Thank you for the question. What I have seen in my experience in small communities is that even small changes would make a difference, for example, keeping the contact list up to date with who the most recent leadership is. I've reviewed lists that are hopelessly out of date, so, if the letter is going to the community and it's addressed to the wrong person, likely, there won't be any traction. Likewise, I find that we rely too much on e-mail where it would be a better choice to pick up the phone and actually talk to a person about the issue that you want to bring to their attention. I understand that capacity issues are at the heart of some of these issues, as well, that the First Nations are often underfunded, that they don't have a full complement of staff, and that it can be difficult for the people who are there to juggle all the requests they have for their time. I think that this is an area where we really need to walk the talk. If we want better relationships with Indigenous people, we have to take a range of actions that start with things like keeping contact lists up to date, and include things like implementing UNDRIP and everything in between. I think we have to show that we are fully engaged, that, as somebody said at the meeting last week and I fully agree with and it was repeated here, that we treat Indigenous government organization as partners and not as clients. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Green. Next, we have Mr. Johnson.

I believe we have been handed an overwhelming mandate for change. I believe that started when we elected nine women to this Assembly, and it continued today when we elected Caroline Cochrane as our Premier. I also believe, as we set our priorities in the last weeks and we table them tomorrow, it is your job as Cabinet Ministers to follow up on those and to ensure those changes are made in your departments. However, I think we must recognize we are not the only decision-makers here, and my question to you as future Cabinet Ministers is: how will you approach sometimes and likely resistance to change within your own departments? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Johnson. First on our list, we have Ms. Chinna.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect. Thank you, Ryan, for you question. I know that, being in the Ministerial position, we will end up not always agreeing. I know we will encounter scenarios and situations where we will be disagreeing on a lot of situations, but, at the end of the day, we are the 19^th Legislative Assembly. We do have an obligation to meet the needs of the people at the grassroots level, the people who are working in our GNWT offices and our stakeholders, as well, in the Northwest Territories. I feel that it's imperative that we continue that relationship and the relationship-building. In all due respect, I feel that going forward, we need to change with what is better for the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect.

Thank you, Ms. Chinna. Next, we have Ms. Green.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect, and I appreciate the question from the Member. In fact, I think we should expect resistance to the changes that we have adopted in our priorities. I think the first thing that we need to do is understand what that resistance is: is that a resistance because the idea is too far out, it's beyond the capacity of the person you're talking to? What is the origin of the resistance to change? It might not be simple obstinacy. It might be actually a problem with understanding what's required or acquiring the skills to respond to the changes that are being proposed.

I have already said and I will say again that I am committed to evidence-based decision-making. I'm also a very good communicator of how I get to the decisions that I make, and so I would make a special effort, of course, to reveal this evidence to the people I'm talking to and to ask them to come on board to create the conditions in which they can come on board.

Finally, though, we as the politicians, as Mr. Simpson said often enough during his campaign to become Premier, the buck stops with us. We are ultimately responsible for this, and so, if change isn't happening, we have to figure out, if the soft touch doesn't work with our innate skills, we're going to have to ramp things up in order to make the changes that we have been asked to make. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Green. Next, we have Ms. Martselos.

I will abide by the priorities that are set by the 18 Members of this 19^th Assembly. I will ensure that the decisions that are being made are good for all the people of the Northwest Territories. At the Cabinet level, I will also ensure that management takes direction, working with management on making sure we have all the pros and cons before the decisions are made, and I will ensure that we respect the public service and the people who do all the jobs to make us better leaders. This is the way I've always managed before. Everybody has a say in the department. Making good, solid decisions, that's what I'm about, and I'm really results-oriented. I bring strong leadership to ensure that these are upheld. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Ms. Martselos. Next, we have Ms. Nokleby.

The only constant in life is change, so it's funny to me or ironic that that actually seems to be one of the things that people struggle with the most, is when their life is maybe disrupted or something is going to change, and it's that fear of the unknown. I feel that the best way to go about diluting that fear or in reassuring my department that this change isn't necessarily a bad thing, even though it might be difficult to go through it at the time, is education. The more the people understand the reason for change and why it's happening, then they will be less fearful of that change, itself. If you can help your staff to understand that, while we may have to go through some difficult moments to get to the end result, that the end result is going to be better for them than the situation you're in, I think that will go a long way for decreasing that fear of change. People want reassurance. They want to know what's going on. They want information.

I'm an engineer. I'm all about data. I'm all about information. There will be no secrets. I know there will be issues with solidarity and all that, and I would definitely be mindful of that and follow protocols, but I am an open book. I think those of you who have gotten to know me in the last three weeks realize I'm pretty straightforward. What you see is what you get, and that's the way that I plan to run my department. Every single person will know that they can come into my office, that they can talk to me about their fears, that it's a safe space, and that they're not going to be retaliated upon. If they disagree with me, then that's fine because the only way I'm going to learn is if other people are going to tell me what their opinions are. I do not want a group of "yes" people. I will definitely go in and have that discussion. Thank you.

