I would like to thank the Minister for his response. He sort of answered my next question. I believe he said that he was starting to put together the proposal for a territorial midwifery program. Is that something that he can share with the standing committee, and when would he be in a position to do that?

We actually have hired a midwifery consultant and we are working with the different midwives in the Northwest Territories to help strengthen the existing services, but our territorial consultants are also working with us to update our procedures and our guidelines to make sure that they're current and they make sense. Those are building upon the recommendations.

I'm happy to have a meeting with committee if committee so desires to walk through where we are and where we're going and where we hope to be by the end of this Assembly.

Once again, I would like to thank the Minister for that commitment. I look forward to sitting in on that briefing. A number of training standards certification issues have been identified in past reports on midwifery. Can the Minister tell me what steps are being taken now and with what partners to ensure training and administrative oversight needs are in place to launch the programming once it is funded?

As I've already indicated, there was a report done. There were 16 recommendations. We've supported all 16 recommendations and we're moving forward.

The expanded program will allow for a continuity of maternity care and enable greater clinical support for residents of the Northwest Territories. One of the things that's being done right now is the NWT Midwifery Framework. It has been revised and we're entering the final stages of that approval. That includes the work that we're doing on guidelines to make sure that the guidelines are current and that they stay current. Many of these things will evolve over time as new science and new technology comes forward, but we're working on those guidelines now.

We have brought in the consultant, as I said, who is doing a significant amount of work on future design. As I said, I'm happy to meet with committee. I would suggest maybe after session would probably be best, to give us a little bit more time to get through the next couple of weeks. I'm happy to meet with committee to walk through where we're going, where we are, and where we hope to be in the life of this Assembly.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. Again, I want to thank the Minister for that. I'm sure that he will think about or would probably be able to give that briefing to committee in public, as I know there are a lot of interested folks across the Northwest Territories that would be curious to hear him make that presentation.

The Minister has spoken in the past about how we do have a bit of a complicated health system here with the NWT Health and Social Services Agency. There's the Tlicho Community Services Agency, Hay River Health and Social Services Authority. How has the Minister starting to work with these other agencies that are responsible for delivery of programs across the Northwest Territories in the hope of designing and implementing a program on midwifery? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Ultimately we see them being a part of the single system here. We do recognize that there are some unique realities in our healthcare system with two separate boards. We hope to bring Hay River into the public service at some point. Until that happens, there is a midwife representative from the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority on the territorial midwifery expansion working group. They are participating in a design and participating in the work that is needed to be done before we could actually roll out a midwifery program.

We've also been engaging with the TCSA on the midwifery program expansion. We're planning to do more of that in the coming weeks and in the coming months. It's a little different, obviously, because of the structure that did exist with the TCSA, but they've been very open to working with us on being a part of a single system in the Northwest Territories. We expect they'll have some issues they want to address. We'll certainly work with them to address the issues that they raise. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A follow-up to my questions on red alert that was made by our Premier last November. My first question: the people of my region agree that Northerners should have the ability to make their own decisions, but federal policies and decisions like the Arctic Offshore Oil and Gas Moratorium affect the kinds of decisions that we are able to make. Can the Premier tell me how his efforts to lobby the federal government and raise awareness on Northwest Territories priorities through the red alert will help support economic development in the Northwest Territories, and more specifically, the Sahtu region? Thank you.

Masi. The Honourable Premier.

Thanks to the Premier for the reply. I understand the conditional challenges facing our territory, which leads me to my second question. The Sahtu, Dene, and Metis land claim confirms the rights of Indigenous people in my region to participate in decision-making about the land and resources and the benefit from the economic development. Can the Premier tell me how red alert helps support the rights of Sahtu, Dene, and Metis?

Partnerships with Indigenous governments is part of how we do business in the Northwest Territories. The land claim and self-governed agreements that have been negotiated in the North are an important way to achieve the kind of reconciliation that Ottawa is making a priority right now.

The Sahtu land claim confirmed and clarified some very important rights for Dene and Metis people of the regions, including management of renewable resources within the settlement area, land use planning within the settlement area, environmental impact assessment and review within the Mackenzie Valley, and regulation of land and water use within the settlement area.

The Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to the implementation of the land claim agreement and wants to ensure that Sahtu, Dene, and Metis continue to be able to exercise their rights. We are also committed to ensure Northwest Territories Indigenous people's share in the benefits of development in the Northwest Territories is reflected in an agreement our government signed with its Indigenous governments. We have provided for resource revenue sharing, and we will work with the Sahtu people to develop and contribute to the Arctic policy framework that will help guide federal investment and develop their vision for the Arctic up until 2030.

Thanks to the Premier for that reply. On the issue of resiliency, my third question: we know that the federal government is working on an Arctic policy framework to guide its decisions in the North. Can the Premier tell me how the GNWT is going to make sure that NWT priorities and economic interests are reflected in the Arctic policy framework?

