Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the occupancy at the boarding home here has increased about 50 percent since April 2023. Recently an increased demand on medical travel related to dental is a huge factor. And the Health and Social Services will continue to monitor the increased demand for the boarding home services alongside the lack of commercial capacity of hotel accommodations in Yellowknife and work with our current partner, Keskorie, on options to minimize the accommodation issues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the department is currently bound by a contract. Can the Minister tell me and the rest of the Northwest Territories when is this contract up with the Quality Inn? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the contract for medical boarding in Yellowknife is currently with the Det'on Cho Corporation, and it's not with any local hotels. It is -- and the contract for them expires in 2024. But part to have that agreement Keskorie is tasked with is contracting alternative commercial accommodations, including hotels for guests when the demand exceeds capacity at the boarding home. And so they -- like, they collaborate with all of the local hotels to try and find any rooms for patients coming in for medical. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the Minister know if there's any clauses within the contract due to health violations that can terminate the existing contract? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the contract does have standards for client safety and cleanliness, and they are monitored and discussed with the contractor regularly if there is an issue. Regarding the cleanliness concern, the NTHSSA has followed up with Keskorie Boarding Home, which they contract the hotels and with any complaints that they have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Has there been any interest from Indigenous governments to build a boarding home to accommodate future patients? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that there is interest from both private companies and Indigenous governments to develop plans to meet the NWT's medical travel boarding home needs. We hope for a successful request for proposal for the new Yellowknife-based boarding home contract in the coming fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Premier today. So the alcohol strategy includes actions that involve various departments, so not just Health and Social Services but, for example, Department of Finance and the liquor commission have actions around policy and communications on alcohol sales and pricing. The Department of Infrastructure and Justice around issues around drunk driving and mechanisms to combat that. So will the government take a whole-of-government approach to implementing the alcohol strategy, or will this fall under one department to lead? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All-of-government approach. Thank you.

Thank you for that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So has this government costed out the actions that were listed in the work plan of the alcohol strategy?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm happy to answer all of the government questions but the alcohol strategy does lie with the Department of Health and Social Services, and so the Minister of Health and Social Services would be best positioned to respond to this question. So I'd like to defer it to her. Thank you.

That would be a second set of questions if it started with you and then transferring to the other Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I must be confused on the rules; I thought I could defer the question at any time. Okay, thank you.

Minister from Health and Social Services to her question.

Sorry, Mr. Speaker. I don't have a level of that, the information the Member is question as the pricing or any of that. I'll have to discuss that with the department and get back to the Member.

Thank you, Member. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So certainly I wasn't expecting cost to come out today; I was just asking whether or not the government has costed the actions. But if all to that, is there an intention to put money starting in the 2024-2025 budget to implement some of these actions in the alcohol strategy?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are a number of different things within the next budget that will be attributing to some of the actions within the alcohol strategy. But to break it down to further detail, I'll have to get back to the Member on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the alcohol strategy aims to have all actions completed by March 31st, 2028. Is this government going to strive to create a plan that will allow all actions to be completed by March 31st, 2028? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, within the action and, you know, if this is something that we will all decide, you know, in this House, operations of and breaking these different areas down. We have to remember that it's not only government that will be providing these services. So, additionally, it's important to remember that there are Indigenous governments and organizations who offer a variety of addiction-focused services and are developing this capacity as well. So, you know, I talked about last week about the Weaving Our Wisdom conference gathering that was here. That is a huge component of addictions and, you know, and will -- may target a lot of those areas within the alcohol strategy but it's working in partnership with, you know, NGOs, with Indigenous governments, and this government. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.