Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During this government, I chose not to assign any portfolios that had been assigned in previous governments that where Ministers responsible for something without a budget. So we don't have a Minister responsible for seniors, a Minister responsible for youth. And that was a conscious decision on my part because I saw those portfolios, and I heard from the Ministers who oversaw those portfolios, and I didn't think they were working based on everything that I saw and that I heard. When you are a Minister responsible for seniors with no budget, what is the point of that portfolio? I believe Mr. Speaker used to be the Minister responsible for youth so he might be able to relate to some of these comments. But that being said, the two Ministers who have the largest relationship with seniors in terms of their portfolio have met with the NWT Seniors Society - the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and the Minister of Health -- and they've had those conversations. So that relationship is still there. There isn't any specific Minister to go to, a Minister of seniors, which traditionally was the Health Minister. Instead, now groups like the Seniors Society can go meet with the Ministers who are working with them, so the Minister of Health and the Minister of ECE. So if anything, I see this as a way to create more conversations and more relationships. Thank you.
R.J. Simpson on Question 14-20(1): Responsibility for Seniors Portfolio
In the Legislative Assembly on February 7th, 2024. See this statement in context.
Question 14-20(1): Responsibility for Seniors Portfolio
Oral Questions
February 7th, 2024
Page 46
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