Please be seated. I'd like to thank Mary Jane Cazon for the opening prayer and reflections.

Colleagues, before I go into our day session, I have to do something that happens every February 10th. I get to embarrass two of my daughters, Debra and Nancy, who were born at actually 9:24 and 9:25 at night, but. We're a little bit early so I'd like to wish them a very happy birthday as well Edna and Deb Stipdonk, friends of mine.

Ministers' statements. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Drin Gwiinzii, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize the establishment of the hamlet of Tsiigehtchic. The new hamlet's first mayor and council were sworn in on January 15, 2025, marking a significant milestone for the community of Tsiigehtchic and the Northwest Territories.

Tsiigehtchic is a community with rich cultural heritage, deeply connected to the Gwich'in people and their traditional lands. The journey to become a hamlet has been a long one, beginning in 2019 when the residents initiated a petition seeking a change from a chartered community status. This led to the consultation with local leadership, the Gwich'in Tribal Council, and other partners.

In May 2023, an impressive 74 percent of residents cast their votes with 76 percent expressing support for the transition. This remarkable level of engagement underscores not only the community's strong investment in their decision but also the significance of the milestone for residents of their shared future.

In July 2024 the hamlet was established, and in December 2024 they had their first hamlet election.

I extend congratulations to the newly elected mayor and council --

• Mayor Shawn James Roland VanLoon, and councillors:
• James Andre;
• Davina Benoit-Cardinal;
• Charlene Blake;
• Dinah Blake;
• George Naditchie;
• Peter Ross;
• Shalene Shae; and,
• Brian Smith

-- have stepped forward to lead their community in this new chapter.

Becoming a hamlet is a significant step forward for Tsiigehtchic. It separates band governance from community governance, granting greater autonomy, and enabling the newly elected council to better address local needs. This structure empowers the

community government to make decisions that directly improve the lives of residents. This achievement reflects the strong collaboration between the local leaders, the residents of Tsiigehtchic, and the Government of the Northwest Territories. Together, we have worked toward a shared vision of a thriving and sustainable community.

Mr. Speaker, this transition represents the leadership and determination of Tsiigehtchic residents and aligns with the Government of the Northwest Territories broader goals of supporting community development, fostering self-determination, and strengthening local leadership. It reaffirms the 20th Legislative Assembly's commitment to good governance and collaboration with Indigenous governments, communities, and the public.

I would like to thank everyone involved in making this transition a reality. Their dedication and hard work have been instrumental in reaching this milestone. I also want to acknowledge Mr. Grant Scott, the municipal administrator, for his leadership throughout the transition process. His commitment has been invaluable, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

Our government will continue to support the hamlet of Tsiigehtchic ensuring it has the resources to deliver quality programs and services to its residents. This includes a two-day orientation training program for the new councillors to guide them in their roles and responsibilities.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge the collective effort and vision of Tsiigehtchic residents and leaders whose commitment has been instrumental in achieving this transition. As we move forward, I am confident that Tsiigehtchic will continue to thrive and build on its many opportunities, fostering a future full of promise. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Ministers' statements. Members' statements. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Mr. Speaker, on January 11th, 2025, at 12:45 p.m., the power went out 14 hours in the community of Fort Resolution and in minus 28 below weather. NTPC made no public announcement in the community on social media. An NTPC technician drove into town, and they were advised not to proceed by local leaders due to extreme cold weather at the time. NTPC ignored the cold weather advice and proceeded to replace one power generator unit. An NTPC technician replaced the generator and later found other issues related to power lines in the community. NTPC called for additional contractors' support from Yellowknife to help restore the power in the community, and the power was later restored around 4:30 a.m. on January 12th, 2025 - 14 hours later. There was some confusion about the warming centre, and NTPC posted on social media that afternoon that Deninu Kue School would be designated as a warming shelter, but the school was locked down when residents went there to the school to keep warm. It was later posted that the elders' facility in the community will be the new designated warming centre for the residents in the community.

Mr. Speaker, the community residents of Fort Resolution were very concerned about their homes freezing up in the minus 28 weather and causing significant damage to their homes with potential frozen toilets, frozen water lines, frozen tanks, pressure pumps, et cetera.

Mr. Speaker, the Taltson Hydro Dam has been offline for almost two years, and the community of Fort Resolution had no choice to rely on its backup diesel generator in the interim. NTPC confirmed that the Taltson hydro will be back online in mid-February 2025, and that's welcome news for the community of Fort Resolution. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister at the appropriate time. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' Statements. Member from Range Lake.

Mr. Speaker, well over a year ago we were elected to this Assembly to take drastic action to improve the state of our territory's health care. Shortly thereafter, Members convened and put together a list of urgent priorities in which access to health care took top billing. Now, a year later, meaningful progress on improving our health care services remains to be seen. Our constituents have made it clear they do not want to hear about the process and procedures that go on in this Assembly or in the authority any longer; they want action on health care. I don't blame them; I want action too.

