Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I asked questions in regarding to the missing person of Frank Gruben. And the reason why I used his name a lot in my Member's statement was to make him humanized in regards to when you're bringing it up, you're not just hearing a name or looking at a picture, this is a human being. I really want to thank the Salt River First Nation, all the volunteers for what they did in the community. But, you know, with the fires that we've just been through and all the -- you know, it's almost unbearable for the last six weeks for the community. Where is this case now with the RCMP and what are they doing next to try to bring Frank home to his mother? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Minister responsible for Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate what the Member has said about using Frank's name. You know, when I met with his family, it's obvious that, you know, it's a very loving family that very much care for him. And this is, you know, this is tough to say the least. And I can't imagine what the family's going through. With that said, Mr. Speaker, as the Member knows I am not privy to RCMP investigations. But missing persons cases are -- they remain open, so it is still an open investigation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is my justice Minister who represents us as this House with the RCMP, and the RCMP have a signed contract with us. All I'm asking for is what is he able to do in regards to bringing forward to see -- get an update for the family. I know the RCMP are checking on the family because I talked to Laura. So now can this Minister reassure this House, and reassure me, that he's able to talk to the new superintendent of the RCMP to see the go forward steps on the file because we've been away from the -- the community's been under fire evacuation for a few months now. So what's the next steps? Are they -- is it active? So thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I've stated, it still is an open investigation. I do talk to the commanding officer from time to time and, you know, I do discuss this case with him from time to time. That being said, I'm not privy to the details of, you know, of the investigation. But if there's new information that comes to light, then the RCMP can use that and take further steps. So I reiterate the Member's comments: If you know something, please come forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what we have -- I guess what -- like I said, somebody knows something. Like the Minister said, somebody knows something. There's $8,050 reward out there for something. And we really just want to bring this to a closure, to bring Frank home back to the Delta and to Aklavik, back to his mother. I really need my Minister to step up to the plate and talk to the superintendent on a go forward -- he doesn't have to tell us in the House. The RCMP could go to the mother and just tell Laura what's happening because she doesn't hear -- like, she didn't hear anything, no updates because of the fire. And I understand that. There's a lot of things going on across our territory. But they have to go see her and let her know the next steps. And are we able to -- I guess, before winter sets in down here in the South Slave, are we able to do another search? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And as the Member mentioned earlier, the RCMP are in contact with the family. They would be the ones to provide that information to the family. I'm not sure how else to say it, Mr. Speaker. If there is no contact, if, you know, the RCMP aren't in contact with the family, they can't reach the RCMP, then I can provide some assistance. But as it is, it sounds like those lines of communication are open. And as I mentioned earlier, I do have regular discussions with the commanding officer, and this is one of the topics that does come up. So it's not like it's not -- not by a long shot has this been forgotten about. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, from seldom to regularly, I want my Minister to ask the RCMP superintendent on a go forward on next steps of Frank Gruben. We need answers. I need a plan, a go forward plan, so I could give it to his mother. So I'm requesting the Minister to pick up the phone, either today or tomorrow, just to get the update, so we could update the family. So please and thank you. Have -- show a little bit of empathy and do your job. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As a former RCMP member, a former Speaker, I think the Member's well aware of what my job is and my role in this investigation and what I can do and what I can't do. So as I've already stated, the family -- the RCMP and the family are in contact. If what the Member is saying is that the RCMP are not informing the family, then what I can do is reach out through the channels to the RCMP and say this is what we're hearing in the Assembly. It doesn't make sense for me to go speak to the commanding officer, he goes and speaks to the officers, they relay it back to the commanding officer, they relay it to me, and I relay it to the family. Why not just have the family and the RCMP talk? That's the proper process, and that's the way that things should be working. So I will ensure that that is happening. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There was a bit of a back and forth there between the Minister of Finance and the Member from Twin Lakes about if or when the Affirmative Action Policy is being changed, and I think I kind of lost the plot there. Can the Minister just confirm whether the Affirmative Action Policy is going to be changed in the very short remaining life of this government? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is not a decision that I make by myself on this one. The Affirmative Action Policy, although a policy, is one that belongs to all the Cabinet. And as with almost everything else it seems in people's lives over the last few weeks, there's been a number of disruptions over this wildfire season and summer. So there is still a little bit of time left in the Assembly, Mr. Speaker. It is a Cabinet's policy. A lot of work has gone into it. And at this point, I can't speak for it beyond that other than to say a lot of work has gone into it, and we will certainly want to make what we can of the time that we have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think that was a maybe, Mr. Speaker. And I get that when things are going through the Cabinet process, there's Cabinet confidentiality and you can't, as a Minister, you know, expose the outcome of that. I guess I'm trying to understand what is going to Cabinet potentially or could possibly. My understanding is we -- version one was an Indigenous employment policy and then a diversity and inclusion policy which added a number of new categories, including P2 and disability and sexuality and racialized persons. That was version 1. We went out, engaged on that. Version 2 essentially dropped the entire equity, including the old P2s, and just had an Indigenous Employment Policy. So those are the two options. I'm just wondering is there some sort of third possible amendment that exists or is in the work to the Affirmative Action Policy? Is there more work being done that may or may not result in the change? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, so I certainly can speak to what is in the What We Heard report that came forward as a result of the engagement that was undertaken regarding the Affirmative Action Policy. And in that, Mr. Speaker, the recommendation there really is, again, that the Affirmative Action Policy is out of date, that it is inadequate, that this is unnecessarily complex. And coming from that, what was also contained in that report is that there be an Indigenous Employment Policy to offer priority hiring to Indigenous persons. That is an area where we all know that we have failed and continue to fail for 30 some years under this policy. It simply has not achieved its purpose or targets.

