Yes.

Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.

Member, who are you pressing that question to? Sorry?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the question is did we -- the question as I understand it is did the government do a cost analysis of creating a new emergency management department. And so earlier the Minister of MACA stated that the decision was made based on the capabilities that are currently in house. And so, you know, that's the information that I heard earlier today, and I believe that the Minister has committed to going back to the department, looking at the cost of doing something like this. So I think that that question has been answered today already and that further conversations will happen based on those commitments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the reason I asked whether or not different options than just a full agency were done is because we've done this before. We have the Department of Infrastructure that's Transportation and Public Works. We have the Department of Finance that's Finance and HR. We've amalgamated departments to find cost savings. So what if we take justice and public safety? I don't want to ask a hypothetical. But were alternative options explored in how we could amalgamate existing resources to provide a dedicated department or agency, whatever you want to call it, but to meet that recommendation? That's the question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I am not a big fan of amalgamating and separating departments. I've seen it happen during my time in Cabinet, and it takes a lot of energy, it takes a lot of resources, and it takes years for things to begin working smoothly. We have a system right now where there's a dedicated team of people who work on emergency management. There's training for government employees who can become part of that team when it is necessary. And so the decision was made, as I understand it, based on those factors. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, I mean, I'm going to respectfully disagree with the Premier. I mean, the findings were that the existing system proved ineffective during a large-scale disaster and that the system's not agile enough to deal with these things. And we have to take it on face value that the actions taken from then to now have actually resulted in all these improvements and we don't need anything else. Northerners want to see some movement on this. So will the Premier reverse this decision, accept the recommendation, and explore creative ways to bring a centralized response agency or department, whatever you have it -- I'm not going to be prescriptive. But will he reverse this decision? Do the right thing, accept the recommendation, and show Northerners that we could trust this government is prepared to deal with emergencies? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There were 35 recommendations in that report. 35. If you look at 34 of them, they say "agree". There is one where the department looked at internally the capacity and made the determination that this is what is appropriate for our northern context. I mean, we could farm out all decisions to contractors and to third parties and academics and experts from other places, but at some point, we have to govern and make decisions based on the learned experiences that we have as a government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Members, our time is up. Before we go, I'm turning to Mr. Clerk.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Colleagues, we should take a little bit of a break to give our interpreters a break, and we will resume shortly. Thank you.

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Call session back to order. Written questions. Mr. Clerk.

Returns to written questions. Replies to the Commissioner's address. Petitions. Reports of committees on the review of bills. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Workers' Compensation Act.

Bill 21 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on February 28, 2025, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review.

The standing committee completed its clause-by-clause review of the bill with the Minister responsible for the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission on September 24th, 2025.

Mr. Speaker, the committee reports that Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Workers' Compensation Act, is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Reports of Committees on the Review of Bills. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 22, the Legislation Act.

Bill 22 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on March 12th, 2025, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review.

The standing committee completed its clause-by-clause review of the bill with the Minister of Justice on September 12th, 2025. Committee moved to amend two clauses, and the Minister of Justice concurred with both motions.

Mr. Speaker, the committee reports that Bill 22, legislation Act, is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole as amended and reprinted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Reports of Committees on the Review of Bills. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 29, First Responders Workers' Compensation Amendment Act.

Bill 29 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on May 29th, 2025, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review. The committee was briefed by the sponsor of the bill on June 19th, 2025. The committee received a separate briefing on the bill from the Minister responsible for the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission the same day.

The committee has recently received detailed responses to questions asked of the Minister and requests more time to consider these responses and complete its review of Bill 29. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, in accordance with Rule 8.3(2) of the Rules of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that the review period for Bill 29, first Responders Workers' Compensation Amendment Act, be extended by 120 days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. The motion is in order. To the motion.