When we learned that the Minister of Health and Social Services was dissolving the health leadership council to appoint a public administrator, it looked like serious action was finally being taken. Naturally, my constituents then want to know what new tools this public administrator brought to the table and to what effect those tools were going to be used to change their lives for the better. They see this Minister with a new toolbox. They want to see her pull out the policies right away to get their vital services back into shape. Yet now, we are asked -- left asking the same questions months after -- or two months after these changes were made, Mr. Speaker.

While we know the Minister has even more power to act divisively under the public administrator, we don't yet know what that administrator will do differently than the preceding health leadership council. We haven't seen the plan this public administrator's working on to fix the state of our health care system, and we don't know when the Minister intends to have this plan put into action. The Minister praised the work of the previous leadership council yet replaced them in favour of a public administrator. So what tools do the council not have at their disposal that the Minister is now able to wield through the administrator?

Mr. Speaker, drastic changes in leadership have taken place. Now we need to see a serious plan. My constituents can't wait any longer for family doctors and can't keep showing up at emergency rooms for basic care. Frontline workers meanwhile are sharing serious concerns of potential budget cuts that seem to confirm our fear that sustainability may be a code for austerity. I full confidence in the public administrator's resume but we need to see how the Minister intends to utilize his skills through a detailed strategy that is focused on improving access to quality health care that is the right of all Northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Members' statements. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this weekend I had the opportunity to attend the curling Northwest Territories Rock the Rings 2025, and, Mr. Speaker, it was the biggest one yet. 65 youth curlers - 31 from Inuvik, 12 from Hay River, and 22 from Yellowknife - had attended this event this weekend over Saturday and Sunday.

Each year, Mr. Speaker, it's great to see the skill level of these curlers improving. In addition to the curling, the participants enjoyed bowling and pizza on Friday, swimming and teen time on Saturday and, most of all, Mr. Speaker, making new friends.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say that Inuvik swept all three divisions this year, and I would like to recognize the following teams:

• The winners of U12 division were Tyler Bain, Emerson Steffer, and Evan Cockney, they were coached by Tamara Bain and Pearl Gillis;
• The U15 division champions, Mr. Speaker, were Jacob Robertson, Adikas Wilcom, and Jett Etter, coached by Mark Robertson; and,
• The U20 division winners were Reece Wainman, Brooke Smith, Jasper Wilcom, and Tamara Bain, and they were coached by Nick Saturnino.

Nick Saturnino was also the president of the Inuvik Curling Club and now the president of the Northwest Territories Curling Association. Nick works tirelessly, as some of you may know in this House, working with youth in not only curling but all sports to grow youth participation in sports across the territory.

Mr. Speaker, Yellowknife does an amazing job hosting this event. This is, I think, the -- I remember the 4th year in a row they put it down here, which has just been amazing. Many thanks to the Yellowknife Curling Club and their team of volunteers. Michelle White and Carla Skogi for entertaining, feeding, the athletes and chaperons, and taking care of the spectators upstairs. Ed Saddleburger for six great sheets of ice all weekend. And a thank you to Janey Hobart for officiating and keeping everyone organized and on time. And lastly, a big thank you to the Northwest Territories curling nation for making this into the event it's become today. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Members' statements. Member from Monfwi.

Masi, Mr. Speaker. Today I am going to be talking about promoting entrepreneurship in the NWT. Mr. Speaker, quote, the Indigenous economy is about to take off. Mr. Speaker, this is according to a MacLean article from December 2024.

It is estimated that the potential value of the Indigenous economy in Canada is more than $100 billion. This is great news for the Indigenous population and businesses who, for far too long, were isolated from financial opportunities and success.

Mr. Speaker, a strong economic foundation is a priority of this Assembly. The Government of the Northwest Territories should promote entrepreneurship in our communities. I would like to know what the government is doing to prepare our young people to be entrepreneurs and to run businesses.

There are many constituents in my riding with ideas for small businesses, but they encounter roadblocks or need help with startup. They need guidance. Mr. Speaker, I do not want to see these ideas waste away. I do not want to see these opportunities lost. I would like to be assured that the Indigenous economy is about to take off here in the NWT as well and ensure that we are not missing out on what is expected elsewhere in Canada. I will have questions for the Minister of ITI at the appropriate time. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Members' statements. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last year, on February 23rd, 2024, the Minister of ECE said that ECE is committed to providing sustainable funding to daycares and I am committed to the relationship with childcare providers in finding out what it is they need and how we can support one another. I do believe that statement is true. But there's another voice in the conversation which is that of the territory's largest childcare operator.

