Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Members' statements. Member from Kam Lake.

Happy Birthday to Jackson. Members' statements.

Colleague, you know every once and a while, you find a person that loves a job and stays there for their whole career. I had a constituent from Fort Liard that did that. Mrs. Corinne Sassie had spent more than 35 years of dedicated service to the youth of Fort Liard at the Echo Dene School. I can imagine that she is looking forward to her well-deserved retirement. As the principal said, she leaves behind a legacy of unwavering commitment to education, her culture and tradition.

When you look at someone's employment story, you get a good picture of who that person is. Corinne began as a student support assistant at the Echo Dene School where her deep dedication to the academic and personal growth of every student she worked with is evident. Over the years, she passionately pursued opportunities within the school, eventually rising to the role of Indigenous language educator. In this role, she was instrumental in preserving and revitalizing the Dene Zhati language, ensuring the cultural heritage remained an integral part of our educational experience.

Throughout her career, she touched the lives of countless students, colleagues, and community members with her warmth, knowledge, and tireless advocacy for the Indigenous language and culture. I can tell you her contributions have left an indelible mark on Echo Dene School and the community, which has helped shape the educational landscape for future generations to come.

Colleagues, her impact extends far beyond the walls of the Echo Dene School. In the community, she has fostered cultural pride and identity among the students, providing vital mentorship and support services. Regionally, her efforts have led to a greater recognition and respect for the Dene language and culture, creating a more inclusive learning environment for students across the region. Territorially, she has championed Indigenous education policies and practices, addressed systemic barriers and injustices faced by Indigenous students.

As she embarks on her new journey, the whole community of Fort Liard, the Deh Cho region, and myself, we salute her remarkable contribution to education and the Dene culture. We wish her all the best and an enjoyable retirement and new adventures, knowing that her legacy of passion, dedication, and advocacy will continue to inspire us all. Again, I would like to thank her for her service to the youth, the community, and region. I hope to see you in Liard the next time I am there. Thank you, Colleagues.

Members' statements. Member from Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I see constituents in my riding struggling to put food on the table. In the 19th Assembly, the Government of the Northwest Territories committed to working with Indigenous governments and communities to make recommendations to improve the Nutrition North program. In 2021, the list of NWT communities eligible for the Nutrition North program increased by five, bringing the total number of communities in the NWT to 20.

Mr. Speaker, because the communities I represent are along the road system, we are not eligible for the subsidy or grant programs under the Nutrition North program. In 2018, the bureau of statistics showed that 26 percent of households in Fort Providence and 14 of homes in Enterprise are worried there's not enough money to pay for food.

Mr. Speaker, we also know income is the biggest determinant of food security. If residents in the NWT do not have enough money to pay for food, what subsidies or other financial relief can be provided to help them feed their families?

My concern, Mr. Speaker, is that the communities in my riding cannot access federal support programs to reduce the cost of living. There is support available through the federal government, but it's out of reach for my constituents. Is the GNWT advocating to the federal government to consider more NWT communities for eligibility under the Nutrition North program? How is the GNWT working with Indigenous leadership to address food security in the NWT? I will have questions for the Minister of ITI later today. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize one of my constituents, Nancy Bies, who not only a Range Lake constituent but a multiple myeloma survivor, and I'll be asking questions on her behalf today and the others who are suffering from that disease in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery.

For those other visitors here, we thank you very much for coming to your House and allowing us to represent you here today.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. I just got a little note. Colleagues, including myself, please slow down; sorry about that.

Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.

Sorry, go on to the next. My computer just died.

Okay. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of health clarify the rationale behind Alberta Cancer Care's requirement that all blood cancer patients from the NWT travel to Alberta for blood work and treatment? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in April, we were notified by Alberta Health Services that effective May 1st that they would no longer be providing virtual care and allowing for the hematology oncology patients here in Yellowknife to do their blood work. Under the standard of practice, they felt that their patients weren't being able to be serviced virtually, and so they made the decision to have all of the patients have to go to Alberta and be serviced through their oncology department. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It should come at no shock to anyone that this is a huge imposition on people who require this care. It's stress inducing. It is jeopardizing their health further potentially to make these trips. So what measure is the Minister taking to address the concerns raised by blood cancer patients regarding this anxiety, exposure to potential germs, and logistical challenges, and possible job losses associated with frequent travel to Alberta for cancer care? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to, you know, say to the Member I -- as soon as I found this out, this was a priority, this was something that I brought -- made sure that I had all the information as to what happened and to direct the department to come up with what the resolution is, and I hear the Member. I don't believe that it's -- you know, and I've heard from constituents and other constituents of other Members that, you know, this is not a sustainable -- for them already having to go through cancer treatment and going through this process, adding on having to travel, some of them -- and everybody is different -- weekly, this is not sustainable for anybody. And so that I made sure the department has come up with a plan. The plan is to work with Alberta Health because they are the drivers of what needs to be put in place, and that is being done right now with the department and Alberta Health Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I want to acknowledge the Minister has been responsive to my constituent and the other constituents as well. Is this -- I'd like to know more of the detail of work with -- is this bringing an oncologist to the North? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think what it is is there are approximately -- there is about 50 residents that are impacted and 11 residents receiving active cancer care. All of their plan of cares are different and so what the ask is that because of the -- I mean, and we've all heard it in this House -- the process of transferring blood work and records down to Alberta Health Services, well, their system doesn't speak to our system. That way the oncologists don't have the information because when we send it down to them, it's not being entered into their system on a timely manner. So what they've done is they've asked to increase -- to have a dedicated hematology oncology and to have a dedicated oncology nurse for this program in order for it to be able to resolve the issue and then come up with a plan in how to make sure that we're running it again in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you. That sounds like what we need and what we're looking for. What is the timeline for this plan, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And this is the question that I keep asking the department, what is the timeline. This is what I heard from your constituent, from my constituents, is I can't sustain doing this. We cannot -- and, you know, put aside the medical travel, it's the -- like, the things that you said, the things that -- you know, the stress of having to travel, you know, the -- some people are still working and trying to do this, so there is recruitment, so, you know, the Alberta Health will have to recruit an oncologist and then we will have to recruit an oncology nurse here in the territory to support that oncologist to ensure that this program is up and running again. I have asked to have it done as soon as it can be done, but I cannot push Alberta Health Services on how fast they can go. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you for everyone's patience and to Mr. Speaker. So my questions are for the infrastructure Minister. Has the Minister looked into what the Yukon is doing in terms of piloting renewable diesel and considered possibilities of working together with the Yukon to get a pilot project off the ground here in the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in fact, I have actually reached out myself to my counterpart in the Yukon, Mr. Striker. We had a brief exchange on what efforts they might be engaged in with respect to renewable diesel. They so far have run into similar challenges as we have here in the Northwest Territories, which is, for one, not being able to find Arctic grade to do a pilot on or when we find it, for a small volume, it is extremely expensive. That said, obviously, Mr. Speaker, if we can band larger numbers together, it would be easier, and so Minister Striker and I, I expect, will speak again about this at EMMC, which is the Energy Mine Ministers of Canada Conference later this summer. Thank you.