Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the process that takes place in order for the labour market supplement to be utilized, Health and Social Services brings forward the request. They know best what their human resources needs are. They bring forward a request to the Department of Finance, to the Financial Management Board, and that is how the funding gets approved. And for Hay River Health and Social Services Authority, as noted they are separate. They will then know best what their needs are. They will bring forward the request, and then the funding can be put through the Financial Management Board.

I certainly know that at the time that the NTHSSA was going through their process, Hay River was already under bargaining. And I'm fully confident that they will be taking into account the needs that they may have for a labour market supplement through that process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister of Finance confirm approximately how many Hay River Health and Social Services Authority employees, if included, would be eligible for the labour market supplement based on criteria established for payout to the NTHSS Authority employees? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can't but I can't for actually a reason that I think is good, and that is the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority has the opportunity to look at their own human resources needs, to look at their own areas where they're having difficulty in recruitment. And it may well be that their needs are very different, or at least somewhat different than what we had under the first round of labour market supplement. So they now have the opportunity to examine their own direct needs. They're sitting down at the table right now in the midst of bargaining. It's a good opportunity to utilize the policy that we have in place, to apply it to Hay River, and to determine exactly whether they have the same needs as the NTHSSA or whether they have slightly different needs and then to bring that forward. So assuming they are going to be going forward, and I expect they will with the labour market supplement, that will then be specific and tuned to the needs of the people in Hay River. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm curious to, I guess, know how much money we're talking about. So, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister confirm if she has an approximate cost to offer up the same labour market supplement to employees of the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority as she did for the NTHSSA? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have an approximate cost, and I certainly want to be cognizant that they are in the midst of bargaining. I certainly don't want to create expectations or limitations on what may be happening at that bargaining table. I would note, Mr. Speaker, that they are not at the same pace in terms of when their collective agreement gets discussed or even in terms of what the opportunity that NTHSSA had and the Department of Finance had to sit down to do the labour market supplement that applied to the rest of the healthcare workers in the Northwest Territories. All that said, Mr. Speaker, given the size that we were dealing with in terms of the first round of the labour market supplement for all the rest of the healthcare authority in all of the Northwest Territories, the cost that might attract or attach to Hay River, I expect, to not be significant and, as such, it's not something that gives me great concern moving forward. I'm confident that they'll be able to reach an equitable solution. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess my concern is that if we do nothing, then we're going to end up losing healthcare workers in Hay River. So Mr. Speaker, knowing that -- knowing the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority is in negotiations with the Union of Northern Workers, will the Minister confirm if she'd be willing to reach out to the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority and the union to discuss a memorandum of agreement that would provide Hay River health employees with a labour market supplement? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, I share the Member's concern. That's why the Department of Finance developed the policy in the first place so there could be structure by which we can take steps to help with recruitment and retention. That's why there's the health recruitment unit that resides both with Finance and the Department of Health. But, Mr. Speaker, it's not the role of Finance to actually direct what's happening with the bargaining units at the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority. They are separate. All that said, you know, I'm quite confident that the authority and the union and the process of bargaining that's taking place there is well aware of the needs and concerns of the healthcare workers in Hay River. And Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that they'll be doing nothing. I simply don't want to impede on the process that's happening. I think a lot of information has been going out over the last few days to assure the workers that they are being heard and that, again, that process that's underway right now, it is going to take that into account. They won't be left behind. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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