Mr. Speaker, last week I received a letter from the constituent who is also a board member of that operator. With their consent, I shared it with the Minister. They outline that this operator is not looking for money from the GNWT but rather a commitment to help them be sustainable. They want to provide a living wage and cost of living increases for their staff, not just for ELCC workers but also their cleaning and cooking staff. Under the current wage grid, they can't do this. Workers haven't received raises in years. They want to ensure that their building has a reserve fund to ensure that they have a cushion to replace the roof, window, or other capital needs throughout the life cycle of the building. Ultimately, they're struggling to cover basic costs because, for this operator, ECE's regulations have created financial pressures such that they can't take basic steps to be a fiscally responsible organization. They want to expand programming and offer more spaces because, as we all know, the Hunger Games for childcare spaces in Yellowknife is in full effect. May the odds ever be in our favour if you want to grow your family and work to pay your bills.

Mr. Speaker, I received a text this morning that this operator had to ask parents to keep kids home today due to staffing pressures. There's no slack when multiple staff are sick. Mr. Speaker, today I'll have questions for the Minister of ECE.

Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Members' statements. Member from Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The residents of the Northwest Territories as a whole has been hit hard with the recent announcements of closures of the community learning centres by the board of governors of Aurora College. Without any community consultation, we are experiencing cuts in smaller communities yet again. This decision shows that the smaller communities do not matter in the development of our territory's economy.

Mr. Speaker, I have been approached by many residents of the Beaufort Delta region, both in person and by social media, and asking why this decision was made without prior consultation. I explained that this decision was not made by the department of ECE but by the board of governors of Aurora College who is at arm's length away from the GNWT. The response that I received was it does not matter who made the decision, this wrong needs to be made right for the benefit of the smaller communities and its residents.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard stories from employees about the uncertainty of their immediate future for themselves, their families, and their respective communities, employees who have given their time and resources to better their communities and their fellow residents. Some of these employees have given 20 years of their lives to try and be part of the development of the Northwest Territories, and yet they do not know what the immediate future holds for them and their families. There is some employees who broke down in tears because of the uncertainty that was bestowed upon them without being consulted prior to this announcement.

Mr. Speaker, in every tough decision that is made in regards to the negative impacts of our smaller communities and its residents, we should see some opportunity - opportunity to give our residents hope. With this untimely decision, we must think of the bigger picture and consult with the employees, the communities, and the residents who are negatively impacted by this controversial decision and make things right for a brighter immediate future. I will have questions for the Minister of ECE. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife North.

Mr. Speaker, I want to join some of my colleagues today in highlighting the importance of adult education opportunities in NWT communities. What makes adult education different from early childhood education is that it needs to be more immediately practical and useful to folks to tie into an individual's life goals. We need to stop treating adult education as remedial, something people feel obliged to do because of a lack of failure, as if it's a punishment for somehow not passing school classes in the first place. Instead of being remedial, it should be something that's useful and even transformative.

Community members have been saying for years that enrollment would increase at community learning centres if the programs could lead directly to local employment opportunities and tie into local initiatives. For example, there's demand for pre-trades training in Fort Good Hope to get people ready to work at the upcoming housing construction centre, or maybe a local government or development corporation has a need to train office or business administrators. Instead of doing the same thing that hasn't been working well, or eliminating CLCs entirely, imagine if we had cohorts of students working towards a specific employment qualification with a mix of learning settings. So maybe a roving instructor visits the community for a few weeks at a time, a face-to-face learning, and maybe the cohort would visit a regional centre every so often for hands-on learning, and maybe the rest of the time local tutors could support students in remote learning that could be done in a group setting with the instructor on a large screen. And, ideally, periods of on the land learning could be mixed in there too.

The mobile trades trailers, such as the one established in the Beaufort Delta, are an innovative approach that could be done in more communities with proper resourcing. We need to overcome the destructive politics surrounding on campus programming. This shouldn't be a competition where only one community gets to offer trades programs. We need this kind of programming close to home in all communities.

Beyond preparing for a job or apprenticeship, another important motivator for adults to pursue education is to be better parents. Family literacy programs help train parents on how to support their baby's brain development and language development, even in multiple languages. Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Mr. Speaker, family literacy programs can give adults more confidence to engage with their kids' teachers and to support their kids' success in school. So for all these reasons, we can't lose sight of how important adult education is to building up our economic and social foundations. We just have to make it more focused and practical. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to talk about the Denmark innovation towards public health care. Mr. Speaker, they do something really original. They put the patient before the system.

Mr. Speaker, did you know that in Denmark, the state assigns doctors to its people, Mr. Speaker. Can you imagine that? People being served by the state in a manner that's helpful and useful? They actually put their people ahead of the system, Mr. Speaker. It's quite innovative to think about it.

