Thank you. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. One of my concerns is that I don't actually think government service officers are the real solution and that they were designed to help navigate a system that is extremely difficult. When you look at the ICM reports and the integrated service delivery model, that's what they're saying. The systems actually need to work better together. We can keep adding all the pathfinders and navigators that we want, but that's not really solving the root problem.

One of my hopes for the Department of Finance's review of our budget is that there will also be kind of a corresponding look by the executive on where people are best suited. I know that this budget doesn't have a Service GNWT model, but I think having something like a government service officer who could actually stamp your housing application, who could actually stamp your income application, who could actually do all of that work in one place and could actually help you bring you over to Health and Social Services, is the goal. I don't think adding more pathfinders really works.

My question there is: as Finance reviews each of the programs for each department in silos, is there some sort of corresponding work being done by Cabinet to look at, "Wait. We have this pathfinder who is meant to help these five departments, but maybe the five departments can have some overlap or work together"? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. That is the purpose of the government renewal project that the Minister of Finance is bringing forward so that all programs would be reviewed and to see the strengths, the weaknesses, the gaps, and areas that need changing. That work is being done in this government. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Switching briefly, I don't often give compliments to the Department of Lands, but one of the things that I like about the Department of Lands, when I go to their unit, they did some internal restructuring. They have a new Public Land Act implementation project team, and they have created positions where their entire job is to implement the new Public Land Act. When I look in EIA's corporate restructuring, I get extremely lost, and I know it's not my job to internally run departments, but I'm always unsure who is doing what. I notice you have a policy shop. You have a devolution shop. You have an Indigenous and governmental affairs shop, a negotiations shop, an implementation shop, an intergovernmental relations shop, an Aboriginal relations shop, a Cabinet secretary shop, all with different policy positions.

This is one of those things that also annoys me is that sometimes I hear the Premier say, Madam Chair, that they're busy, but there are more policy people in this department than anywhere else. My question is: I think the United Nations Declaration is one of our biggest pieces of work to date. All we have got is struggled to get an actual terms of reference going, but who, of those shops, is actually responsible for that work? I note that, when we were doing devolution, we created the Office of Devolution Initiatives. It was a clear point of accountability in the government for who was doing that work. I think the UNDRIP implementation is just as large-scale a work, but I am unclear who in the giant mess of EIA is doing that work. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll turn that to the deputy minister, but I will say that I am at that table for every meeting. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Deputy Minister Goldney.

Thank you, Deputy Minister. Madam Premier.

Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. For clarification, I don't want to mislead the Members. I am at every table with the Indigenous government leaders. We do have staff, also, who are working behind with the Indigenous government officials, just for clarification. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate that clarification. It was going to be my next question that, if there's not a staff-level technical group, we are probably never going to get anything done. I have yet to see a group of politicians actually implement anything, let alone something as complicated as the declaration. I think we very much need our staff working together.

Madam Chair, when the Premier was elected, there was a commitment for a long forward economic plan and vision. We also heard that in the Emerge Stronger vision. This is another one of those things which I think is a huge policy undertaking. Can I just get clarification of who is leading that work in EIA? I believe it is an EIA responsibility as opposed to ITI. Once again, I think this is one of those things where a specific office and a specific point of accountability is really needed because so much of the expertise in EIA is Indigenous government and not economic. Who is leading that work? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Economic and social recovery, I believe that's what he's talking about, is actually being led by our deputy minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs, working with every single deputy minister across the government. It's a table of deputy ministers doing that work. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Once again, I don't want to continue to tell the Minister how to run her department, obviously, but I know our deputy ministers are just as busy and so are our Ministers. I think this is one of those things that really needs to be devolved into a specific policy shop, and they need to be given some arm's-length free rein to look at some creative economic solutions. Because past experience in the GNWT has been that any of the kind of creative, out-of-the-box solutions, they get killed by the time they get to a deputy minister's table or to a Minister's table. We kind of end up with the same safe reports and plans, of which we have many that we could simply recycle, if the goal is a plan. In creating a 10-year economic plan, are any consultants being hired, or economists? Is there outside consultation being sought? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. At this point, we haven't done any outside consultation for it. It is distressing, Madam Chair, just to hear that deputy ministers may quash dreams and hopes and thinking outside the box. I would hope that my deputy minister for Executive and Indigenous Affairs is not doing that, or any deputy minister within the Government of the Northwest Territories. We are asking for innovation and creativity, and in fairness to all of them, I think they are all thinking out of the box for this Assembly. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am really excited to see the increases to the funding for the women's initiatives, et cetera. I notice, overall, there is an increase of $150,000 to the three programs listed: the Native Women's Association; the Status of Women; and the Women's Initiatives grant. Could the department tell me if this has all been repurposed money out of the Office of Devolution initiatives, or does this funding come from, say, somewhere else like the federal government? Thank you.

Thank you, Member. Madam Premier.