live in this place and in such a home of the Dene and Metis peoples and to be able to call it my home too. I've had the privilege of doing work in all regions of the NWT. I understand that our territory is a collection of many worlds, many realities, but I truly believe that we are all connected and when the smallest community or the most vulnerable amongst us suffers, we all suffer. Those of us in Yellowknife must find common cause with other communities while empowering each community to find its own unique ways to address our common problems.

I spoke with many constituents who have become so discouraged in recent years, who are struggling to believe that change is possible in government. But through our conversations, we're persuaded to find some hope. It sounds contradictory, but I am both buoyed up by that hope and feel the weight of it because over the next four years, people need to see real improvements in their lives and in how the government operates if our residents are to believe in this community and to invest all they have to offer here.

I'm going to present each of my four priorities as outcomes, not as categories like housing or economy or health that could easily be slotted under just one department. My vision is that each priority will require a whole-of-government approach, meaning that all Cabinet Ministers and all GNWT senior leadership will become equally accountable for achieving each one of them.

My first priority relates to how the GNWT operates in our workplace environments. First, I want to share stories I heard on the campaign trail from various GNWT employees. See if you can hear some of the common themes as I've been trying to do. I talked to doctors frustrated that they spend the bulk of their time doing administrative tasks or work better suited to another health care professional instead of seeing the many residents who cannot get a family doctor assigned to them. I heard of many nurses and doctors quitting their positions, some who have practiced here for a long time, to work as locums or in administrative jobs because they are so frustrated with the inflexibility of the bureaucrats who manage their time. I heard disappointment from employees who saw extremely qualified northern Indigenous candidates turned away from job opportunities due to narrow requirements for educational qualifications or a requirement for the position to be based in Yellowknife. I talked to an employee in the education department who's not allowed to talk to anyone at the schools and cannot even answer an email without waiting weeks for approval from up the chain of command. I talked to employees who are passionate about reducing our dependence on fossil fuels but spend their days fighting with colleagues in departments of ECC and Infrastructure and ITI over who is actually in charge of this, while struggling to even get a meeting with anyone over at the power corporation. I talked to RCMP officers who are frustrated about being asked to use policing tools to deal with problems that are essentially about under-housing and poverty. They've been asking the GNWT for years to set up joint street outreach teams that include social workers or outreach nurses and mental health counsellors, but to no avail. I've heard from folks working to integrate supports for the under-housed population but are dismayed that integration often means lower level staff sit in meetings all day with dozens of interdepartmental committees while deputy ministers continue to point fingers at each other instead of making recommended changes.

The reality is that we will not accomplish any ambitious priority that we set out for ourselves in this Assembly until we get our house in order, which leads me to my first priority outcome which is ensure the time and energy of the GNWT workforce is well spent by fully utilizing their expertise, roles, and creativity. Our government is made up of many competent, dedicated, and knowledgeable individuals who find themselves embedded in a system that often demands that they paint by number, a system that is fixated on the risks of fresh ideas while ignoring the risks posed by the status quo.

As the previous examples illustrate, there are real and costly consequences to wasting people's time and having extremely low morale in the workplace. We are used to auditing the monetary side of our government's output, ensuring money is spent responsibly, but I think it should be equally important to audit whether people's time is well spent and whether their talents are being efficiently mobilized. And a key aspect of this will be ensuring more productive relationships between decision-makers and staff, starting right from the top with us. There needs to be the trust and the freedom for leaders and staff to respectfully challenge each other so that information and ideas can flow more freely, and we could find the creative and flexible solutions necessary to get us through the hard times ahead.

This shift in management culture will take courage and leaders willing to take risks to withstand criticism, to admit mistakes, and to learn from them. I believe that healthier internal relationships will lead to healthier external relationships, such as with Indigenous governments and with municipalities. And so while this priority should cut across all departments, I would suggest we focus immediately on human resource management in the health care system as it is not only a matter of life and death but also one of our most costly areas to manage.

My second priority outcome is increase the supply of decent affordable housing in every region, setting targeted increases for market housing, public housing, and supportive living facilities with built-in case management and harm reduction programs.

So many of you are well aware that affordable housing is fundamental. We can't grow our workforce until new staff can find homes. The shortage is crippling local small businesses and preventing us from hiring teachers and health care workers amongst others. We cannot get people off the street or move people who are currently in supportive living facilities into independent housing until there is something for them to go. And with nonexistent vacancy rates, we have no hope of seeing rent prices go down. With overcrowding, we see more family violence, more children in care, and poorer health. It's a downward spiral in urgent need of a course correction.