You know, they do other interesting things. No matter what, if you have a young person, a child who is sick, they find a way to get that person in to see a doctor. Why? Because their people matter more than the process, Mr. Speaker.

And speaking of process, without a system that takes care of you in that manner, me finding a doctor is almost like going to a job interview. You have to find an opening and then you have to sell yourself and explain to your doctor that you're not so complicated that they'll just say yeah, that works within their practice or scope, Mr. Speaker, and then you wait to find out if you're agreeable for their interest, Mr. Speaker. Now, that's assuming you can find a doctor who is taking an opening. And I remember there was a time there was a public phone number that people could call and find out who is taking them.

So why can't we do business different? Oh, wait a minute - it's us; we're the ones in charge of the system. That's why we can't.

Mr. Speaker, it's time to start putting the demands of the patient first. Now, keep in mind that doesn't necessarily mean we're putting the doctors' demands second. As a matter of fact, if we spent just a little time listening to the doctors and their recommendations, we'd probably be achieving the exact same goal with some minor tweaks.

Mr. Speaker, for example, the doctors will say, you know, when we write referrals we get tired of someone overwriting them, rewriting them, refusing them, sending them back and ignoring them. What can't of doctor wants to work in that kind of system, Mr. Speaker? I'm talking about the gatekeepers who no longer respect doctors' orders.

Mr. Speaker, you know, if we spent a little time listening to our doctors who say they are tired about the administrative focus of their job as opposed to the health care focus of their job, so if we could support them through an administration, we could per hour put some of the most expensive people we have on the payroll doing exactly what they're supposed to be doing.

Mr. Speaker, this isn't exciting innovative stuff. This is straightforward, help the doctors do what the doctors want to do.

Mr. Speaker, I end with the question of is the system designed for the patients, or is the system designed to help support, lock in, what is great about process in the system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Colleagues, on September 17th, 2024, Wallace Larry Watson, also known as Wally, passed away here in Yellowknife. Wally was born on April 7th, 1954, in Calgary.

Wally had a life-long love of music and was involved in many music related activities everywhere he lived beginning with participation in his high school choir. He loved playing his guitar and was particularly fond of 70's music. He was frequently in the chorus for the Victoria Operatic Society's productions.

Wally was raised in Victoria, where he met Teresa, his love of his life. Shortly after their marriage in June 1980, they moved to Prince George where Wally took a business administration program at College of New Caledonia. In 1984, they moved to Jean Marie River for Teresa's work where they lived for seven years. Wally worked with the band office as an administrator. He revelled in the new skills, hunting and hauling water, fishing and setting snares he learned from the wonderful and welcoming residents.
Upon moving to Fort Simpson in 1999, Wally became a member of both the Fort Simpson Darts Club and the Seven Spruce Golf Course. Some remember him for his Chanel's Choice dog biscuits. Wally got involved with fiddling by accompanying the youth fiddler group there and really enjoyed sharing his love of music with young people. I had the pleasure of working with him, as he was the secretary treasurer for the local DEA for a year. He was always upbeat and full of good ideas on who we could improve things for the schools in Fort Simpson.

In 2010 they moved to Yellowknife, where Wally enjoyed retirement and spending time with their dog, Chanel. He then became an active member of the Guitar Circle and the Aurora Fiddle Society, accompanying fiddlers on his guitar at performances, jams, and workshops. As well, he had a booth at the summer Farmers' Markets where he sold bake items for several years prior to COVID.

When people spoke about Wally, they remember him as friendly, kind and caring person. Throughout his life, he had a positive outlook and easygoing nature.

Teresa would like to express thanks for all the support she has received in the past few years, particularly with those attending Lunches with a Bunch who made sure he was comfortable; and all hospital staff and EMTs who responded with such compassion and professionalism.

He is survived by wife of 44 years, Teresa, and two and predeceased by brothers Hugh Taylor and Keith Watson. He will be sadly missed.

Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're honoured to be joined by some folks from Hay River here today, both on the floor of the House and in the gallery. I want to recognize Sonya Campbell, who is joining us in the gallery as a chaperon. For our page from Hay River North this sitting, Molly Campbell. We're happy to have them and look forward to working with them. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Hay River North. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too would also like to recognize a couple guests here from Hay River. Adelle Russell, a page for Hay River South; Molly Campbell, the page from Hay River North; and Sonya Campbell who is up in the gallery there. She is chaperoning them here. And I'd like to welcome them to the Legislative Assembly and hope they enjoy their week here. Thank you.

Member from Hay River South. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too recognize in the gallery my beautiful wife Aleda Edjericon, and also everybody in the gallery that's here, I just want to say welcome. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to your chamber. I hope you're enjoying the proceedings. It's always nice to see people in the gallery and allowing us to represent the people of the Northwest Territories here.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Replies to the Budget Address, Day 3 of 7. Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank NTPC Minister and their technician staff and contractors for the swift reaction to get into Fort Resolution to restore the power and to keep their homes and community safe. However, my constituents are still wondering why NTPC made the decision to overhaul the generator in Fort Resolution on January 11th, 2025.

