Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will engage in the process as the Minister as is appropriate. I don't want to say that I am going to sit at the negotiating table. I'm not arrogant enough to think that I can just do, you know, Mr. Nadli's job without a lot of background information, a lot of training, and a lot of time spent digging deep into the file. We have people who do that work, and it's my role to ensure that at the high level I'm providing the direction needed to get things done. And I am going to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of ECE. I'm really happy to hear that our NWT nominee program will be opening up again to another intake. We have about two months before the end of the year, so can the Minister please tell me how ECE is preparing to deal with the inevitable rush for applications? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, luckily through conversations, both at the political level and officials' level, we had a tiny bit of pre-warning that some increases would be coming. We didn't know exactly what those numbers would be, but that little bit of time allowed us to work diligently behind the scenes to ensure that we were getting ready, ensuring systems were in place, ensuring staffing was in place. Staff will need to work overtime in order to get these applications processed and have committed to doing their darndest after a very busy year in order to help us process as many of those applications as possible, and so I'm very thankful to the hard work of staff in that department. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, yes, thank you to ECE staff as well.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain -- we had folks apply in February and July of this year; they didn't make the cut for a space in the NTNP. So how many applicants in this intake will that cover? Will we go back to those original folks, or will they have to reapply again? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, all eligible applicants from both February and July 2025 intakes were accepted and are currently being processed. Anybody who was not an eligible applicant was immediately notified that their application was ineligible, so they will need to reapply for the third intake of 2025. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from the Yellowknife Centre -- or sorry, Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, thank you for that from the Minister. And if we do not fill the full allotment of spaces that we have retained back to the 300 level, will we lose spaces in the 2026 allotment? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this was also a concern of mine. I was able to clarify with the federal government that they acknowledge that it will be a challenge to fill all of the spots in the remainder of the calendar year. And while they have indicated to us there is no opportunity for carryover of spots into 2026, our inability to process some applications on the back end is not going to have an impact on the allotment that we get for our program in 2026. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Frame Lake.

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

Sorry. Can you repeat the question, Mr. Speaker.

Member from Frame Lake, can you please (audio) --

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to reiterate the question -- and I didn't specify I was asking it of the Minister of Health and Social Services. But, Mr. Speaker, in their June 2024 budget commitments, health and social services committed to expand midwifery services to two more communities without birthing services. My first question is what progress has been made on the establishment on midwifery services in Behchoko? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sorry, Mr. Speaker. The midwifery leaders at the department and the health authority have explored what it would take to expand service to Behchoko and a second community within the existing fiscal resources. These discussions led to a thoughtful and holistic proposal of the future expansion of midwifery services. However, the level of financial investment required, combined with the ongoing recruitment and retention challenges, makes the expansion beyond the current service not possible right at this time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm quite disappointed to hear that. I understand, Mr. Speaker, this was a budget commitment made in response to a committee and was committed to on the floor by the finance Minister. It's difficult for me to understand them saying now it can't be done. Can the Minister elaborate on that and why are we reneging on the commitment? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as Tlicho government, as a self-governing Indigenous nation, has indicated through the Tlicho Community Service Agency that they are not ready to integrate formal midwifery services into their system at this time. We must respect their position and continue to work collaboratively to support the community health priorities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, certainly, I respect that response. But the commitment also did speak to expanding to communities outside of that region. So, you know, the point is that midwifery services are needed in many communities. There was an additional community on the list. Why is an additional community not being considered? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this time, the department's focus remains on sustaining and strengthening the existing midwifery programs in Fort Smith and Hay River, which are foundational to our midwifery care in the Northwest Territories. Expansion is not solely a matter of funding, but it also depends on the availability of qualified midwives, community readiness, and the ability to maintain high quality, culturally safe care. Recruitment and retention challenges continue to be a significant barrier, and efforts are underway to address these through targeted strategies, including the midwife recruitment campaign that was launched in December 2024. However, there hasn't been any -- the recruitment challenges still remain. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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