Thank you, Mr. Chair. So during the wildfire-related emergencies this past summer, it wasn't clear certainly to the public what was the role of Premier and Cabinet. So in the case of a public emergency, do you believe the role of Premier and Cabinet is to get out of the way or to take a more active role in managing the EMO or the CPHO, as the case may be, and in leading the public service?

And secondly, what do you think the Premier's role would be in terms of an independent third party review of the emergencies this past year? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the EMO structure right now is fairly well defined in that it is the Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs who does take over as the lead. In my view, Mr. Speaker, let me start at the end of the question with respect to a third party review.

There is always going to be an after-action review after events like this but it is clear that this review, given the magnitude and scale is something -- of the events, the review itself should be something distinct and unique from the standard after-action review. That is going to take some time to do properly. That is going to take more time than what we probably have before this spring season, which is when we are likely to face some renewed form of emergency whether in the form of a flood or a wildfire. And so some of the questions about who is managing the EMO and who is managing and connecting as between communities, Indigenous governments, and the GNWT, those questions need to be answered immediately. In my view, one of the things that should be happening -- well, two things as I'm looking at the clock; firstly, is a better understanding of the connections and contact points between our territorial emergency services, Indigenous governments, and communities. Communities are responsible each for their own emergency plans in response to an event, but then the EMO also steps in. But of concern to me is when we reach a certain level of emergency, for example a state of emergency gets declared, where are people gathering who have those roles, is there a command centre, and should they, in fact, be all placed in the same place. That does not seem to be uniform across the territory, and I would suggest that it should be.

And then, secondarily, is with respect to communication to the public. The kind of confusion that I sense emerging from a question like this is arising because of an incomplete and unclear communication strategy rolling out from government on behalf of EMO in terms of what's happening and who is in charge and who is responsible and where are they. So if we can do a better job of communicating what has occurred and how it's happening, we'll do a better job of supporting the public through an emergency. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So after the past couple of years, the past few years, it's clear that we need to prepare and plan for emergencies. You know, we've had unprecedented -- everything that's happened in the past few years has been off the charts. We've never seen floods like this. We've never seen fires like this. And so we cannot go into another season without putting our mind to preparation. And that is where I see the role of the Premier and Cabinet in ensuring that that happens. We need to make sure that there is a plan, there are plans in place. You know, when something is happening, they're happening quickly on the ground. And the people on the ground are often in the best position to make decisions. But what needs to happen at the Premier and Cabinet level is ensuring that those people have the tools to make decisions, that the lines of communications are appropriate, that the appropriate governments know their roles and have roles. There's -- you know, in Hay River during the flood, there was a lot of discussion about the role of the GNWT versus the municipality. Hay River, they were used to potential floods on the island, a small part of town, not for the entire town flooding. And so we need to be prepared for things like that. There needs to be preparation in terms of knowing who's staying and who's going. The Department of Infrastructure has a role to play in a community even if it's evacuated. They need to know who's staying and who's going. The same with the health authorities. And that -- from my experience, that didn't happen. There wasn't a plan. So we need to ensure that a plan is in place and that the rules on the ground are well defined. And we also need to take a role in public communication prior to an emergency. We need to make sure that everybody knows their role. We need to make sure that the public knows if there's an evacuation, this is what's happened, this is what is happening, this is what you need to take with you, this is how you need to prepare. So preparation is going to be key. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. And thank you for the question. This one's very near and dear to my heart. I was here on the ground in Yellowknife during the evacuation supporting the emergency management operation in N'dilo and Dettah. And I know many of my colleagues also worked on the front line as firefighters or working in emergency management systems either through the GNWT or with the local authority. So we have a lot of experience here. And I think when it comes to solving these challenges, there's actually a way forward that's well established in emergency management principles. There's an instant command system that we can roll out here in the Northwest Territories. And I think we need to do that by establishing a dedicated department of public safety and emergency preparedness. I agree with my -- the former speakers, this is something that needs to be a priority, but we don't need to reinvent the wheel, we just need to give it the right resource and the right leadership.