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of NTPC. My question is why did the NTPC staff wait until January 2025 to do their planned generator replacement versus when the preventive maintenance work could have been done probably in the summer or fall time? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister responsible for NTPC.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, it was certainly helpful to have lines of communication open when the event was ongoing, so I do thank the Member for being a part of that.

Mr. Speaker, the events that led to this outage were actually routine operations, so it was not related to any maintenance that as a result of the Taltson being offline. It was to switch over one of the units that was overheating. There was a backup unit there available, there were technicians available, and so they really were not anticipating circumstances to become what they were on that day and, certainly, as it again it was noted, were there and were making efforts to bring things back online as quickly as they could. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My second question is in the event of freezing up homes in my community if it was caused by NTPC's lengthy power outage, who is ultimately responsible to pay for the frozen home repairs if that ever happened? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is standard practice for utilities everywhere in the country that there's not any provisions whereby they would compensate customers who might find themselves in circumstances if they have some damages so there's no difference here with NTPC. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister responsible for NTPC. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Final supplementary.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My third question is in the future, can the NTPC look at maybe doing this type of work in the summer months when it's more appropriate versus when it's in January and February and March? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, with respect to any major works, they certainly do try to consider timing and availability of backups and obviously certainly at some point extreme weather. Again, with routine maintenance, Mr. Speaker, there's a concern that they've been wanting to maintain reliability so not wanting to wait. At this point, we are expecting the Taltson to be back online I think later this month, subject to confirming that. But with that, that obviously provides a pretty significant source of primary power. So, you know, again, understand the concerns and do want to assure the community that we are expecting they'll be back to their usual source of power with diesel being the backup and this, therefore, should not -- they shouldn't be experiencing any similar problems hopefully for the rest of this year. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister responsible for NTPC. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Referring back to my Member's statement today, I talked about the concerns of our general assignment of doctors or I should say availability of doctors. So I ask the Minister of Health and Social Services is why can't our system be set up in a way that we assign patients to doctors as opposed to the other way around? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, within our system, I hear what the Member is saying, however, there are doctors assigned to the primary care teams that are in Yellowknife, so that's the structure that we work around now. You know, if we look back over the years of how health care was provided and basically clinics were -- we went from a private health care model where doctors set up their own private clinics and, you know, took on patients, whereas right now all of the physicians in our system are now contracted to the NTHSSA and they are -- you know, they -- within that department, they're working within the model of the primary health care model. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister's answer of defending status quo process and paperwork because I'm not sure we are doing anything better. I can't -- I'd like to hear what the Minister says we've solved health care problems and assignments. Can the Minister answer that question in the context of why don't we go back to fee for service where doctors could see more patients a day and deliver the same type of results, about serving citizens, and that's exactly what we want. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have not heard from the physicians that want to go back to fee for service, but I will bring that forward to NTHSSA to see if that's something that they're hearing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the last doctor who talked about, if I may say, a soft way complained or highlighted or raised the flag of scheduling and administration, when they retired, they were no longer welcome back. Mr. Speaker, that type of frustration, in other words if you speak out about problems you're going to be benched. Mr. Speaker, what type of environment can we create and foster to get intake directly from the doctors about how we can serve our citizens better in a system that works better and is more efficient? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not familiar with the -- what the Member is referring to, but what I can say is that just even in this last few months I've had meetings with, you know, with physicians, with the medical -- NWT Medical Association. The PA has met with them, the CEO has met with them. You know, so we are trying to understand what, you know, some of the highlighted issues are with primary care reform and work with the physicians through that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister -- the Minister of Health and Social Services dismissed the health leadership council that provided overall governance to the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority. In their dismissal, which was very clear, that it was not due to cause, that they performed their duties effectively. So can the Minister explain why we need a public administrator if the outgoing council did such a good job? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, you know, one of the things with the governing council, I will give it to those Members that sat on those -- that council from those four -- or from the communities, from the regions, they worked very hard representing their communities, bringing forward some of these issues, transitioning them into, you know, how to move this system forward. Many of them have been there since the beginning of the NTHSSA's creation. But the mounting pressure, the mounting financial pressures that they were raising, became clear that the complex situation that, you know, we hear it every day, like, we're hearing it right now - how are we providing access to care? We hear constantly about access issues. You know, we have small communities where we have health centres that are on emergency services. We have equipment within the NTHSSA that is inhibiting people to phone and make appointments. So it's not just from the access to care. But we also have recruitment issues, morale issues, you know, and I think there's many complex things that this board who work and do this work, they all have other careers. They all -- you know, and so they do this in quarterly meetings. They meet with the -- they used to meet with the chair. So there is more focus now to be able to work with the PA who is continuing to work with the chairs from the regional wellness council to do this work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, certainly, I don't think anyone expects the governance council to run day-to-day operational concerns of the health authority. My question was what does the -- what new powers -- or sorry, what did the council not have that the public administrator does? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the council -- the public administrator has all the powers the governing council had. You know, and I think that's the one thing that the PA also has, is he has the expertise to be able to work and create the plan that everybody wants to see. And so the -- before what was happening was the governing council was expecting this plan to come, you know, and I've heard from many of the regional wellness council chairs that they, you know -- as this deficit grew over the last many years, you know, they continue to be wanting a plan on how they were going to deal with this but the ever growing cost of providing health care in the Northwest Territories, and then many of them said after COVID it got even, you know, more hard to be able to come up with more strategies to be able to provide the access to care that the residents need. So right now what's happening is that the PA is in place to be able to work with the regional wellness councils to work with -- you know, with the priorities of this government to create that plan to move -- you know, to make sure that our health care is sustainable and that we do have access to care to our residents in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the NTHSSA has had deficit reduction plans. They've had independent third-party consultants review their operation. So, again, what is -- what will the public administrator do differently with these plans that the board didn't do and that the current administration of NTHSSA is not doing? I just don't understand why this is -- can the Minister just explain why this is such an important decision that is going to move things along when the old board and council could not do so? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I'm working with the -- within the -- you know, with the PA, once I have -- what is he doing right now is he's analyzing, he's working -- like I said, he's working with the regional wellness chairs, getting their feedback. He is doing the work that he needs to do right now with the CEO, understanding the complexities of our organization, and he will be coming back with a plan. And as soon as that plan comes back to Cabinet, I will be sharing it and discussing it with the Regular Members so that we're all 19 members in this House moving forward on a better plan on how we are going to make sure that the health care in the Northwest Territories is sustainable and that our residents have access to health care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain what part of the agreement with the federal government for affordable childcare doesn't allow larger operators for making financially sound decisions like growing reserve fund or modest salary increases for workers? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Canada-NWT Canada-wide ELCC agreement requires that the GNWT implement a certification system and a wage grid for early childhood educators and also that it achieves the average $10 a day per childcare fees for families in the Northwest Territories. However, the agreement does not define specifics on how the GNWT is to implement the certification or wage grid. That's something that we were able to do here in the territory by meeting with our stakeholders.

