Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the course of this Simpson government, they will be moving forward with probably hundreds of direct appointments. Previous governments have been known as if that's their hallmark to be proud of, these secret appointments.

My question for the Premier is how is the Premier going to bring some level of transparency to direct appointments that nobody knows about where they give permanent full-time jobs to time we know nothing about until one day they just show up at work? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I don't think this House is aware of people who are hired through the normal channels, let alone people who were direct appointed. So informing the Assembly of every individual that comes on board and is employed by the GNWT isn't something we do. We don't do it when someone enters a competition and is brought on or when someone is direct appointed. When terms of direct appointments, the only direct appointments I've seen come across Cabinet for quite some time are direct appointments through three programs: The Indigenous gateway program, the internship program, and regional recruitment program. And I actually just this morning had a conversation with the secretary to Cabinet about whether or not there are things we can do so those don't have to come to Cabinet. They are established HR processes. There's checks and balances in place. And we don't really need a political lens on those types of programs. So I'm looking forward to the day when we don't deal with any direct appointments. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the current policy, which they operate on, allows any Cabinet Member to bring forward recommendations for appointments, and it has been used quite generously in the past and there's no way of suggesting it isn't going to be used generously in the future. That said -- but there's no transparency on what it does. And to get to the question in the context of the point, at least there's a public process for when the public service goes through a regular hiring process. That said, there's no public transparency on the number of people they hire or who they hire or when they hire. That's the transparency I'm asking for.

Thank you. So when someone is hired through the internship program, it's because there has been an expression of interest put out -- and I'm sorry if that's not the proper term, but it has been advertised, and then people who have enrolled in the internship program can then apply. So that's public. The regional recruitment program is similar. I see ads for the regional recruitment program around my community. It's a way to ensure that local people are given the opportunity for employment. And so sometimes there's a sheet up in the drug store on the bulletin board saying that there's an advertisement. And in terms of the Indigenous gateway program, it's similar. It's also advertised. And those are the three programs that we see direct appointment come to Cabinet on, as well as deputy ministers. I should clarify that as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, he's talking about the public process. I'm talking about the direct appointment process that falls under the Executive Council ability to do so. And it's a bunch of recommendations all framework; I won't go through them today, we don't need to hear them, they know them, Mr. Speaker. But there's no public transparency on when they say a lady, you know, Joe Schmoe, whatever it is, is all of a sudden being recommended to a department. Do you agree? Agree. There's no transparency on it being done. There's no transparency on any potential accountability when it comes to conflicts, friendships, relationships, etcetera. That's the type of transparency I'm asking for, Mr. Speaker, not about an application process that someone can duly apply for.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I heard a lot of the comments. I don't know if there is a question at the beginning of those comments but if there is, I'd ask the Member to repeat it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I keep saying the same question different ways, but the Premier doesn't want to answer it, which is what type of transparency process can he bring to the Cabinet direct appointment process? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Final supplementary from Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's really tough to hear from a public justification, I assure you is the answer. I mean, that may work for a spiritual advisor that I can accept on that basis but that said, when it's from the government it needs to have some transparency. Mr. Speaker, how do we know that that's the truth? That's the problem. It's not I'm saying he isn't telling the truth, it's how do we know it's being a fair transparent process and what level of reporting can we see in this Simpson government? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So there's a number of steps that need to be taken before there's a direct appointment. There's guidelines laid out for the department, how they're supposed to work through this. There is an assessment by the Cabinet secretariat, which is independent from the departments. There's the Ministers. So if the Member has some examples of things that we can do, I'm happy to hear about it. But from what I've seen, the direct appointment process works very similar to a normal HR process that we have in the GNWT. Thank you.

Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I talked about a motion that was passed on March 8th, 2023, for the government to stop garnishing elders and Indian residential school survivors' pension to pay for arrears. My first questions, Housing NWT collection policy states any tenant whose rent is overdue by two months should be filed with the rental officer for an order to pay arrears. Can the Minister explain the process Housing NWT follows when an elder on a fixed income has fallen into arrears? Thank you.

Member from Monfwi. Minister of Housing NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. An explanation on the process that Housing NWT would follow, it would be the local housing association or organization would reach out to the elder or the tenant whose house has fallen into arrears through the tenant relations officer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's good to know. Can the Minister explain what supports are in place for elders to avoid their files being handed to the rental officer. Are there any extra supports in place for elders on fixed income? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We do have a number of programs available to tenants whose housing payments have fallen into arrears. There's a list of programs that I can provide the Member to provide constituents if they do have questions. But we also have a local housing association or organization and the district offices that can provide that information as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. If the district office was situated in Behchoko or in one of the Tlicho region, we can really access their services. So can the Minister explain what happens to elders, especially those elders who are living on fixed income who are in arrears with Housing NWT, what happens to those elders when their files are handed over to the rental officer? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Elders whose houses have fallen into arrears, their files would go to the rental office. The rental officer will try to mediate the situation and provide some sort of remedy at the time and will counsel the tenant to provide some sort of payment plan so they could pay back the arrears. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member from Monfwi.

From the rental officer, I think it goes to the court. The collection policy states that arrears should be given where collection is not possible, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister explain why elders living on pensions or retired fixed income who are behind on payments cannot have their arrears forgiven?

Sorry, Mr. Speaker, I misheard the question again. If that could be repeated; I apologize.

Member from Monfwi, can you please re --