To the question itself, however, I do think Premier and Cabinet need to trust in the process that's been established. If there's an emergency management plan, then that plan needs to be followed. And the people who are identified in that plan need to follow the chain of command. That's really important in an emergency so there's consistency. Premier and Cabinet still play an important role by being trusted broadcasters to the public and giving a sense of comfort and leadership when there's a lot of confusion. And the evacuation there was a lot of confusion and people were very scared, and I think a lot of the Members, including returning Members to this House, did a fantastic job in providing comfort to the people of the Northwest Territories during a very desperate time.

As for the independent review, I think -- the afteraction reports have -- are underway, and they should be done. That's standard operating procedure. But what the public's asking for is a public process that they can participate in. We need to give the public some healing, some accountability, and some truth. And I think the best way to do that is to support an independent commission that can come through by way of motion of this House. And if I'm Premier, I'll be directing the Cabinet to support that. So they're -- and opening the doors of the GNWT to fully resource and cooperate with that commission. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. One of the things that I've always thought that was very important was having a feedback loop so that we as decision-makers know what's happening on the ground. And to do that, we need to listen to the people on the front line, the bureaucracy, because they oft -- more often than not, they want to do a good job. They want to work with the people. They want to provide services. And they know better than anyone what's working, what's not working. And so by listening to them, we can make the changes that we need to make. When we made changes to our income assistance program, which should be implemented in the new year, I put a heavy focus on ensuring that the public service, who is interacting with the public, would have the time and ability to work with clients because that's important. The residents of the territory don't want to feel like they're being brushed off. They want to feel like the people who are serving them actually care. And they do, they do care and so we just need to give them that opportunity. And, again, that goes towards the really client-centered person-centered approach that I want to take with all aspects of government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you to the Member for the question. This is a really important one because this is often what -- I think there's a lot of people, especially the farther removed you get from the capital, that feel disconnected from the public -- from the public servants and the public service at large. I think the public servants care, but I think that we need to do a better job of getting front line services out to the people. And we have great -- these great officers, government service officers, who are present in many of our communities, especially the small communities, who provide single point of access for government service. And that's a model that we should be applying across the Northwest Territories, including in Yellowknife so you have a very clear way to get access to services you need and you don't have to, you know, hunt down information or call your MLA. You know, we still have important jobs to do but the government should make itself more accessible through things like that.

I would like to see the next Premier appoint regional directors who can be the executive's eyes and ears in certain regions and get a sense of what's happening, how things are going, and changes that need to be made so the Premier can direct that directly to the deputy ministers and to the Ministers' offices themselves. And I think we need to regionalize our policies as well. We heard a great example in Fort Liard where they would like to access an agreement with the government of British Columbia over medical service because it's easier for them to get there than it is to go to Yellowknife. That's currently not being done and that's the example of a regionalized policy that just makes sense and better serves the people of that community. So that's the kind of thing I want to support and work with representatives of the region to build those -- that policy environment that really serves the people of that particular place.

And, you know, I think finally deputy ministers can't just stay in Yellowknife, you know, they need to come out on tours, just like Ministers, come with the Minister, and really meet the people that are part of their departments. And that's something I believe there's no substitute for face to face, and we need to get out there and meet people across this territory. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I'd like to hopefully get through three things in my response, and the first one is about having representation in every region so that there is a strong regional director, that that position is filled, and that we ensure that we are engaging in succession planning so that we don't have any gaps or absences in those regional positions. Those regional positions should be reporting -- obviously there's an administrative reporting role, but they should be reporting also into the Premier's office.

I've met with my departments on a biweekly basis throughout the last four years. It has been an extremely important way for me to maintain my engagement on what's happening and was a critical way that I was able to actually action things and see that things were getting done and adhering to timelines. And so in addition to having our directors reporting to the Premier's offices, I would think that departmental superintendents should also have a line to be meeting regularly with the Minister's offices so that Minister's offices are politically aware of what is happening within the regions and that are impacting on their departments.

Part and parcel of that, when we find we do meet with our superintendents tends to be when we're travelling into those regions. So while I do think that engagement and connection should be more regular and more consistent, I think there should also be an expectation on the Premier's office and on every Minister's office that they are attending in regions throughout the year with an expectation that they are doing those tours and not necessarily waiting but that we set up a schedule to make sure that we are in those regions and having a presence on a regular basis.

