Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as more and more self-government agreements are signed and Indigenous governments draw down jurisdictions for programs and services, the Government of the Northwest Territories needs to adapt and reevaluate the current administrative regions. So I want to ask the Premier what work has been done to date to reevaluate the administrative regions recognizing Indigenous governments as regions. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Tlicho are unique, you know. They're in a unique situation. And from what I learned, it's the Cabinet's decisions. They can do it, but they refuse to do it to acknowledge Tlicho as a region. So what is the process to create a new GNWT-Tlicho region, administrative region. How long will this take and what does it require? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A lot of things are just Cabinet has the control to do but Cabinet very seldom makes decisions without doing the proper consultation, especially when it talks about things that impact the whole population, especially Indigenous governments. So it would not be something that I would support that Cabinet would just go ahead and do on their own. We would need to do the consultations.

Like I said, the Tlicho region is a little bit easier. Those communities are all Tlicho people. But I look at your own region, I look at the Beaufort Delta, Mr. Speaker, and that wouldn't be as easy. We have Inuvialuit, we have Gwich'in. So it's not as easy in all communities, in all regions. So I think that it would need to be something that would have serious thought. It should not be done very quickly. It should take the time and the consultation to do that process if it wanted to be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, if it was easier, then why are they not creating a Tlicho region? And the only people or the only regions that's going to have an impact is the North Slave, and North Slave consists of Yellowknife and Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh's riding as well. And it is not her problem or her issues to say what she just said. It's up to the Cabinet. The Cabinet can do this. And I understand about other different regions having more than one Indigenous government. And, yes, in Tlicho we have only one. You know, it's -- we don't have any other government, but we do have only one set. So which is -- that's why I said we are in a unique situation. So can the Premier describe how self-government can become its own GNWT administrative region?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm just wondering if by any chance that I offended the Member. It was certainly not my intention to offend the Member by stating that it would take a long process. She is right, I mean, Cabinet makes decisions, but the Premier speaks for Cabinet. So it would not be mine, but I am the only member of Cabinet that has the authority to speak for Cabinet. Like I said, it's not as easy as just having a Tlicho region. We have some communities, like I said, the Beaufort Delta has a couple. The Sahtu has seven different Indigenous groups. How do we do that? So it's something that I think, Mr. Speaker, that's a conversation, a huge conversation that would have to be taken with Indigenous governments and the consultation process. It should not be something that the GNWT Cabinet does on their own with no consultation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Final supplementary. Member for Monfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, all we are asking for is just remove us from North Slave regions, and they are the colonial government is the one that created this, North Slave. They didn't even consult us to be part of the North Slave region. So what policy changes are needed and who makes those policies? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, those decisions were made before the Indigenous government rights agreements were done. That would be something that could be put as a priority, it could be done as a Minister, an MLA could challenge the Cabinet to do that. I hear the Member; I hear that the Tlicho don't want to be part of the North Slave. I'm sure the NWT Metis and the K'atlodeeche and all those might not want to be part of the South Slave. I'm sure the seven Indigenous governments in the Sahtu might not want to be part of the Sahtu. The problem is is that we don't divide the regions by the Indigenous governments. They're defined by borders. So, Mr. Speaker, to respect the Member, I hear her concerns but I think it would be a long cumbersome process to do, and I don't think it would be done any justice to try to do it in a couple of months at the end of a government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister responsible for Homelessness.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question as well. We did have a conversation a couple of days ago regarding this subject as well. We have been administering the homelessness shelter in Inuvik. We did run into some issues with that region and with the NGOs in that region as well too. Right now we are looking at funding provided up to March -- sorry, up to August 31st of this year. And as we go forward, we will have to identify long-term plans for the shelter as well too and I will keep the Member updated as well.

As for our conversation that we did have a couple days ago, I did instruct the department to get back to me next -- or June 9th with a concrete plan on what we will be doing for the rest of the year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member as well too. I do see the differences between addressing homelessness in Yellowknife and also in the higher Arctic communities. Right now we are in the process of hiring a position, and we are in the process as well too as identifying the responsibilities of that position. I would like to see the position administer the northern part of the region, but those conversations are taking place right now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member. I clearly see and understand the significant need in this region as well too. But we have struggled with non-profit organizations. We also have been in conversation with the Indigenous governments in the Member's riding as well too. So right now, just looking and trying to identify possibilities for the region, one thing that I did bring up to the department is that we do have a number of units that are there in the community and really wanting to engage and navigate with the non-profits that are there currently and looking at suitable services that we can provide. I will have to follow up with my colleague, Minister of health, just to verify what services that we do offer and if there's an opportunity for us to further look at opportunities with the vacant units that we currently do have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Final supplementary. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question as well too. And to be honest, we don't have the data collection for the homelessness population throughout the territory. This will be coming forward with the homelessness strategy. But I just wanted to -- just have some numbers out here for the Members that we do provide funding to the Teepee Housing in Inuvik as well too, with that collaboration approach as well, and we did provide significant amount for the homelessness shelters in Inuvik as well. And just for the Members, that over the past ten years housing has invested $33.5 million into the Member's riding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Written questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Go back to oral questions again. And, again, I just wanted to stress really important -- how important this issue in regards to the Kosmos 954. When it happened in April of 1978, there was a joint recovery between the Americans and the Canadian Army. And today the research shows that the majority of these people that were involved in the cleanup of this Kosmos 954 have passed on with cancer. And today, again, my riding we have -- I've been to -- like I said earlier, I've been to so many funerals and that majority of them are cancer- related.

And so this issue, when I brought this attention to the Premier back in March, I was under the impression then that a letter was going to be sent to the prime minister to really look at this. And I'm hoping that we could just get this thing out the door right away and really let people know that this is an urgent issue.

And people need to understand too as well that when the satellite was coming down, some had said, from my riding, that this satellite was also shot down. It's hard to say. But if it didn't -- something didn't happen, it was earmarked to land in New York City. If that was the case, then this thing will -- you know, it's -- it's important to know that because, I mean, then we would have the world's attention. But because it landed in my riding, nothing become of it. So I just wanted to let the Premier know that the urgency to really get this letter out to the prime minister and say that we have issues and concerns in our riding and then -- and that's kind of -- I want to have your response on that. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Madam Premier.