Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Member for Monfwi.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, we have to think about 30 years ago, you know, like, prior to -- prior to 1994, there wasn't too many jobs. Maybe there was a lot of jobs in Delta but in Tlicho region, we didn't have a lot of jobs until the mining company came. That's where -- right now we have a lot of our people that are employed, or since the mine opened, we have a lot of our people are working there. They have employed. And currently, there's a lot of young people working, and I know there's a lot of people that retire, and it really did help a lot of our members. Not just from my community, from my regions. It's also helped the Sahtu region. It also helped the South Slave regions and other parts of Canada as well too. You know, so. And I don't -- so with this bill, I think we're making the mining company to jump through all kinds of hoops just so that they can -- so we can get more information from them. I have to think about my people. I have to think about the struggles that we are still going through in my regions, that we need more jobs. Young people need more jobs. Young people are looking for jobs.

And a lot of them are going into trades, trades like welding. There's all kind of trades that the mining company supports. And so because of that I don't think I am going to -- I'm not going to support this bill that's coming -- that's ahead of us. So I have to think about my people. I have to think about the regions. It's not just our regions. There's other regions that rely on the mining companies, especially in this area, you know, so there's three mining companies. So with that in mind, I will not support this. Thank you.

Thank you, Member. Are there any further general comments? Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, when I look at this bill, it -- you know, it doesn't really require the -- or it doesn't require the Minister to share any information because it says that the Minister may disclose it, and there's no definitive requirement.

For me, the economy is very important in the Northwest Territories even more so now that we -- you know, with what we've been going through in these last few years. We need jobs. We need training. You know, we need -- you know, we need opportunities for -- you know, for NGOs to, you know, to provide support as well to the economy through, you know, maybe upgrading students and that type of thing as well. But, you know -- so with this bill, I don't really see -- like I say, I don't see any teeth in it, and I don't see it really doing anything. And except, you know, it'll sit there on the books, like a lot of the legislation that we actually have and doesn't really make a difference.

We have a process. Like the Minister said, we do have a process that's in place right now that we're going through, and I'd like to let that kind of roll out on -- you know, and see what comes of, and the future Assembly, you know, the Members hopefully will have a say in what happens there and as well as hopefully, you know, with Indigenous governments as well because they've got -- you know, their participation is paramount in anything we do. So, yeah, I can't support this bill either just being, you know, on the side of, you know, economic development at this point and, you know -- and the stages that we're in in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Are there any further general comments? Seeing none. Committee, can we proceed -- oh sorry, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Speaking to the bill, I also too won't be supporting the bill. You know, as it is already we have a regulatory process that we all have to go through when the mining industry comes up here. I know for sure in my community, N'dilo and the community of Lutselk'e and Fort Resolution, we do benefit from the mining industry from employment to IBAs. Some of these IBAs were just paid out to help put out from this evacuation that just happened and, you know, it's a concern that we're -- that we're doing that but at the end of the day, there's got to be a different way to do this, and right now as it is, I know -- back in the early days, like my colleague has said, that back in 1991 we had no -- we had high unemployment in our community. We went from, what, 85 percent in Dettah, N'dilo to when BHP first got here, and we maximized the benefits of the mining industry, and it created a lot of jobs for us, apprenticeship training, etcetera. And all four communities throughout the NWT that maximized the benefits in mining but now to have mining industry to go through hurdles, and we're just going to chase away mining industry now and for what reason? You know, I think it's important that we really take a look at this whole thing again. But for today, I can't support this bill. I mean, I -- right now, the mining companies like BMP, Diavik, De Beers, they're all on the downturn now. They're going to look at reclaiming etcetera. And we need jobs. The young people need jobs, you know, and by putting more barriers in place by this government, it's just going to chase these guys away, you know, and we don't want to do that. So I think that we should really take a look at this and for now, Madam Chair, I won't be supporting this bill. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Are there any further general comments? Seeing none, does committee wish to proceed to a clause by clause review of the bill? Can I see a show of hands, because I need a majority. All right. All those in favour of going to a clause-by-clause, raise your hand, show of hands for me. Opposed to going to clause-by-clause, show of hands for me. All right. So committee does not agree to a clause-by-clause review of the bill. Does committee agree that it has concluded consideration of Bill 29?

Thank you, committee. We have concluded consideration of Bill 29. Thank you to the sponsor of the bill and to the witness. Sergeant-at-arms, please escort the witness from the Chamber.

Committee, we will now continue with Bill 77. Committee, we've agreed to consider Bill 77, Nursing Profession Act. I will ask the Minister of Health and Social Services to introduce the bill.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to be here today to discuss Bill 77, the Nursing Profession Act. The development of this bill has been the result of significant time and effort by the Department of Health and Social Services and would not have been possible without input and contributions from the Registered Nurses Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Members of the Standing Committee on Social Development for the time they have taken to ensure this bill received comprehensive review. I also wish to acknowledge the time and effort members of the public took to develop submissions.

Madam Chair, the primary purpose of Bill 77 is to repeal the current Nursing Profession Act and replace it with a new act that will establish a single regulatory framework for all nurses in the Northwest Territories. The bill proposes to repeal the Licensed Practical Nurses Act and transfer authority to regulate licensed practical nurses from the Department of Health and Social Services to the Registered Nurses Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The new bill will establish new nursing designations, scopes of practice, and registers, as well as associated requirements for licensed practical nurses as registered nurse authorized prescribers, registered psychiatric nurses, and registered psychiatric nurse authorized prescribers, registered nurses and nurse practitioners will all continue to be regulated under this Act. The bill further proposes a modernized process for the review of conduct of members. I would be pleased to answer any questions the Members here may have.

Thank you, Minister. Would you like to bring witnesses into the Chamber?

Yes, please, Madam Chair.

Sergeant-at-arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Minister, would you please introduce your witnesses.

Thank you, Madam Chair. On my left is Jessica Maguire, the assistant director of policy legislation and intergovernmental relations. And on my right is Ian Rennie from the legislative division of the Department of Justice.

Welcome. I will now turn to the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development, the committee that reviewed the bill, for any opening comments on Bill 77. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, Bill 77, Nursing Profession Act, received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on March 28th, 2023, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review. The standing committee held a public hearing with the Minister of Health and Social Services in Yellowknife on May 10th, 2023.

Through public engagement, stakeholder submissions were received from the Registered Nurses Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, the Canadian Nurses Protective Society, and a practicing NWT registered nurse. Committee expressed concern to the department about the need for continual training to ensure culturally safe care. Committee also raised further issues for consideration. Committee was concerned about the complaint process, that nurses should be provided notice of the right to receive a copy of the full complaint made against them and also the appeal mechanism for respondents ordered to pay costs specifically where the board of inquiry dismisses the complaint, and committee provided clarity and language on the topic of insurance and protection. These concerns and a French translation correction were addressed through six motions at the clause-by-clause review held on May 31st, 2023. The Minister concurred with all motions.

I would like to thank the public for their time to meet with committee and for committee's work on the review of this bill. Individual Members may have additional comments or questions. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. I will now open the floor to general comments on Bill 77. Does committee agree that there's no general comments on Bill 77?

Can we proceed to a clause-by-clause review of the bill?

Committee, we will defer the bill number and title until after consideration of the clauses. Please turn to page 16 of the bill.

Clauses 1 through 10, does committee agree?

Clauses 11 through 20, does committee agree?