And last but not least, Mr. Chair, is integrated service delivery. There was an MOU signed between departments early in the last government to try to advance integrated case management integrated into being integrated service delivery across all regions. That hasn't advanced. It needs to advance. It's referenced in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Action Plan. It was then referenced in the homelessness strategy. Everyone seems to be saying that it works. And so now we need to make sure that it's rolling out for the front lines across the regions so that everyone gets the benefit of that program. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk, and thank you to the Member for the question. This is an addictions crisis in the Northwest Territories, and it has been for quite some time. And previous governments have kind of committed to or previous MLAs have committed to treatments, brick and mortar treatment centres, and then uncommitted as the operational challenges become aware. And I think we need to be bold and ambitious in meeting those challenges and recognize that we can't do it alone, especially if we're going to have regionalized models. So I'd like to establish a working group that brings together all relevant levels of government to really find the path forward, to eliminate the barriers to why clinical models haven't worked in the past, and to reinforce the holistic models that are working. You know, we have wellness camps. We have on the land programming. We have things that have been very successful in treating people, especially Indigenous people, with the respect they deserve and being culturally appropriate to get them well, to get them healed, and to return them to their community in a good way. And we need to build on those models of success and find ways to integrate them back into clinical models. But we do still need clinical supports.

We have a lot -- we have a wealth of knowledge in the Northwest Territories on people who provide care for addictions. So let's bring them in and understand how we can make this work, because it can work. It can work. I believe in that. And I believe we can make it work. But we have to work together to succeed, and we have to go to Ottawa and get them to pay for it in a significant way. I think this is as much a part of reconciliation and their commitment to building security in the Northwest Territories. We need to solve this crisis, and we need to make this a part of a national conversation, so the Northwest Territories is no longer being left behind. We have some of the worst statistics for social ills and those need to stop, and we need to be bold and bright and full throated in how we pursue this. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I said this in my speech seeking the Premiership last week, that we are in a crisis with respect to addictions across the Northwest Territories. That has been true for some time. I think we want to look firstly at what is our goal, and it is trauma recovery and it is full recovery and it is helping youth so that they are not in a situation where they need to be facing recovery from whether it's trauma or addictions. So with that, I would suggest three things in terms of what I could do in the next four years, one of which is to ensure that we are properly engaging and pooling resources with Indigenous governments. There's a lot going on in the territory right now. There is the wellness centre here in Yellowknife, the wellness centre that's going to be built in Yellowknife, as well as the Arctic Indigenous Wellness C,entre. There's community groups that are hosting on-the-land camps. I know the Gwich'in has the wellness camp. There's a lot happening. Are we adequately pooling our resources to maximize what's happening, and what do we need more of? What is working and what do we need more of? In this sense, some of these are opportunities because the concern, of course, too is we are struggling to staff some of the positions that we have, whether it's in counsellors, whether it's psychiatrists. But if we can be more flexible, if we can look to people with lived experience and if we can look to communities and Indigenous communities and Indigenous governments for the people that they know in their communities who can be leaders, elders, what can we do to maximize that and make sure that they're being compensated for their skills and then maximize that lived experience.

Aftercare is a crisis and has been for some time. People can't be well if they don't have housing. So it's not that I can solve housing in the next 20 seconds here, but I can certainly say that finding a better path to save housing is critical, and it's a critical part of solving our addictions crisis. The accelerator fund from the federal government is for municipalities and Indigenous governments. We need to make sure that municipalities and Indigenous governments can access those funds and not be a barrier by the GNWT. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the Premier carries out the wills of -- will of the Assembly. And so if this Assembly prioritizes addictions recovery, which I hope it does, I have a feeling it will -- then that's something we can work towards. We have limited resources here in the territory. We've tried clinical treatment centres a number of times. We have not been successful. We do have -- there is access to treatment right now, as imperfect as it is, so people can go out but when they come back, then what? I think that, right now, is as far as the GNWT is concerned the missing piece that we need to address. It's aftercare. I can't -- it makes no sense to send someone out and expect that when they come home and they're homeless or they're couch surfing that they're going to remain sober. So we need to deal with aftercare. If we're going to put our limited resources anywhere, I want to put it in aftercare. That said, a number of Indigenous governments have come forward with ideas for treatment centres and that's something that we can pursue together. The territory alone, I don't think that we are well positioned to create a territorial clinical treatment centre but with Indigenous governments, with their resources, with our resources and our ability together to go to Ottawa and get more resources, then that is something that I believe is achievable. Thank you.