Thank you. Ms. Nokleby. Next, we have Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Speaker-elect. To me, it's about communication to begin with, to explain to the bureaucracy why we're going the direction we're going. Once we get that overarching picture there, then you need to talk to them and understand what the challenges they have are with the process that we're moving forward. There may be something with our policies that may challenge us, moving it forward, so we need to first work with them. Then, if it doesn't happen then, as Mr. Simpson said, the buck stops here, so you need to first work with them and try to get them to understand the reasons we're moving it. Like Ms. Nokleby said, they may say, "No, this doesn't make any sense." They can explain, but again, it's communication, working with them to make what's better for the people of the Northwest Territories. It's not using your heavy hand. It's using the velvet glove, but, at the end of the day, you may have to have an iron fist inside. However, at the very beginning, it's about working with the people, communicating the vision that we're moving forward on, and then go from there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Next, we have Mr. O'Reilly.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I see myself, as a Minister, I would really like to meet with the senior staff; visit the offices of the department in Yellowknife, outside of Yellowknife, get a good understanding of who the staff are and what their issues are and what the barriers may be to some of the changes that might be required as a result of the mandate. So I think it's really important to get to know the staff and the department, and I'll be looking for a "how-to" approach, not why we can't do something. I think, in order to make sure that change happens, you have to have good evaluation, good monitoring in place to make sure that it actually does happen, and that that is understood clearly by everybody as part of the system.

I guess the last thing I'd like to say is that I, too, also believe very much in evidence-based decision making. I think that, when change is happening, it can be difficult for folks. Communication is, obviously, going to be very important. It's going to be important to work with standing committees so that they also understand why change is or is not happening, and the reasons for that. If changes need to be made in terms of staffing, that's not something I'm afraid to do, but hopefully it would never come to that. As leaders, we have to be held accountable at the end of the day. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Next, we have Ms. Thom.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect. The people of the Northwest Territories are relying on this Assembly for some change. You know, when we're doing our campaigning, we're going door-to-door and we're hearing from our constituents, from the people, that there needs to be change; and, within change, there will be resistance. We know that. It's just how you go about taking that resistance.

If elected, we will all be given different portfolios. It's so important to learn about your portfolio. Communicate. Earn that trust, and I think that can go a long way, with just working with the people who you have to work with. So I think communication and trust are very important. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Thom. Next, we have Mr. Simpson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect. During my brief run for Premier, I received a lot of feedback from members of the public service. They liked a lot of the things I was talking about in terms of how to change the system and change the way we do business, so the public service is ready for change. They are not opposed to change. We need to support them to make that change. I think that's the issue.

I was talking to one of my colleagues earlier and they said that, you know, the government will have a policy out and then the public service finally figures out how to implement it, and then they change the policy. So people aren't resistant to change, but they need to be supported and, if there are problems with it, they need to be heard. They need to be part of the system. There needs to be that feedback I've been talking about.

If there is a problem, if there is a bottleneck when it comes to this change, if there is someone in a position somewhere who, no matter what you do, just won't comply, then that's when you need to lean on your Premier because, as a Minister, you can't hire and fire people in your department. The management of it is done by the deputy ministers, who are responsible to the Premier, so we need to work as a team and we need to make sure that our Premier is going to have our back. I'm not sure if she's had any pushback in the past for any changes she wanted to make.

---Laughter

I think that she knows what it's like and that she'd be there to support us, and we need that kind of support. Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect.

Thank you, Mr. Simpson. Next, we have Mr. Bonnetrouge.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect. It's important to note that employees are our most important resources. I come from the Department of Infrastructure; prior to that, it was the Department of Public Works and Services, and there was another Department of Transportation, where they amalgamated the departments, and there were messages going around saying that they were going to amalgamate the positions, so they had meetings with us. It wasn't clearly defined, and no emails. There was lots of scepticism, and there was fear, fear of losing your jobs, because now you're amalgamating departments and there might be duplication.

I've been involved in those kinds of situations at the other end of it, so I'm kind of becoming a professional at maybe trying to alleviate those positions, now. You know, you have to alleviate that fear, that fear mongering, and let them know that a lot of their positions are not going to get affected. It's important to relay to them the necessity for the change in your department, and what the future outlook is for your department, also. You need to relay those messages and explain the reason why that change is important. Usually, meetings with your departments are very informative and can alleviate a lot of these fears. My time is up, so I'll stop there. Mahsi.

Thank you very much, Mr. Bonnetrouge. Next, we have Mr. Jacobson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect. I think, with an open-handed approach when working together with your staff and letting them know what you're expecting of them, and when you treat your staff well, I think we can all come together for the common good for the people of the Northwest Territories, making sure that we remind them that that's why we're here, to serve the people.

For myself, I think we have to lead by example, and change is good. This 19^th Assembly, we have to do something. This is a "get 'er done" Assembly, working for the benefit of all the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. Next, we have Ms. Wawzonek.