So I think we cannot afford to spend any more time discussing whether this needs to be done. The question is how are you going to chip in and participate. Every department should see a role for themselves, whether it's making links between housing provision and teacher recruitment or links with services such as aftercare from addictions treatment or changing policies such as income assistance that are part of the problem.

We do need better care for those struggling with addictions, and I would argue that addictions care should be closely linked with supportive housing facilities that include case management and harm reduction practices, both before and after formal addictions treatment programs. Examples of groundbreaking programs that we can build upon are the K'asho Got'ine Housing Society's men's group home in Fort Good Hope and the YK Women's Society Spruce Bough facility here in Yellowknife.

My third priority outcome concerns energy, electricity, and the climate crisis. We need to ensure our public utility is governed by industry best practices and aligned with a broader territory-wide plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Some of the top concerns I heard from constituents were around high electricity prices, increased reliance on backup diesel generators, aging hydro infrastructure, and the overall absence of vision by the power corporation on how we are to cope with a rapidly changing climate and a world that is abandoning fossil fuel based technologies.

A myth has been perpetuated that the North is so different that no viable renewable alternatives exist, yet our citizens and industry are finding cost effective ways of reducing their carbon footprint. When it comes to climate change, the residents of the NWT want a seat at national and international tables. They want to be part of the solution, and they want a public utility that is forward thinking, efficient, manages its assets well, and invests wisely in proven renewable technologies.

My fourth and final priority outcome is build a healthy resilient northern workforce with the confidence and built-in supports to continually learn new skills and adapt to changing economic opportunities.

First I want to speak about the economy. I fully appreciate the deep fears many have shared with me about a downward economic spiral as the diamond mines begin to shut down. But I want to point out that our economy is already weak because it is full of massive leaks. Currently only 37 percent of the diamond mine workforce actually lives in the NWT. An even smaller fraction of the Giant Mine remediation workforce is northern. Almost all of the workers in our construction industry are temporary workers from the south. Even the local company that services my furnace brought a guy all the way from Newfoundland this month to fix it. So despite our leaky ship, I know some are advocating for spending our limited public funds on infrastructure that we hope could lead to more mineral exploration that we hope could turn into big new mines. Now, that's a lot of hoping and a lot of risk. We may indeed need more mines to create enough jobs but international commodity prices present uncertainties far outside our control. So here's my fear, that if we venture out into those risky and volatile waters with a leaky boat, we will sink. If we invest in industry infrastructure instead of investing in our people, then even if all the stars aligned new mines could employ relatively few Northerners and mine benefits would flow south. So the first step in our economic strategy must be to plug the leaks and invest in our people.

In this modern world where a workforce for an industry such as mining can be flown in and out from literally anywhere in the world, we need to create an economy that plays to our strengths, that produces things rooted in this land and in our peoples and cultures. It must be built on a strong education system infused with community connections and mentorships, taking place on the land wherever possible, meaningfully integrating local languages with health care services, both mental health care and physical health care, that are available in all educational facilities. It must be focused on building up a sense of confidence, identity, and passion for lifelong learning. And as we integrate immigrants and newcomers who come to fill the vacant positions, we need to also embrace them with our tight-knit communities to give them powerful reasons to stay here.

So there's a chance this Assembly could be faced with more emergencies, a new plague, new natural disasters, but this doesn't mean that our priorities will become irrelevant. In times of emergency, our weaknesses become magnified and the foundational priorities that I've outlined become all that much more important.

So in conclusion, I propose that we get our own house in order first, unleash the productivity and creativity of our GNWT workforce, focus on housing and energy system foundations, and plug the leaks in our economic boat by building up a healthy confident skilled workforce that is rooted in this land and these communities. Thank you. Mahsi. Quyananni. Merci.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to first start by congratulating everybody, the newly elected MLAs. We have some hard work ahead over the next four years. And I'm so inspired and hopeful by the many words and ideas shared by my colleagues.

Thank you for this opportunity to speak about Nunakput, the traditional lands of the Inuvialuit, which comprises the communities of Sachs Harbour, Ulukhaktok, Paulatuk, and Tuktoyaktuk. My comments are going to be short and direct.

Living and travelling and visiting throughout the Nunakput riding, you see and hear of many challenges of a mainly Indigenous population that wants a good standard of living like every other citizen in this great country of Canada.

What is my expectation and what do the Nunakput constituents expect? I have many bullets.

