Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for the question from the Member for Hay River South. It's true, the federal government has reached an agreement with the Northwest Company and is about to reach an agreement with Arctic Cooperatives. And the nature of this agreement is to supply rapid antigen tests through the Northwest Company and Arctic Co-Op stores that are located in NWT communities. People can go to those stores, ask for a test, and it is available to them free of charge. There are a few places that don't have a North Mart or an Arctic Cooperative such as Yellowknife. We're working on an agreement with the City of Yellowknife to give us access to one of their facilities to give out tests. So, there are a couple of other exceptions as well. Colville Lake doesn't have either of those stores, Lutselk'e, Sachs Harbour. So there are discussions going on between the GNWT and those communities to ensure they get a supply of tests and there's someone to give them out. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister confirm if those tests are meant to replace testing currently being provided or given out at the health centres, or are the rapid test kits just another option in addition to the health centre testing? Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for that question. It enables me to clarify that the community health centres, where they exist in NWT communities, will continue to offer point of care testing. The rapid antigen tests are an extra to that. So there will always be testing available in the communities that have health centres.

I just want to make a point at this point that the purpose of the test is not to replace masking, vaccination, social distance, and so on. It's a way for an individual to test themselves if they have symptoms before making an appointment for a confirmatory test or deciding not to make an appointment. But in any case, it's not supposed to be a shortcut around vaccination. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, not all communities have a Northern store or a North Mart, and I understand the Minister said that they may -- they're talking to the -- or the federal government's talking to the City of Yellowknife to be able to hand out those rapid tests. But in the communities that don't have them, the smaller ones, like I'm thinking Kakisa for instance, would they be made available, say, through an NGO or through the Indigenous government offices, or are they kind of left out? Thank you.

Yes, thank you. In all cases, the Northwest Company is still doing the delivery, but they're trying to connect with community leadership to provide the test to them. And the list of those communities does include Kakisa but also Gameti, Wekweeti, Whati, Jean Marie, Nahanni Butte, Sambaa K'e, Wrigley, and Enterprise. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister confirm if those tests will be handed out to those entering the NWT at the border monitoring sites while those monitoring sites are still in place? Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the tests being given out at the airports and the land borders will stop being given out at the end of this month when the public health emergency ends. But for schools and businesses, non-profits and so on who are involved in the ProtectNWT program, they have a good stockpile of tests now I'm told, and they will be able to access tests in the future. Thank you.

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