Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member from Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Translation unavailable] Mr. Speaker, today I want to speak about public health and safety resources for our residents produced by our government.

Mr. Speaker, in the past our government used to regularly produce and widely share high quality northern-based content in health and safety and education campaign to encourage positive healthy choices and keep residents informed through positive health promotion. Prior to being elected, there were numerous occasions of people coming to me in search of northern created materials they could use to access to educate themselves on certain health hazards for a general understanding of what resources are available to help them.

Mr. Speaker, there was one example last year where I called the government department on behalf of someone who was struggling who wanted some assistance to navigate their situation. I asked if there was any northern-based content produced by the government that I could use to share with the individual. And to my surprise, the government -- a worker said to me the government doesn't share those resources anymore.

Mr. Speaker, it is important that our government continue doing its part to safeguard the health and safety of our communities with positive health promotion and anti-smoking and drug campaigns, safety, sexual health resources, or even river and safety -- lake safety campaigns. It is vital that our government be proactive and carry out preventative measures by producing and promoting content that ensures our residents will be healthy and will make safe, informed decisions regarding their health and well-being.

Mr. Speaker, our government has lacked in this area in recent years, yet our communities continue to face many health and social issues such as alcohol and drug addiction, chronic disease like diabetes, cancer, the spread of sexual transmitted infections to name to a few.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, as a pillar of our public health system, our government must continue to produce northern content and engage in positive health promotion across the NWT. I will have questions for the Minister. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I had the pleasure to check out the snow castle down on Yellowknife Bay. And I'm very excited about this year's festival. I had fun riding the slides with some of my colleagues. Two of our Ministers were posting on social media about that the other day.

So every year the dedicated crew of passionate artisans bring magic to our northern winter by creating a northern work of art. This year will be the 29th edition of this amazing event that celebrates our northern winter creating a month-long arts festival which provides a venue to countless northern artists and invites kids of all ages to come play in the snow. The festival punches way above its weight in terms of the funding it brings in and the different benefits it brings to our community, Mr. Speaker. It's great for tourism. It's great for the arts. It's great for community spirit. It's a fun thing for kids to do. It brings a lot of hope and kind of -- it's something to look forward to at the end of a long winter every year. So I know it's become a beloved event in the community.

So this year's design has been inspired by Spanish architect Anthony Gaudi, and I can say, having taken a little tour through it, it is absolutely stunning this year. It is a beautiful work of art. It's also a lot of fun. So it's kind of a combination of all those things. And it's really great.

The festival runs during the whole month of March. I highly recommend everyone get out to see it. Opening ceremony is this Saturday, March 4th. That will be open with a performance of the Yellowknife Dene Drummers and Norway dance troupe Nordting, and Dene spoken word artist Kiera-Dawn Kolson, among others. The international snow carving symposium runs from March 1st to 3rd with carvers coming from as far as Korea.

Mr. Speaker, thank you to contributions from our group of Yellowknife MLAs on March 8th, which is the first day of March break for students of Yellowknife, admission will be free for everyone. I highly recommend everyone get down to the castle and check it out on this fun day when it'll be free to attend. Everybody needs to embrace the magic of Snow King. Go down and try the slide. It's a lot of fun. And thank you to this festival for the many, many, many years of community spirit you've brought to Yellowknife. It's really wonderful. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Members' statements.

Colleagues, Darcy Lafferty was born on August 12, 1968. Unfortunately, on November 19, 2023, we said goodbye to Darcy Lafferty who lost his battle with cancer. It was a battle that we were unaware of because he was always putting other people's needs first. In the 18th Assembly, I had the privilege of doing a Member statement about his willingness to help people, especially those on medical travel that needed a non-medical escort.

Colleagues, Darcy was always accommodating and ready to help, whether it was helping my constituent assistant carry things into the office, or countless trips volunteering as a non-medical escort. Some would say he found his calling after being a non-medical escort for his father. It was quickly recognized that Darcy was an invaluable asset to the medical system in the Deh Cho region. I can recall many days Darcy would come into our office to share a coffee and tell us about his latest trip or the ones that were coming up. Listening to Darcy speak about these trips was amazing to say the least. Whether it was about his constant travel schedule or his ability to navigate the logistics of these many trips for his patients.

I remember one of those visits, where he spoke about two upcoming trip to Yellowknife and Edmonton for different people. He talked about having to come home to Fort Simpson, quickly wash his clothes, repack, and head off the next day with the other patient. Darcy would tell us that he always had a bag packed by the door and was ready should he be called upon to help someone needing assistance as a non-medical escort.

Darcy treated it like a job, always on time, prepared, and always willing to ensure the patient was calm and comfortable. He never expected anything in return. You can tell how much it made him happy to do what he was doing. There is not enough words or thanks that can account for all the time, dedication, and compassion Darcy shared with others during his time with us. When we think about Darcy and the impact he left on our life, it's an honour to say we had the opportunity to see and chat with Darcy on a regular basis. We have never met someone as self-sacrificing, unselfish, and kind as he was.