The Arctic policy framework is still under development, and the structure of the framework is still being negotiated and confirmed, but the federal government has committed to a chapter for each territory to set out their priorities. It is also expected there will be a chapter on Indigenous priorities.

The government of the Northwest Territories will have the lead for developing the Northwest Territories chapter, and has been engaging Indigenous governments and other stakeholders to ensure Northwest Territories use and priorities from federal polices and plans. Also, Mr. Speaker, the three territories have developed a Pan-Territorial Vision on Sustainable Development to help inform territorial interests, including the need for economic opportunities for people in the North to build self-reliance; live in healthy, vibrant, prosperous communities; and build capacities to reach their full potential.

I want to see this vision clearly reflected in Canada's framework, and we will continue to do our best to support and be involved in this process.

Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Premier for that reply. Being a supporter of devolution, the devolution agreement included a commitment to negotiate management of offshore oil and gas between Canada, the GNWT, and the IRC. Can the Premier tell me what progress has been made with Canada on keeping this? Mahsi.

Our government has been engaging with the Government of Canada to try to make some progress on a specific commitment in the devolution agreement to begin negotiations of a co-management of the Beaufort Sea. As the Member knows, we have just passed the one-year anniversary of Canada implementing a moratorium on offshore exploration in the Beaufort Sea. Specifically, they have said they are definitely off-limits to new offshore oil and gas licences, to be tested every five years by a science-based review.

Also, as well, federal officials have been approaching and asking oil and gas companies with licences in the Beaufort Sea what it would take to give up their leases and licences. Obviously, there's a different intention there. Canada negotiated specific commitments to negotiate co-management of offshore oil and gas resources with the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Inuvialuit Regional Council, and those negotiations are not taking place in spite of several requests. The Government of the Northwest Territories' position is that it has a right to be involved in management of offshore oil and gas resources, and this was recognized in the devolution agreement, and the unilateral imposition of a moratorium was contradictory to that.

Along with IRC, we continue to communicate to Canada our interest in getting started on negotiations and fulfillment of this commitment of the devolution agreement. Northerners need a plan for the long-term social and economic development of the Northwest Territories, and Canada needs to be a part of that. We are waiting for the federal government to give us a response as to whether we will proceed with negotiation of co-management. There is provisions for dispute resolution in a devolution agreement, and we are awaiting some feedback from the federal government before we look at our various options. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier in my statement I talked about the situation with heart disease in the Northwest Territories, and Canada as well. Trying to address that, this government has a wide and varied approach. My question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services. Chronic disease, including heart disease, contributes to sudden deaths in the Northwest Territories. The Department of Health and Social Services has identified tackling chronic disease as one of their major policy and program goals. How will the department take on heart disease in 2018-2019?

Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when it comes to chronic diseases, which obviously includes heart disease, we're trying to take a prevention approach, which means we are really focusing on trying to encourage healthy lifestyles for residents of the Northwest Territories, but also put in place mechanisms to help educate people on how to prevent some of these things from occurring. We also need to make sure that we're enhancing screening. We are providing quality screening so that individuals can get screened early so that, if treatment is required, we can provide it.

There are a number of things that are happening currently. We have healthy living fairs that are travelling throughout the Northwest Territories providing information to residents on a number of chronic conditions and the types of things we need to do. There has been a lot of work done on identifying healthy foods. We would work with the NWT Sports and Recreation Council to promote healthy exercise, exercise on a regular basis. There are lot of things happening, but recognizing that science is continually evolving, we're learning new things. We're also working on a chronic disease and prevention management framework, building upon past work but moving forward with a new framework that's really going to be focused. It's going to be a patient-centred approach, and this will build upon some of the existing things we are doing at communities, the good partnerships that we have out there to encourage more healthy living and wellness. That's on top of the existing things that we're doing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'd like to thank the Minister for his reply. The Minister has to be commended, and indeed in his department, in terms of undertaking education initiatives to ensure that people do live a healthy lifestyle. One of the challenges, of course, is language. My question is, once again, did the department recently work with communities in the Sahtu region to develop a Sahtu glossary for cancer terminology with entries in multiple dialects? This is some incredibly valuable work, and I congratulate all those who made is possible. With heart disease matching cancer for health impacts in the NWT, can the department work toward a similar glossary in other Indigenous languages? For example, Deh Cho Slavey?

Obviously, I'd love to take credit for that work, but it was really work that was led by the communities. It was incredibly valuable. I think the people of the Sahtu really need a pat on the back for the incredible work they've done to create this glossary and get it out to residents of the region. The department did play a role; we did provide some support in the form of some human resources and some other supports. It was a great tool. The department is absolutely open to working with other regions, other language groups, to create similar documents, recognizing that, really, it needs to be community-led, and we're there to, certainly, partner and help as best we can. We think it's a great idea. We would love to see more.