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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I reiterated my concerns about what we're missing out on by not moving forward quickly enough with the polytechnic transition and, as such, I have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Mr. Speaker, why is our Minister not out championing the polytechnic transition and seeking funding to implement the facility's master plan? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess I should start off thanking Members for giving me this area here to champion the college on a regular basis here in the House. I do see transformation of Aurora College as an incredible opportunity for the territory because our students deserve to have quality access to great programs, and that is part of the transformation, is the programming as well.

Given the arm's length relationship with Aurora College, I have met with the board of governors on a regular basis and have reiterated to the chair, but also the entire board, that when they are ready, I am ready to go with them to Ottawa to advocate for additional funding. I am willing to support them in this endeavour.

I have also had conversations with southern counterparts and federal officials in regards to Aurora College and what they are looking for. I specifically have had conversations as well about student housing at Aurora College as that is one thing that was indicated to me by the board of governors as being their top priority right now for facilities for the college itself, specifically Breynat Hall down in Fort Smith. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am encouraged to hear about that information from the Minister. Some of those things are things that I wasn't aware of.

Mr. Speaker, is the Minister concerned, considering the news that came out about the Inuit Nunangat University recently, that the NWT is falling behind our neighbours, that is a competitive environment that the NWT wants to stay on top of; is the Minister concerned about the progress that we are not yet making on moving this project forward? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I see what's happening in the Yukon and Nunavut as a positive for us because it means that there is heightened awareness and increase looking at education in the Arctic and education in the North and, specifically, in the territories. I see this as plowing the way for us and see this as being a great opportunity for us to continue down the path that we are on and eventually get to that point. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, the Minister in her response to my first question kind of alluded to the fact that she's waiting for some direction from the Aurora College board. Has she received any indication that this is going to be the year that we go out and start championing this project? I appreciate her saying that she's willing to go with them to Ottawa, that she's willing to go out, and I definitely think we need that kind of Team NWT approach since we like to talk about teams like Team Canada, but, Mr. Speaker, has she received any indication that that's happening and is she pushing that; are we going to see it this year? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you for the question, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, this work is already being done. I would say that it is not potentially conversations that are happening in public realms, but I can assure the Member that conversations around different avenues to access student housing are occurring with the board of governors, specifically with the chair and with the president. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Lutselk'e Dene First Nation brought forward their concerns to my attention about the Wardair Bristol Freighter that crashed and sunk in the spring of 1970 just a few meters away from the shoreline. My question is to the Minister of ECC. Since Wardair no longer exists, who's ultimately responsible today to clean up this plane wreckage 55 years later; is it the GNWT or the Government of Canada? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you much to the Member for the question. You know, as we talk about environmental liabilities -- and this certainly, from the description, sounds like an environmental liability of such in the North -- you know, there are many instances where these types of things have happened in the past that haven't been addressed and as we look forward to ways to address these, you know, it's certainly important that we work with all of our counterparts, including the federal government.

As to this specific instance, the Department of Environment and Climate Change has responsibility for spills that happen within communities, on highways, on public land. These types of events that happen in waterways would fall under the responsibility of the federal government and not the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister. Can the Minister of ECC commit to work with the Lutselk'e Dene First Nation and the Government of Canada to find the necessary resources needed to clean up this plane wreckage as soon as possible and also to do an assessment of the plane's wreck site. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department does work collaboratively with other agencies across the NWT, and we are also part of the NWT/Nunavut spill working group. So on many of these instances where we have these types of clean-ups that are required, you know, as a department we take our resources, we will reach out to the appropriate lead agency, which would depend depending on sort of the circumstance of the incident. And this event would likely fall under the federal government, and we're certainly willing to have the conversation with the Member's community and with the department and see what kind of resources we can talk about with the federal government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Final supplementary. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can also the Minister of ECC commit to using this model as a way to looking for other wreckages in the Tu Nedhe riding? Right now as it is, this is just one of many that we're starting to hear, so I just want to see if we could continue to have that relationship with the Minister with our Indigenous governments. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Environment and Climate Change is also responsible for coordinating the 24-hour NWT/Nunavut Spill Line, and this is certainly a vehicle or an opportunity for communities or the general public to identify potential spills. And, you know, if you look at the definition of what is -- you know, an environmental contamination, you can certainly -- you know, within the definition, it says that it's an unplanned release of a potential product that could harm the environment. So if there are these specific locations out on the landscape or in lakes or on our countryside, they can be identified as a potential spill certainly through that process which would allow us from the department perspective to engage with the communities or the public to make those assessments and then determine who the lead agency might be or what the potential path forward would be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

Colleagues, before we go any further, I've got a little note here that says can you please slow down and be respectful of our interpreters. It's simultaneous interpretation so it takes them a little bit of time. And I know you were passionate getting your message, whether it's the Minister or the Members, but please take your time and allow the interpreters to do their job as efficiently and effectively as they do. Thank you.

Oral questions. Member from the Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister of Health and Social Services explain what mental health and counselling services are currently offered through the health and social services authority in the Deh Cho region? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, from the information that I have offhand is that there are community counsellors in Fort Providence. I mean, I can say that the Deh Cho doesn't just necessarily draw the lines for the Member's jurisdiction but in there, Fort Simpson as well is where they have community counselling to service the residents of K'atlodeeche, Kakisa, and for those other two communities that belong to the Member's riding. So they can contact either Fort Simpson or Fort Providence for those services.

I can follow up with the Member if there's anything further that health and social services provides. What I can also provide is that many of the communities in her riding also have applied, and are successful, of receiving the community wellness and recovery fund as well as the suicide prevention fund. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My next question was -- she just answered that. So how many residents from Fort Providence, Enterprise, and Kakisa currently access these services?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's my understanding that the data we do have, we'll have to go back to get specifics to her community if we have it. We might have it wrapped up in a regional, but I can get back to the Member on the four communities that she serves. Thank you.