The family would like to thank the following: The Fort Simpson Health Centre, YK Stanton staff, LKFN, and many, many community and family members that were there for them during this difficult time. He will be sadly missed by us all.

Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery.

Folks, I'd like to recognize a number of people in the gallery. I had the opportunity meeting the Ontario interns this morning and then I had the privilege of going to lunch with them. They all agreed that I could call them Shane 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 so I don't get the names wrong but I'm going to try. And I apologize now. Razan Akiba, Mielna Basciano, Steffi Burgi, Evan Cameron, Bridget Carter-Whitney, Olivia Collver, Kaitlin Gallant, Astrid Krueger, Taylor Pizzirusso, Rhea Saini.

As well, I would like to recognize Denise Mckie, the executive director for the NWT Disabilities Council. Thank you.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to recognize two constituents in the gallery. Ms. Denise Mckie, thank you for joining us. And Mr. Ollie Williams. It's a pleasure to have you both here.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to your Chambers. I hope you enjoy the proceedings. It's always nice to see people in the gallery.

Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, MLAs met with NGOs in December of last year wherein we were presented with a letter, Common Priorities Presented to the 20th Legislative Assembly by Non-Government Organizations Collective Voices. I'll be tabling that letter today. I'm going to ask questions that they wanted asked on the floor to the Premier. Will the Premier provide core annual funding to NGOs linked to the timely release of funding to NGOs to prevent interruptions of service? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that there are some NGOs that do receive core funding; however, obviously not all NGOs receive core funding. And to the Member's question, we won't be extending core funding to every single NGO in the territory. That being said, we are looking at the core services that are offered by the GNWT. And if an NGO is offering those core services, then we can look at core funding. So there is an opportunity to expand core funding in recognition of the fact that these NGOs are delivering core services of the government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Premier. Will the Premier ensure that operational funding to NGOs reflects a clear understanding of programs being delivered and the actual costs of doing business taking into account human resources, inflation, infrastructure, clientele, and northern costs? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have to look at what is being offered, what is needed, and what funding we have available. So it's a combination of those three things. It's not just what the NGO is offering and what services they're providing, it's also whether or not it is a priority for this Assembly and the government to fund those services and what exactly is being delivered. So there's more factors than the Member is putting into the question that we need to consider. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Premier is right. We have limited resources. We need them to align. I think when -- that there's a bunch of NGOs who are doing this work and who are offering these things. So will the Premier commit to equitable communications so he can better understand those services and work with them directly on their terms using their expertise to understand what they do for Northerners? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Communication -- bad communication is the cause of 80 percent of the problems. That's been my experience in this role or as an MLA over the past eight years. And so I'm always looking towards ways to improve communication, and I'll have that conversation with the departments on how we communicate with NGOs. Oftentimes it's a resourcing issue on our end. We just don't have the people to just spend the time having the conversations that need to be had. And so if that's the case, we need to figure out how to have those conversations differently. So yes, I am committed to improving the conversations and the communication between NGOs and the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Premier. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's great news. I am pleased to hear that, and I'm sure our NGOs will be pleased to hear it as well.

Finally, reporting requirements are often quite onerous for NGOs. Will the Premier cut the red tape, allow easier reporting requirements, streamline the process so they can get to work providing services to our residents sooner and more effectively? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm always looking to cut red tape. I know there have been improvements made in reporting for at least some of the contribution agreements that we have. But, again, we can always do more. And, again, it is a balancing act. These are public dollars, and we do need to account for those dollars and ensure that we're spending them in a way that this Assembly agrees with and the public is happy with. So there's always going to be a need for some reporting requirements, but a lack of trust really slows things down. And so if we can strengthen that relationship, build the trust between the GNWT and the NGOs, then I'm sure that we can streamline those requirements and make life easier for everyone, for the government, for the NGOs, and for the residents who ultimately we are both serving. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the communities in my region need housing investments, and they need money from CIRNAC to go directly to the Indigenous governments in partnership with Housing NWT. Mr. Speaker, my questions to Minister Lucy Kuptana on housing.

Does the Minister agree that Indigenous governments have a greater role to play in the building and also in the homeownership repairs for their people in Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh riding? Thank you.

Colleagues, please just titles, not names. Thank you. Minister of Housing NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, I am happy to see the increasing role played by Indigenous governments across the Northwest Territories in building and maintaining homes for their members. Housing NWT has worked increasingly over the last several years to partner and collaborate with Indigenous governments on their housing priorities through the NWT Housing forum and bilateral agreements to maximize our collective impact on the housing crisis. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Minister. Will the Minister agree to commit funding needed to help do the evaluation and the proposal cost to CIRNAC on every home in the community of my riding so we know at least where the money's going to be going so that we could develop a program so we could look at apprenticeship training and training? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.