Many more homes built with quality standards made to exist in the Arctic, proper doorways and porches and hardware, not the cheapest. I met a constituent who told me that she owed housing over $100,000 in rent for a unit built in the early '70s. She had been homeless for eight years and couch surfing at her daughter's home for those many years. How can you be homeless in the Arctic? People want a safe existence in their home and in their community. Our policing services, our bylaw services, our ambulatory services, which are nonexistent in many communities. Drug and alcohol is plaguing our communities. We want a thriving school full of staff and students and all the resources required to fulfill their educational growth, like gymnasiums. Tuktoyaktuk hasn't had a gymnasium for over three years. The attendance rate right now is 43 percent. A health system with nurses ready to help in community in crisis and prevention. Constituents need help with mental health issues and addictions. They need day-to-day counselling services and many time clinical counselling. I find we are all still feeling the effects of the lockdown and with the minimal interaction, especially with our young people. Our medical travel and dental care is in terrible disarray. Patients are missing critical appointments due to travel with incomplete paperwork. It's a total disrespectful society system. The opportunity to live in an affordable environment, groceries, gas, and fuel are through the roof and people are barely surviving. They're barely surviving. The opportunity to make a living, to harvest for their family, to use their traditional skill set, whether it be harvesting, sewing, beading, or creating, or trapping.

While my riding Nunakput, waves the flag and says Canada, I'm still here, existing and thriving in an extreme environment, protecting Canada's sovereignty many times, it's last on the list. I'm here today to say I did not promise anything but to work hard, to be present, and to shine a light on the neglect of this most critical riding. Without this riding, you'd have no ocean, no Northwest Passage, no Arctic islands, and no Inuvialuit. A beautiful bountiful land of people who are humble, strong, and still very much traditional. So when I bring issues to the table, think of living an hour and a half away by plane from Inuvik. Sometimes waiting days for a medivac plane because of weather, where our marine transportation system cannot get into your community to drop off its annual supply due to sea ice, where elders are sent 700 kilometres away from their family to live in long-term care, you where you have to limit your water usage if you are in public housing. Where is the equality?

This dream of truth and reconciliation is many times a distant thought. I know and recognize that the next four years will be some tough choices, but remember that there is many in the territory that are living in poverty, with violence in the home, struggling with mental health and addictions, or lack of capacity or education to move ahead. So let's support those that are less fortunate and support those that can help themselves but need a little more assistance like our harvesters. That is what government is supposed to do.

Thank you to my family, the constituents of Nunakput, who elected me and all the support over the past campaign period. This concludes my short remarks. Quyananni.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Members and friends, this is the first opportunity to speak to you as MLA. I want to begin by saying thank you to the residents of Yellowknife Centre for your kind trust as well as bringing me back from my long sabbatical. And a special thanks to my wife, Susan, with whom none of this would actually be possible. She is truly the partner in my full sense of that word.

Now may I remind all my colleagues through this occasion that our spouses, that our children, and our family members, even though they were not on the ballot with us, they always are with us and they will equally share in the results, be it good, be it bad, be it less good, but please remind them that they are important through all this process because without them, we wouldn't be as strong as we are today.

Now, friends, to the business at hand. I've come here today not only to address you as my colleagues of this Assembly but to speak frankly and directly to Northerners at large, all of whom who have sent us here to do their work for them. I know that for many Northerners watching us right now, many the issues that loom over them loom over us. But we are here to carry their hopes and dreams. For many of us the state of the economy is a real concern. We've heard it here today. And it may rise above many other issues for some. However, others there are simple overwhelming issues such as the overwhelming cost of living. Whether you live far in the North or you live in the south NWT, families are making day-to-day decisions that are challenging, and they're struggling. Now not to mention there are many other issues, such as families struggle with the poor application of the $10 a day health care program, a program well intended but not promised with the delivery and the implementation as we all believed it was. It carries many complications. There are also many other issues before us, and we could go on at length.

Many families are personally worried about the future, as I am as well. But we need to take thoughtful collective steps together to help address many of their concerns. Now more than ever, it is important this Assembly learns to be innovative, progressive, and maybe even sometimes have a little luck. We are here to take steps in the coming months and years to help bring and create a stronger North and a future for all our people in all our ridings. While our economy may have its challenges, I am confident the northern resilience will never be shaken, and we will truly be stronger than ever during our time, this 20th Assembly, our time of renewal.

Now, wishing doesn't necessarily make it so. So there is a lot of work. So let's not underestimate the tough days ahead of us, and there will be. There will be complicated choices in front of every single one of us. Before we know it, we'll be asking difficult questions, but we must not waiver because Northerners are truly depending on us.