And then secondarily, Mr. Speaker, with respect to a second employment policy, a broader employment policy, that's not with the data it seems to suggest is required under Statistics Canada, certainly not an area that seems to be required in terms of looking at our own demographics as a public service. And there are other tools already in place, such as the diversity and inclusion framework that might speak to it.

So those are the recommendations that were put back to us via the work that was done over the last couple of years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that a person with a disability may receive extra funding to pay for things related to the disability; however, I am concerned still around the reporting requirements -- oh, okay. I thought -- sorry about that. Those with disability. Is the government looking to make this less burdensome on residents? I know they ask for utility bills, rent, disability assessment form, disability benefit from the federal government, notice of assessment from previous tax year; how often is all of this required? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the employment assistance program provides funding to people to help meet their basic needs. So it is not a program to -- you know, to make people rich or anything like that. So I understand that for the amount of money that you get, it can seem like a lot of work to provide all of these documents. That is why at the beginning of this Assembly, I set out to change the program and overhaul the program. And we have done the work, and we are months away from launching the new income assistance program for seniors and persons with disabilities. Once that happens, the persons with disabilities will have to provide their notice of assessment once a year. That doesn't mean that's the end of all documentation because if they would like their power bill paid, they have to provide the power bill. So there's things like that where that type of documentation will always need to be provided. How else would the department know how much the power bill is?

So recently, we have been transitioning from the old program hopefully to the new program. There have been delays. And with that transition, we have started -- I'll say removing the payroll. So if someone is -- not expected their income is going to change, they can be payrolled so they only have to provide documents, you know, every three months, six months, or 12 months. Because we are changing to the new program, we want to meet with clients, tell them about the new program and how it's going to work. And so because of that, it might seem like there is more frequent requests for documents but it's because we are working with the clients to help inform them of what it's going to look like going forward. So, Mr. Speaker, yes, we are streamlining the program. It's been a long process, but we are now mere months away. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's good to hear that. Good positive change.

Will the Minister commit to review the income support policy to reduce administrative burden for elders and people with disabilities? And then he touched base on some of them already too. So that's good.

Thank you, Member --

But I do have one more question, sorry about that.

Are ECE and Housing NWT working together to create a more holistic approach to income support and social housing programs? Is there anything being done between the two departments to make it easier for people to access services? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes. With, you know, income assistance does provide funding for rent as does the housing corporation. So, you know, we have two essentially parallel housing support programs in the territory. So we have been working with the housing corporation figuring out, you know, where we can reduce some of these redundancies and how we can better support clients. So, yes, that work is ongoing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.