Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.

The Department of Health and Social Services is making progress on the implementation of the recommendations that came from the supported living review. There's been a steering committee with representation from the department and all three health and social services authorities that was established in April of 2023 to oversee this work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's probably some more detail out there so if the Minister is interested in sharing that with Members, I'd appreciate it. But the department accepted recommendation 8, which was to increase caregiver supports and overnight respite options in principle only. Has the department made any progress on this recommendation or explored options related to expanding respite services? Thank you.

thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, yes, to the Member, I do have a list, and I don't want to read out a whole page of things, so I will promise to give that list to the Member.

When it comes to overnight respite, the resources that would be required to provide overnight respite services will be explored; however -- as part of this work, but they will require new resources and dollars to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And as in my Member's statement, I noted that over time I think it'll help us save money so I encourage the Minister and appreciate that commitment to look into it.

Mr. Speaker, has the department made any progress on any of the other recommendations which were accepted in principle but not fully accepted at the time? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the department we have not been focusing on advancing these areas but, however, the work will be done in the future to determine what resources would be required to move them forward. And just so that the Member is aware, that the work that has been -- they've been doing is to be established and, like, they've updated the work plan that's been drafted and they've also begun to develop policies and processes. So there's things that have been going on behind the scenes to be able to roll out and work on those 12 recommendations that they have approved, and then once they have that then they can start to look at the remainder of the recommendations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that response. Certainly, I wanted to highlight respite services as an item that should be a priority, and I appreciate the Member taking a specific look at that. Mr. Speaker, several of the accepted recommendations in the report that were accepted spoke to stronger -- the need for stronger interdepartmental coordination with Housing NWT and ECE. Has the department made any progress on advancing those recommendations specifically? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department has initiated these discussions with ECE and housing to explore the overlap policies for adults in supported living, and so that work will continue to evolve during this now that they have all of the people in the working groups established. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Pertaining to my Member's statement, 20 or 30 years ago the education system looked at teaching our children with great pride. Today we don't see that pride within our schools. The school -- the education system is failing our students every day. When can we start taking pride in the education system again and start seeing positive results within our smaller communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would say that that day is today, and I would say that that day was yesterday. I think that we have a tremendous amount of youth in the Northwest Territories who are working very hard in order to achieve their education. I had the honour and opportunity sitting with two pages in this House today, one of which is collecting water at the moment and keeping us well hydrated. His name is Mason, and I had the opportunity to sit down with him and listen to his concerns and questions about education in Colville Lake. So that was very much appreciated.

Mr. Speaker, I think it's worth saying, though, that I appreciate that the Member continues to raise education, especially in small communities in the Northwest Territories. And this is a concern that wasn't only shared by the Member. It's shared by myself. It's shared by my predecessor and was definitely shared by the Office of the Auditor General of the Government of Canada. And that is why they did a report, and I'd be more than happy to share the findings of that report with the Member and with this House. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. How does the department of education evaluate the progress of students and determine if they're ready to advance to the next grade or even graduate from high school? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, each teacher has a curriculum with an evaluation process, and each student in the Northwest Territories has certain markers that they have to meet in order to graduate in the Northwest Territories, certain courses that they have to take. I do want to acknowledge the Member's concerns with education in the Northwest Territories and the action plan that stemmed from the concerns that were raised by the OAG in the previous Assembly. Those concerns did stem from education outcomes in the Northwest Territories, and that action plan identified 30 action items and the Government of the Northwest Territories has completed 25 of them, many of which spoke to things like multi-aged classrooms in small communities as well as working with and affording additional training to principals in small communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Back in about 20, 30 years ago, when a student needed help, there was a special needs class that they were placed in so that they can receive this help. I would like to know if the Minister would look at developing a program for the select few students. We have very limited students who are capable of going to post-secondary school but they're kept in classes where they're distracted and kept back. And I'm wondering if the department will look at developing a program for the select few students who are capable of going to post-secondary institutions and providing them with proper level of education without any distractions? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have so many students that are capable of achieving education through post-secondary. We have so many students that have so much potential in the Northwest Territories, and I would want so many students to be able to achieve that potential and continue to work towards it. Part of that action plan that I spoke of did have some deliverables in it for things like training afforded -- additional training afforded to our classroom and education assistants. And that puts more people in the classroom able to work specifically with students that either are struggling or need additional supports and services. And that is something that we did, I've spoken in this House before, about the 24 graduates that we saw through our partnership with Douglas College. And ensuring that all students have access to not only post-secondary but access to knowing they can is incredibly important to me. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A few months ago, the Minister was able to come to the Mackenzie Delta to do a Minister's tour but when we arrived in McPherson, there was a death in the community, so we didn't actually do very much within the community. I was wondering if the Minister would commit to a tour of the Mackenzie Delta while schools are in session and see how the students interact together and students and teachers interact within the classroom setting? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the hospitality of the Member and his community leadership was bar none. Having the opportunity to return to the Mackenzie Delta would give me great pride and great pleasure, and I would love the opportunity to have that conversation with the Member to see when our schedules might match up. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. The first question is, does the Minister acknowledge that the way the primary care reform has been carried out has led to negative impacts, both on continuity of care for patients and negative impacts on practitioners' efficiency, morale, and ability to see patients? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with no added resources in primary care, the delivery model has been reorganized with the intent to deliver a more equitable access to service aligning the restructuring with the transition to Liwego'ati proved to be relatively a seamless process. The ten teams involved in the relocation would primarily be absorbed to fulfill the additional staffing requirements resulting in the potential dissolution of several teams. Blaming the way the reform and operation changes that are happening for all the negativity and reduced efficiency overlooks the historical context and the challenges of moving services into the new building while staffing the downtown clinic without adding any new services. Throughout this process, all team members were kept informed, engaged, throughout numerous meetings, discussions, as much as leadership could manage that. And so therefore, you know, I understand with any change, comes -- you know, there might be -- there may be questions and there may be things that people don't agree with and don't like, but this is a new change. They only moved into the -- just recently moved into the Liwego'ati and they are just recently starting the four teams. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.