The wage grid identifies an hourly minimum that an educator must receive but doesn't set out the maximum, and the regulations do not prevent them from going above that.

In regards to a contingency fund, the centre-based operators are allowed to maintain funds as long as the contingency fund does not exceed an amount equal to three months or more than three months of operating expenses, and that amount can also exceed those three months as long as the funds don't come from ECE. So, for example, if they are doing fundraising and events like that, they are able to keep that amount and it doesn't count towards their three-month maximum. And in addition to that, there is nothing in the regulations that prohibits a licensed centre-based operator from accessing alternative fundraising -- or sorry, alternative sources of funding like fundraising, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Okay, so the math is not mathing still for me because -- I'm happy that the Minister has explained that a little bit better; it helps me put things together, but I also understand that the pressures of operating such a large daycare, largest in the territory, mean that there are cost pressures that are not adequately being addressed under these parameters.

So, Mr. Speaker, is it possible for the Minister to amend the regulations to allow for different scale and scope of operators to exist in the territory noting that, of course, daycare looks different in Tsiigehtchic than it does in Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member. And I think it's fair to recognize that there have certainly -- I don't think it's a secret to anybody in this room, there's certainly been some growing pains as far as implementing our $10 dollar a day average childcare across the territory.

Our existing wage grid regulations have not fully come into force. So right now, ECE is working with operators to determine what that looks like, so with our centre-based operators. And that also means that not everyone has gone through the process of doing their certification and so not everyone is seeing the -- or sorry, early childhood operators across the territory are not yet seeing the increases based on their level of experience and as well their level of education. So until we see the regulations fully come into force, we won't be able to see how it's working throughout the territory. And so at this time, I would say to the Member that we really need to see how it comes into force and how it ends up working out throughout the territory before we determine what is and is not working. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's my understanding -- and I've highlighted this to the Minister already -- that this operator is concerned that the ELCC staff at ECE are -- you know, not in great contact with this operator. Can the Minister work to resolve this? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am in direct contact with the senior staff of education, culture and employment seven days a week unfortunately for them, but I very much appreciate how accessible they are. And as soon as I did receive the correspondence from the MLA, I immediately did reach out to the deputy minister because like I did say last year, these relationships are paramount and we want to ensure that the childcare sector is well supported and well informed and has access to answers to their questions. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To date, since the announcement of closures of the community learning centres, what has the department done in making recommendations as to what is going to happen in the near future with the community learning centres? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. So in regards to the community learning centres, where we're at right now is working with Aurora College to gain clarity on what part of that space they continue to filling within communities and which part of that space they intend to pull back from so that we know as the Department of Education, Culture and Employment where we need to kind of react and be able to work with communities on ensuring access to adult education in small communities across the territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister give me and this House the number of employees who are directly impacted by the closure of the community learning centres? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can certainly pull that back up for the Member. We did all receive an email that spoke directly to that. I just don't have it immediately at my fingertips right this very second. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Mackenzie Delta. Final supplementary.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister conduct public consultation to the employees and affected communities on what the plans are for the learning centres within each respective community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess there's two things at play here. The first is that Aurora College will have a responsibility for communicating their plan, but ultimately as Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, I think there is a responsibility to ensure that all residents of the Northwest Territories understand what the go-forward plan is and what parts of that plan will be administered by Aurora College and what parts might fall to either Education, Culture and Employment or another entity within the Northwest Territories. And so I think there is a responsibility for some joint communication here to be able to share with all residents of the territory what that looks like. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. So on Friday, the Minister committed to publicly releasing a report on the community learning centres, completed just last year, that was based on a set of community consultations that assessed how well the community learning centres were working and what could be done better. So can the Minister confirm whether in those consultations, did communities recommend that the community learning centres be shut down, or did they provide suggestions for more innovative and effective approaches to adult education programming? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that this afternoon those reports are now online and as soon as I stop answering questions, I'll be able to send an email to my colleagues to let them know those links. So, Mr. Speaker, there -- to start, there was a facilities master plan that was released by the GNWT in September of 2022. In April of 2024, there was community learning centre reports, along with What We Heard reports, that were commissioned by the GNWT and also community learning centres facilities report. These reports, Mr. Speaker, did not identify the closure of community learning centres as part of their recommendations. They did identify things like flexibility, variety of programming, and being responsive to community needs as some of the preferences and suggestions, and then they also did talk about different projected enrolments, staffing models, financial capacity. So there was a variety of things that the reports did explore, and I look forward to providing those links both to Members of this House, and I can commit to also putting them on my Facebook page. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for confirming that, in fact, the actions taken by the college went against what communities had been saying in the consultations about the CLCs.

What has the Minister heard from organizations other than Aurora College, such as Indigenous governments or development corporations, the literacy council or Dechinta, regarding their interest in offering the kind of adult education to fill the gap being left by Aurora College? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this point I don't have specifics to share, but I mean, certainly there's been interest in everything from filling the space in its entirety or filling parts of the space. There's also been interest in using some of the facilities for something different that might speak to some of the needs in communities. So this has certainly started a lot of buzz and conversation about what the future of not only adult learning in communities looks like but also future uses of these facilities, which I think is really interesting, because I think it's important that we do use this as an opportunity and be creative in what the next chapter looks like. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so on the related subject of family-based literacy programming, what is ECE doing to promote family- based literacy and learning instead of just school-based learning, or has this fallen off the radar with the introduction of junior kindergarten and the focus on childcare? Thank you.

So, colleagues, that's a different line of questioning where we started off so I'm going to go to -- do you have another question with CLCs? Member from Yellowknife North.

Okay. Can the Minister confirm what will be the next steps in terms of her interaction with Aurora College to help sort out what parts of this adult education space Aurora College still wants to continue filling? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this point we're working with Aurora College to really gain clarity on what the picture will look like, and our actions from there will be to determine how we go about working with our education partners and stakeholders across the territory to ensure that at the end of the day we still are providing options for adult education and opportunities for education and employment in our small communities across the territory. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of housing. Mr. Speaker, I know she's live and well aware of the work that the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation/the Gwich'in Tribal Council are doing in Inuvik around new housing. My question is what or how many new units are planned by the NWT Housing Corporation for Inuvik? Thank you.

Inuvik Boot Lake. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the current fiscal year, we have a duplex that was completed in Inuvik and also 34 units that are under the modernization and improvement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And that's excellent information. And I'm wondering, can the Minister give me a timeline on the renovations? Given the long waitlist that we do have Inuvik, the timeline on when those 34 units are being renovated, what kind of a timeline are we looking at for those? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In terms of a timeline for the M and I projects, we're looking at spring of 2025 to complete most. We are waiting on approval for the biomass project for the 17-unit apartment in Inuvik to transfer that over to a biomass energy. So waiting on approval on further funding for that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for programming such as the SEED program, the artist to market programs, or financing programs, can the Minister confirm if representatives from ITI and Prosper NWT go into the small communities to promote programs? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for ITI.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, we do have a regional office that does travel into communities and work specifically with the ED -- sorry, the economic development officers that are also funded by ITI that work within the community, and that is afforded through the community transfer initiatives. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Besides funding opportunities, what type of educational programming is available to develop business skills for residents in our small communities? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's everything from training workshops, workforce development, through Education, Culture and Employment, not just ITI. There's also support afforded through on the job training. And so ECE does do wage subsidy programs that employers also do have access to. Workshops are everything from arts focused to tourism focused and even agriculture focused as well. And you know, when I look at the numbers, there's certainly some good activity happening within the region, but also always, always looking for more opportunities as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of ITI. Final supplementary. Member from Monfwi.

