Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.

Madam Speaker, will the Minister admit that this whole situation could have been handled better, and will he commit to improving the decision-making process for future decisions like this issue? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

I would like to thank the Member for that question. Simply put, yes. This was one of the reasons I asked for Department of Lands upon being elected as a Minister. I am happy to advise the House that we have identified a team who will focus on regulatory process. I have committed previously to this to engage Regular Members in the development of the public land regulations so that there will be opportunities for you to review and provide comments on any changes to public land pricing or administrative fees as part of the process. Again, I would like to thank the Member for her hard work in advocating for all residents of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.

Masi, Madam Speaker. [Translation] I have talked about regarding the interpreters. In the Northwest Territories, there are less than 10 interpreters in the Northwest Territories. Some of them are ready for retirement. Some of them will be retiring pretty soon. I would like to ask a question to the Minister of culture regarding the interpreters. The courthouse, medical interpreters, they all need interpreters, so I have a question for the Minister. [Translation ends]. My question is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Madam Speaker, could the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment explain the process currently in place for training and also certifying professional interpreters in the territory? What is our current system? Masi.

Thank you, Member. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. There is currently no accreditation body in the territory for accrediting translators. I have a list of translators here who the department uses. I think there are 33 names on there. I think 16 of them have interpreter/translator certificates from bodies like Aurora College, and a number also have qualifications in linguistics and things like that. I don't say it enough, but I do want to take this opportunity to thank the translators. I stand in the House, and I listen. Sometimes, I do not know what Members are saying, but the translators have to listen to that, understand it, and then translate it back into another language. It's an amazing skill, and I want to thank them. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

[Translation] In 1990, we had a language bureau. There were a lot of interpreters then. There were a lot of interpreters with the GNWT at that time, but today, we do not have. I would like to ask the Minister that question: how many today? Is there any training? Are there any interpreters to be trained at this time? [Translation ends].

The efforts of the department right now are focusing on revitalization because we realize that there is a need to revitalize languages so that they can be in wider use and then so that we can start utilizing interpreters more. Currently, there is no training program in the territory, but under the Indigenous Languages Action Plan, one of the deliverables in the next two years, less than that now, about a year and a half, is to create the partnerships with translating programs -- there are some in Alberta and BC -- and be able to make those connections so that we can encourage and facilitate more translator/interpreter training.

[Translation] Just regarding the interpreters' training, we do not have interpreters' training as of today. You can see there are interpreters here. Most of them have white hair, and now, in terms of their jobs, they are ready for retirement. We know that they are ready for retirement. What if they retire? We want to have another interpreter to take over. At this time, Madam Speaker, I have a question for the Minister. [Translation ends]. [Microphone turned off] ...interpreters are essential for the use and survival of our official languages. Could the Minister describe the government's plan for building and also sustaining a strong core of interpreters here in the Northwest Territories?

There is a plan. I think it's too big to talk about right now because it starts when children first enter school. I was looking just a few minutes ago at a framework or a strategy from 2010, when the Member for Monfwi was the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I am happy to say that a lot of the actions identified in there are things that have now been completed; there is progress being made. Just the other day, I released or officially launched the Our Languages curriculum, so now, there is a curriculum, a solid curriculum, in schools, that can be implemented across the territory. That is one of the things we are doing in the early years.

There are also immersion programs. We have a mentor-apprenticeship program where language speakers are paired up with elders and with fluent speakers to help them learn and become more fluent. We are working on adult immersion diploma program so that we can get more speakers to the point where they can become interpreter/translators. There is a lot of work, and it's one of the bright spots of the government, I would say. As a new Minister, you come into a department, and there are some areas that have not been looked at maybe in 10 or 20 years. Then there are some where there has been a recent push to get work done. Indigenous language revitalization is one of those areas, and it really is a bright spot. I am confident that we are going to see the numbers go up in the coming years.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Monfwi.

Masi, Madam Speaker. I am glad that the Minister is confident and that there is work in place hopefully to develop some more or establish more interpreters here in the Northwest Territories. Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I am more focused on expediting the process. What we talked about is: there are two years or could be less. Will the Minister commit to developing a fast-track program for development of a new generation of professional Indigenous language interpreters here in the Northwest Territories, which is badly needed as we speak? Masi.

There are programs under development, such as the diploma program. I want to make sure that we focus our efforts where they are needed. I take the Member's point that we do need interpreters. I will go back to the department. I will find out what the plans are in terms of the diploma and other efforts that are happening and to see how we can ensure that we do have people capable of performing translation and interpretation services. Perhaps it's not a certificate program at this point. We do need those people in place, and I will have those conversations. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Madame la Presidente. My question is for the Minister responsible for Seniors. In the debate leading to the adoption of the motion calling for creation of a seniors' and elders' strategy, it was the position of the then Minister that a specific strategy would likely not be possible owing to COVID. He said that action on senior-related activities would be pursued piecemeal. I would like to know from the Minister: is this still the position of the new Minister responsible for Seniors? Mahsi, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Member. Minister responsible for Seniors.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. There will be an elders' strategy developed within this Assembly. Thank you.

That is a great commitment. I appreciate that from the Minister. My statement earlier today cited a number of statistics indicating the proportion of seniors is growing quickly, but it is not clear whether the strategy is going to include all services. How will the Minister not just complete a seniors' and elders' strategy but also see that seniors' planning is a lens applied to all GNWT programs and services?

Thank you for the question, Member for Frame Lake. We are collaborating across all government departments to identify what the gaps are and what the resources are available to seniors to figure out how we can develop a strategy that meets their needs in a holistic way. I also want to say that we plan to collaborate with the NWT Seniors' Society and other seniors' organizations and seniors as individuals in order to develop this strategy. It will be a collaborative process from top to bottom.

Thanks to the Minister. It's a great day in the House when we get such fabulous answers. No, seriously, I do appreciate them very much. The poverty strategy talked about an integrated continuum of services, and I think that sets a good benchmark for how the seniors' strategy might roll out. How does the Minister intend to integrate cross-departmental delivery of coordinated services now until the development of a strategy with a view to the needs of seniors and elders?

We do now collaborate with other government departments in order to provide services to seniors, but we could be doing better. For example, I am very interested to see whether it's possible to have a common application for all seniors' services across all government departments, rather than having seniors having to apply to each government department for the service that they require. That is the kind of initiative that I'm looking at going forward. Of course, there is a lot of work related to seniors going on now around our priority to have seniors age in place with dignity. That involves housing, homecare, and other supports that will allow seniors to stay in their homes, and that work will continue alongside the development of the strategy.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Madame la Presidente. I love this new Minister. This is great. In a presentation earlier this year to the Standing Committee on Social Development, the NWT seniors said that they are ready to work with the new Minister, or the Minister responsible for seniors I think they've got a great ally, now, but how does the Minister propose to collaborate with the society and other stakeholders on the development and implementation of a new seniors' strategy during a pandemic? Mahsi, Madam Speaker.