If we're truly honest with ourselves, many of us ran for leadership because we felt we didn't see it before, or we felt we had something to offer with respect to the challenges of the day. The reality is is we are now here, and we must forge a path forward together not forgetting about people or other ridings, not just about ourselves. So some of us may be new. And I see many of them in here, while there's others of us who are renewed the way I'm looking at it, all with a common goal to help and serve others. I'm confident that we could do this with courage and efficiency, but we must do this in a meaningful way. We must forge ahead clearly not by blaming the 19th Assembly or any other previous Assembly but rather forge tirelessly as we seize the opportunity before us.

It's true at the same time that we often need to remind ourselves the challenges, and maybe even the predicaments of today, we need those to inspire us to work harder for each other and, again, for each other's ridings. We are in this together. The common good will not be solved easily. And for those that think it is, obviously don't understand the grips and the size of our challenges. There will be a lot of work. Some of these challenges will take many years. And let's not fool ourselves because many of these situations we find ourselves in today just didn't happen overnight.

When talking to Northerners, they realize we have a big job in front of us but they also have our confidence and however meaningful as that may be, they expect us to take steps, whether the steps to address the cost of living, help them with the carbon tax challenge on home heating fuel by removing it, we must do what we can.

During my many conversations, I would hear desperate families talk about things that are breaking down. We cannot ignore their calls for help. When I met with several different families, they told me about their struggles. For example, finding a doctor, how can that be in this day and age? One family mentioned to me about the challenge when they were trying to get their diabetes medication with the locum doctor. Every time they had to start over and over and over again with a new doctor. It was getting exhausting. Then there's other families who want to start a family. They want the kindness and continuum of care working with their doctor. And then you'll hear heartbreaking stories of seniors who are on the other side, entering the next phase of their life, without that trusted special one working with them as they move towards the winter of their life. They want that relationship. And by golly, they deserve it.

When I heard about the ongoing health care challenges, I listened to many of the people talking. It's not just about the locum doctors. It's not just about the locum nurses. It's also about the overworked health care system. They are exhausted. But clearly and importantly, they need to know we have their back because some of these solutions that they need, we just need to listen to. They're not as complicated as we're trying to make them out to be.

At the same time, you don't have to look any further for the evidence of different struggles throughout all our communities. I can point in my community of the homelessness and the addictions of downtown and even the compounding public safety issues that need urgent help. This is not news here, and this is clearly not news in many of the ridings. Many loved ones will tell me they see their family members downtown struggling with their demons, and they would give anything to help break that cycle. We can help. We can start making good choices. We can support them. So as this problem gets worse, let's not let people feel abandoned and fearful.

There will always be challenges of the day but we cannot ignore the promises of the future. We have many to cherish and we have many to support, so they too deserve the fullness of our attention. I know each of us want the best for our young people so in this economy, we must be prepared to rise to that occasion. Opportunities like the polytech, it can bring in investments and educational opportunities for all Northerners as well as maybe new Northerners. Let us not miss this opportunity.

Now, keep in mind that one polytech will not replace a diamond mine but it's about the past. As we sit here with the gray economic cloud looming over the Northwest Territories, we must look at ways to diversify our economy. And therefore, we could also consider, not only as I suggest but as many suggest, the polytech could come on the property of the capital area site right near the Legislative Assembly as one option. So don't overlook at ripple effects. When you do one success, it can help spark other ones from one region to another region, from one community to another community, to one riding to another riding.

You know, they'll often say that the true hallmark of leadership is about inspiring others to get the best from them even at times when it's even better than what we can do ourselves. That's teamwork; not worrying about getting the credit, but looking at the end result of what's meaningful for everyone. The system, therefore, must accept the inevitability of change. It is time we acknowledge that our Indigenous governments, our community governments, are our allies, not our competitors and hands down not our enemies. They are our friends. They are our colleagues. They are in this together with us. So we must not hold on to useless tenets and silly reasoning why we hold each other back. And so by example, by not transferring lands to community governments, to cities, to our partners so they can get on and do their business and do it right, we are holding them back. We're not supporting their economies. We must reflect on those choices. We can make the good choices by helping them. By standing with community governments and our Indigenous partners with their housing initiatives, it would be a clear application of support.

