Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for the Status of Women.

So in October 2023, the Minister responsible for Status of Women at the time released a strategic framework for addressing family violence in the NWT. It was called Reclaiming the Capable Person: We Are All Capable Persons When We Have Community. I do appreciate the title and the recommendations contained within it, many of which echo recommendations that have been made repeatedly over the past 20 years. The strategic framework indicates that it was released as a draft and it was going out for input and then an action plan was supposed to be released.

So can the Minister confirm whether she did, in fact, receive any input on this strategic framework from Indigenous and community governments and other key stakeholders? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for the Status of Women.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that the GNWT did engage with stakeholders to gather input for the development of Family Violence Strategic Framework, and this involved reaching out to community partners like the NWT family violence shelters, frontline service providers, and government departments. This work also involved researching and tracking developments in other jurisdictions. In 2023, a What We Heard report called Insights Guiding the Development of a Family Violence Strategic Framework was prepared and available on the GNWT website. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Okay, thanks to the Minister for that. I understand there was a What We Heard report, and then the strategic framework was, in fact, released. But it did say in the framework that the intention was to move from this general framework with some general recommendations to an actual action plan. So when will a new action plan on family violence be released with funding attached, timelines, and milestones? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The gender equity division has begun work on coordinating with other departments through a family violence interdepartmental working group which was reactivated in August of 2025. This interdepartmental working group consists of members from health and social services, justice, Housing NWT, education, culture and employment, and executive and Indigenous affairs through their integrated service delivery agency.

The working group will also be working closely with a family violence coordinator to provide overall direction on the development of a corresponding family violence strategic framework action plan, including indicators which will be reported on annually. The projected completion date for the action plan is June of 2026, and a release of the annual report is the spring of 2027.

The family violence strategy is funded through the national action plan to end gender-based violence, which includes enhanced core funding for NWT families, shelters, and transitional housing projects. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Status of Women. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate that we do now have a date for the action plan to be released.

Overall, I would just like to know what is going to be done differently this time. We've had many working groups and action plans in the past. What will be done differently this time that will lead to transformative change not only in government policy and legislation and the justice system but also leading to wide-spread access to safe homes and transitional housing that would really allow survivors to take their power back? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand as both Minister responsible for the Status of Women, and also Minister responsible for Housing NWT, that the added need for transitional and supportive housing is critical to the healthy growth of families and communities. We cannot continue to work in a silo as departments but need to work together to make better informed decisions. We also need to be responsible as leaders to speak out against family violence and violence in general. We need to raise our children and grandchildren to uphold traditional values and teach them that women and children are sacred. We need to do better both as a government and in communities and with leadership speaking out against family violence. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for the Status of Women. Oral questions. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, engaging with our encampment folks over the last couple of years has been important both through EIA's integrated service delivery and with Housing NWT. One thing that we found with Housing NWT is that we worked with encampment folks and people that are camping broadly, meeting with them weekly, having those visits, having those discussions, see how we could work with them, and either talk about discussions in terms of transitional housing, supportive living, but also reintegrating them into the overall housing system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly am pleased to hear that the Minister's staff have been meeting with encampment residents. I would note that the residents themselves felt that the meetings were not as frequent as the Minister has said in her answer. But I am pleased to hear that they've been meeting.

Mr. Speaker, what kind of opportunities are being provided to potential occupants of this facility to have influence over its design, location, and construction? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Considering the urgent need for transitional housing in Yellowknife, we needed to move quickly and move forward with the design. And in terms of the occupancy, we're working with Yellowknife partnerships committee, the Salvation Army, the YWCA, the Yellowknife Women's Society, the city of Yellowknife, the RCMP, the fire department, along with Housing NWT and EIA, to work in collaboration so this facility will be a proper facility out at the Folk on the Rocks site. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, again, I'm pleased to hear that the department is doing a pretty extensive engagement with various NGOs, but I do want to continue to advocate that that engagement also -- and involvement occurs with the population themselves.

Mr. Speaker, I note that the capacity of the facility is planned to accommodate 25 people. Does the Minister have a current estimate for unsheltered residents in our community, and will the 25 spaces be sufficient to meet that need? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this time, the need for 24 spaces is tied back to the need in 2024 of 30 individuals that would be without shelter and which was further informed by the utilization of the on the land camp which was 20 at its peak. We have been able to add shelter beds during this time to help meet the need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Oral questions. Member from Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure in regards to my Member's statement.

Communication with the department and the regional department is important to ensure the safety all our users of NWT highways. How often is your office staff in contact with the regional department to look at improvements and/or maintenance reports from the highway inspectors? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department is in regular contact with the region, the regional superintendent for road safety. We are constantly in contact with the contractors also to ensure that the proper work is being done on those roads. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Highway inspection is very important, especially within the Beaufort Delta region, from the border right to Tuktoyaktuk. How many highway inspectors are there in the Beaufort Delta? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't know that off the top of my head for highway inspections, but I'm quite certain that a lot of the staff that drive on the highway would be reporting any issues or concerns. The goal of the department is to have safe highways in the Northwest Territories that are, you know, safe for NWT residents to use. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.