Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, speaking about a culture of hiring, Mr. Speaker, I don't accept that that characterization is fair, that the idea of saying that it is troubled and has double standards or is unfair. I don't accept that characterization, Mr. Speaker. There's a lot of people within the entire GNWT, 5,000 strong, who care deeply about the territory, who care deeply about the people that they serve, and care deeply about having a representative workforce. That is not to say that every process is perfect. That is not to say that every public servant is perfect any more than every other individual anywhere in any large organization is perfect. But there is tremendous work underway to try to always do better, to be aware and to be conscious of what we do. There's now mandatory cultural sensitivity training for all staff. There is a new recruitment retention framework coming out to provide those targets that I think we've agreed would better position hiring the -- the hiring committees to know to look forward to what they can bring on.

I would note that in the last fiscal year of 2019-20, I believe, the number of Indigenous recruitments who were -- were actually hired than the number of those who applied. So there's a real effort underway to change the way in which we do things in terms of hiring Indigenous candidates.

And as far as, I mean, broadly speaking and everyone who's applying to the GNWT, again, there is an appeal process. There's opportunities to speak to a hiring committee. There's opportunities to get advice from human resources of resumé writing, interviews. To truly understand the process, it is complex, and it's complex because we have legal obligations and policy obligations.

So all of those things exist. We are doing our best to make sure that they're available, and we'll continue to do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.

Mr. Speaker, hopefully in my past two statements gives insight to the hiring processes. Would the Minister consider a complete renewal strategy within the Government of the Northwest Territories for the human resource department? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the division of Human Resources within the Department of Finance is -- really, they service the clients of all -- they're the departments of their clients. So this is again not something that we can look at one or two or a handful of individuals who are being -- who are within the department or within the Department of Finance. It is about the entire Government of the Northwest Territories, every department, every community, and every hiring manager out there that they are taking the mandatory training, both in terms of cultural sensitivity, that they are taking the mandatory training about how to do government hiring, and that they are relying on the tools available to them through the department of human -- I'm sorry -- through the Department of Finance and the human resource professionals that we have. The Department of Finance is going through the government renewal first to ensure that the spending of money that we have there aligns with the priorities and values of the Government of the Northwest Territories and completing right now a framework that will again ensure that when we do that hiring, that every department is really providing a framework so that human resources can look at each department. And you know, again, Mr. Speaker, the point and the purpose of all that is to continually renew the work that we do, to continually renew the public service, and to ensure that it is responsive and representative. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Written questions. Returns to written questions. Replies to Commissioner's Address. Petitions. Reports of committees on the review of bills. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 25, an Act to Amend the Education Act. Bill 25 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on March 30th, 2021, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review. The standing committee held a public hearing with the Minister of Education, Culture, and Employment and completed its clause-by-clause review of the bill on May 31st, 2021.

Mr. Speaker, the committee reports that Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Education Act is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Reports of committees on the review of bills. Reports of standing and special committees. Tabling of Documents. Minister responsible for Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents: Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2021-2022; and Supplementary Estimates (Operation Expenditures), No. 1, 2021-2022. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents. Honourable Premier.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Emerging Stronger: Planning the NWT's Social and Economic Recovery Together. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Tabling of documents. Minister responsible for the Public Utilities Board.

Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents. Notices of motion. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I give notice that on Wednesday, June 2nd, 2021, I'll move the following motion. Now Therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Tabled Document 413-19(2): Emerging Stronger: Planning the NWT's Social and Economic Recovery Together be referred to Committee of the Whole for consideration. Merci, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Notices of motion. Motions. Notices of motion for the first reading of bills. First reading of bills. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I move, seconded by the Member for Nunakput, that Bill 29, Resource Royalty Information Disclosure Statute Amendment Act be read for the first time. Merci, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Motion is in order and is non debatable. All those in favour. All those opposed. Any abstentions. Motion is carried.

---Carried

Bill 29 has had first reading. First reading of bills. Second reading of bills. Consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Member's Statement 161-19(2); Tabled Document 411-19(2); Tabled Document 412-19(2) with Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes in the chair.

I will now call Committee of Whole to order. What is the wish of the committee? Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Madame le President. The committee wishes that the chair rise and report progress. I would like to move it as a motion. Madam Chair, I'd like to move a motion that the chair rise and report progress. Thank you.

Thank you. There's a motion on the floor to report progress. The motion is in order and non-debatable. All those in favour. Opposed. Motion is carried.

---Carried.

I will now rise and report progress.

Please may I have the report of the Committee of the Whole, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Ministers' Statement 161-19(2); Tabled Documents 411-19(2) and Tabled Document 412-19(2). And I'd like to report progress. And, Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Do we have a seconder? Member for Nunakput. All those in favour. All those opposed. Motion is carried.

---Carried.

Third Reading of Bills. Mr. Clerk, orders of the day.