Thank you. Is entrepreneurship in general being promoted by ITI on the ground in our small communities? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I certainly would hope so. There are 2.5 positions for economic development officers within Tlicho community, and the Tlicho communities also do have the Tlicho regional economic development working group that those economic development officers directly work with, and that is in support of the economic development strategy that was produced by the Tlicho government between 2022 and -- or for 2022 to 2027. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of ITI. Oral questions. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Mr. Speaker, in the previous sitting of the Assembly in October, I asked the Minister about the ongoing issue of targeted amendments to the waters regulations. The Minister committed to come back to the House with a timeline for Members. I'm just wondering, Mr. Speaker, if the Minister has an update for the House today on that process. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, the issue around water regulations has certainly been a topic of much conversation over the past number of months since the last sitting, and I'm very happy to stand here today and, you know, report to this House that right now, ECC has received approval from Cabinet and the IGCS to proceed with the appraised approach to amend the Waters Act and the water regulations with Phase 1 be the targeted approach to making this amendments that were suggested by the land and water board, some of the Indigenous governments and the Chamber of Mines. We're currently in the process of working toward planning those meetings. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that news from the Minister. That certainly is encouraging. Can the Minister give us an idea of what kind of a timeline we're looking at for this. He did commit to give that to me in the previous sitting of the House. Thanks.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, currently, we're -- like I said earlier, we're in the planning stages, and we are targeting to have a more concrete plan available in the spring that we'll be able to deliver at the next meeting of the Mackenzie Valley operational dialogue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Final supplementary. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, is the department planning to run this process through the operational dialogue, or are they going to be running the process themselves? It's becoming a bit unclear to me how this is going to play out, what the expected timeline is. I just want to remind the House and the Minister that the idea of doing targeted amendments was to get it done quickly if possible. Just looking for some more clarity on how this process is going to play out and hoping to get some kind of indication from the Minister that we might be able to see the changes come forward within the year. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, right now ECC is in the planning stages with the IGCS technical working group to advance the amendments to the targeted amendments to the water regulations, and it certainly is a area of high priority. We certainly, you know, want this to happen very, very quickly, and it is a process that will happen outside in the Mackenzie Valley operational dialogue, but we are definitely pushing forward to get that work done as quickly as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, given that the NWT government has hired the Saskatchewan health care expert, and now I call him the health care czar, to reengineer the NWT health system and certainly given the fact that the Minister has shared with Members confidentially, of course, Mr. Speaker, the mandate of the health care czar, and the only person who can make it public is the Minister, would the Minister be willing to table that mandate letter of the public administrator before the House so Northerners can find out what's actually being directed here and if she can't table it, can she explain why transparency isn't the best approach for Northerners? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, currently, the -- I have the information before me, and I have -- I'm just in the process of reviewing what will be shared with the Members, and at that time I will table that in the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll take whatever we can get and certainly table it before the House would be good for everyone. Knowing that -- also, Mr. Speaker, knowing this information about what the health care czar is doing and knowing that the NWT health and social services budget isn't approved until the Assembly's budget has been approved and is long gone and the House is closed up, Mr. Speaker, for clarity would the Minister be willing to table NTHSSA's draft budget publicly before we review the department of health so we know what we're actually approving, not just the dollar amount, and we have trust and faith that new programs are being offered or we have clarity where reductions and cuts are being expected? Thank you.

Minister of Health and Social Services. It was a fine line; I was almost sending it back to the bull pen. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as NTHSSA, you know, when we look at a lot of our different departments within our ministries, NTHSSA is arm's length and, therefore, the public administrator will be working with the NTHSSA with whatever the budget is for the next coming year. And then when we do have that, that's when that will be tabled. That is the process, and you know, I know that this year it seems like there's a different approach in the process and with part of the work that we've been trying to do within, you know, making sure that we're staying within our limits and spending within our limits is looking at the NTHSSA's policy on the change that they no longer -- the deficit budgeting that went on for many, many years, and so this is what's being worked on, and it is every year tabled in the House once they have their budget. So I will follow the process that we have and, again, I will -- when I do have the information, I said it last week, I will share that with Regular Members. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.