Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I begin today, I'd like to thank the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh for raising the idea of Detah providing fire services for the Ingraham Trail. I'll note that this is actually from Detah to the junction as opposed to the Yellowknife North Fire Hall to the junction is actually a few kilometers shorter, so it could result in a quicker response time. Also, the risk profile of a fire occurring in the Detah and the Ingraham Trail at the same time is much lower than a fire occurring in Yellowknife and the Ingraham Trail. I hope the Minister can get all those parties together and find a resolution for that.

My statement today, Mr. Speaker, is about something that has been mentioned in this House multiple times by multiple MLAs, and that's core funding for the SPCA. I think, in one sense, core funding for the SPCA is the ultimate goal, but my frustration lies in that we've had dribs and drabs of funding in different policies over the years and we haven't even got to the process where there is some sort of application funding for the SPCA. Mr. Speaker, presently, it is not clear in the GNWT who is responsible for animal welfare.

There is an argument that dogs in ditches is just municipalities. However, the work of the SPCA and the work of animal welfare is so much larger than that. Rabies is endemic to Arctic foxes in the NWT. There is no way for us to meaningfully address rabies in this territory other than consistently vaccinate our dogs. Public health has provided rabies vaccines in the past, however, consistently making sure they got out into the public has fallen on the wayside. Our ENR wildlife vet does great work making sure anthrax outbreaks do not occur, making sure that we are tracking, as ticks move south, the possibility of Lyme disease. I am grateful for their work, but the ENR mandate stops as soon as it stops being wildlife.

Climate change is going to make these issues more apparent, and I'm not asking for a lot. I'm asking for a pool of funding such that a very important organization can have some stability, and to make sure someone in the GNWT across all these departments is looking at the issues surrounding animal welfare. ITI has part of that mandate if we are dealing with livestock or egg producers and the commercial aspects of it. As we sit here in a global pandemic and as we see the increases of viruses largely due to animal and human interaction, I think it is not too much to ask to make sure there is someone in the GNWT looking for this and one of the key organizations who has long brought stability to this area is properly funded. Today, I will have questions for the Minister of health on the public aspect, health aspect, of animal health. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.