The GNWT does not control every single outcome, but it's time we become a clear single partner in the context of our support on and on. As I look to the fall of 2027, I want to talk about the end of our four years as I work towards the closing of my statement. Wouldn't it be nice to talk about the settling of land claims and settling -- and working through the implementation agreements? At the same time, wouldn't it be great to talk about the progressive steps we have taken to fully implement our wellness centres in our regions and support the homeless initiatives or provide housing and addictions care and aftercare and employment initiatives in all our regions? Wouldn't it be great in 2027? By fully funding communities, by supporting their needs, 2027 could be fantastic. And it starts today by the work we do together.

It wasn't that long ago when we lived in a prosperous era, and I don't think that that slippage is so far behind we can't remember it. We must inspire ourselves. We must act boldly and wisely to revive our economy and to build a foundation of lasting prosperity for everyone. The North is mineral rich. It may be infrastructure poor but the world needs us, and we have things for them to share.

Equally important, this Assembly needs to have a focus on putting money back in the pockets of Northerners. I have suggested a few ideas. There are many, many more. But we must revisit how we do business, and it must be a call to action on how we do this because the cost of living and the struggles are real. I do not hear one single riding saying everything is perfect. We have so many people needing other assistance, and we can do this together. And I know it's not easy. We will disagree with each other and, as a matter of fact, probably quite regularly. And that's okay. That is a hallmark of democracy. But it's what we do with that disagreement on how we do it is what we can do to deal with these priorities and working for everyone.

I also understand that at any given day these challenges will be exhausting but I can tell you I'll be relentless.

So in conclusion, I want to start by saying that each of us ran -- sorry, let me try it again. At the conclusion, I want to point out that the start of each of our journeys really began with the thought of changing the narrative in our communities and how we can afford our energy and time and create solutions. But you're not alone. As you sit there in your chair, know this: You have 18 other Members who feel somewhat similar. Sometimes we're scared. Sometimes we're nervous. But we are all together. With approximately 1,379 days to go in this Assembly, time is short and before you know it, it'll be over.

So I'll leave you with this: However we found our way here, our job is to lift all regions of the North, help with the prosperity of all and all Northerners because the change in the people we may have been waiting for is actually here today. Congratulations, everyone. And thank you very much. Thank you

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I want to say mahsi to my constituents of Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh for putting me here to speak for them. Also I want to thank my family, my wife Aleta, who is at school teaching right now, all my children. And I just wanted to take this time to reflect about when I was first elected to the Assembly here.

As a Member of the Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh riding, I bring to this Assembly the concerns and priorities of my constituents. Since taking office, my efforts to advocate for my riding been met with limited acknowledgement and commitment from outgoing GNWT Premier and Cabinet. I'm hopeful that now with a full term ahead of us and the opportunity for new leadership, this change for the 20th Assembly building relationship and partnership.

Mr. Chairman, when I was first elected on February 8th, 2022, in a by-election, I heard clearly from my constituency about what are very important to them and near and dear to their hearts. Outstanding is completing the Indigenous governments modern treaty and self-government agreements. I heard this every day since I been in this office here, winter road to Lutselk'e. I brought this to the House and they said well, I'm sorry, we got no money. Affordable housing, homeownership repairs, high-speed internet, commercial residential lot development. Kosmos 954 public inquiry, I raised that in this House.

Federal day school, April 1st, 1969, that's when the Government of Canada transferred the federal Indian Day School to the territorial government. But after that day, the abuse continued to happen for 26 years thereafter. Again, that needs to be addressed and talked about.

Also, the most important that keeps coming up, and I got to raise it here again today, is the Environment and Climate Change raid into Timber Bay culture camp. My constituents of Lutselk'e are asking that this government needs to apologize for that raid.

The other issues that I want to just briefly talk about is this, again, in my campaign trail I went to door to door in the communities. I listened to the elders. You know, the issues are -- in this campaign are no different than the last campaign. But there were some changes that were brought up.

The issues of winter road, and now they're talking about barging services and dust control in the community of Lutselk'e. The other issues is that MACA really has a limited amount of money is for residential lot development in our four communities. We haven't seen no new construction in our communities for a very long time. It's getting to the point now where housing corporation are buying old units or units in the community so they could build their own units in the community. That's a concern in my riding.

Mr. Chairman, the Kosmos 954 is a big one that I brought to this Assembly as well. I'm asking for an apology from the prime minister and also financial compensation. Since 1978, in April, we had a Russian satellite that came down, and it had debris coming from the east of British Columbia going to -- sorry, west from British Columbia going east and going over Hay River, Fort Resolution, Lutselk'e. There were debris found all the way up to Coppermine. And they had uranium that was in the atmosphere. They say it burnt up. But the people and the elders of my riding are very concerned about that because we have a lot of cancer rates after 1978. And that's something that needs to be looked at.

