Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I want to weigh in on the debacle of the COVID secretariat that I'm facing as an MLA. I'm here to represent the constituents of my riding but, most of all, for the people of the Northwest Territories. I see the way decisions are made by this government, and for the most part, they certainly do not favour giving anything to the small communities. I would like to mention that the COVID secretariat will create an extra 150 positions and cost this government approximately $87 million over four years.

Mr. Speaker, this is quite concerning. Perhaps, this government had blinders on during the pandemic and did not approach the creation of the secretariat with a clear mind. Perhaps, if they were to call the group COVID task force, maybe they would have had a different outcome had they looked at various options as to the formation of the group. The GNWT has a workforce of over 4,000 employees, perhaps closer to 5,000.

Mr. Speaker, we have to understand that, at the outset of the pandemic, the government declared a state of emergency and a public health emergency. It was at this time a task force should have been created from within the workforce with positions re-profiled to handle the various duties of the task force. I'm certain many employees would have stepped up to the plate to perform these duties and be able to tell their grandchildren about their exploits one day. This could have possibly saved some headaches for the budget bottom line since we're not looking too good in that department.

Mr. Speaker, the residents of the small communities where a majority are Indigenous, could use programming and buildings to assist the residents to combat addictions, depression, mental health issues, housing, healthcare, family violence centres, child and family centres, and long-term care beds, to name a few. I also note that the elders of our communities are facing challenges, accessing housing programs like never before. Many have lost faith in the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. Who is responsible to fix that? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.