Mr. Chairman, also the Taltson hydro, we have graves that are in water that are 60 feet down when they flooded the water in that land in that area. The elders in my riding are asking to move those graves and before we even talk about doing any more expansion on the Taltson hydro.

The issues that come up I want to talk about is the Dettah school. In 1972, those ATCO trailers are -- it's been retrofitted over time. And not long ago I heard it was on the capital plan. It was taken off. At what point in time do we, you know, make the decision about building schools in our community? Education is an Aboriginal treaty right. And I want to remind that we have taken an oath to recognize that when we swore it here the other day. And we must continue to not lose sight of that.

The other issue that my colleagues talk about is the federal -- or sorry, the treatment facility here in the Northwest Territories. You know, this treatment facility that we talk about is -- it can't solely be beared only on the GNWT government because we got a very limited budget. The Government of Canada really needs to step up on this one here because we have residential school, federal day school. They got to take ownership of that. So having said that, that should include proper programming, probably include housing, aftercare, community-based programs, etcetera. We got to figure that one out. I did bring that up in the House as well.

In most communities in the Northwest Territories, we have new band offices and community halls. In N'dilo, we have an old gymnasium that was built back in 1978, and it's under size. The community, it's outgrown -- or sorry, the community's outgrown the community hall now. That needs to be looked at. That's something that I want to continue to advocate for our community. But my concerns is that, you know, we got -- we're going to have settled claims here in Northwest Territories sooner than later. And I had mentioned to my colleagues in the last Assembly and, again, I'll continue to advocate it here today, is that we must continue to recognize those constitutional protected land claim agreements. And we may have to look at some kind of constitution going forward. I think that's something that we need to talk about.

But, Mr. Speaker, I know we got limited amount of time. But I just want to talk about briefly is the state of affairs of this government. As much as we want to talk about all the stuff that we want to put in our communities, at the end of the day I think I heard from my colleagues that we had to put our house in order. And if we don't do that, you know, what do we do then? I often said that we may have to review all the government departments because it -- we can't continue to do this. Mr. Speaker, we got $2.2 billion budget. We are $1.6 billion deficit plus another $200 million added to it. Who's to say that this government here, and once we get the new Minister in there, they're going to come back and ask for more money? I'm concerned about that. This should be a full independent public review of the fire season that just occurred and the floods that happened. That's a concern that got to my attention. That impacted my community as well.

The thing is that the NWT is taking a huge hit on the economy and the GDP. The mining industry are winding down. They're now going to reclamation. Our young people need jobs. And we got to look at new ways to stimulate the economy here in the Northwest Territories. Right now -- as well, CBC reported that we lost over a thousand people. I think it's at $40,000 per person that we get from Ottawa. That's $40 million of our budget. At the same time, we -- our -- I keep thinking about the 3P initiatives that we undertaken as well. You know, we're paying down the hospital. We're paying down the bridge. You know, our dollar's getting really stretched. The question is how are we all going to come together and manage that? We all have needs in our community. And when I brought this stuff to the last Assembly, you know, the Premier said the train left the station and if you want anything on that train, try to put your luggage on there. Well, that train's took off already. So I have an opportunity here to really express what are the needs of my community. But overall, you know, the state of affairs of this government at this point is not really good.

The carbon tax, right now the Government of Canada had said that they're going to stop the carbon tax in western Canada. But here in the Northwest Territories, we got to go back and revisit the legislation on the carbon tax again, because the people in the Northwest Territories are paying high already in fuel costs and the carbon tax we have to pay on top of that. It's costing us anywhere from 1,800 to $2,400 just to fill up your fuel tank. So that's the reality.

At the end of the day, Mr. Chairman, is that we got to really look at our house. We got to start living within our means. Housing is a big issue. It's so bad that, you know, the housing corporation gets a budget, our finance people put money into its shared expenses, it's close to over $200 million. But yet at the same time we're hurting at the local level for housing. And right now, the Indigenous governments are not going to Ottawa and get their own money for housing. And then so why do we have a housing corporation? In 2038, CMHC's going to pull that funding away from them. They're done. So we got to look at that. So I guess at the end of the day, Mr. Chairman, is that this government here, we got to start living within our own means. And at the end of the day, we all got to work together and we have to build new relationships with Indigenous governments, industry, all stakeholders. With that, Mr. Chairman, thank you.