Please be seated. Thank you. I'd like to thank Elder Lafferty for the opening prayer and reflections.

Colleagues, before we get into our business today, we have some special guests up in our audience, the 2025 Ontario Legislature Internship Program participants. And some of you had the opportunity to meet with them, and these are pretty amazing young people that have given us this opportunity to come here and see our great government work, how consensus government works. So I'd like to recognize them, and if I butcher their names -- I told them on Monday and I said it on Tuesday, I apologize now, but we'll just go from there --

• Madeline Ritter, or Maddie
• Annie Dowd
• James Liao
• Megan Ryan-lloyd
• Nika Lennox
• Alex Salton
• Sayyidah Jaffer
• Ayesha Ali
• Catilin Arizala

I apologize for that one; that one's even worse than the other one.

So I'd like to welcome you to our Assembly and hope you are enjoying yourself, and you've taken a different path instead of the one you normally did and see the whole beautiful city of Yellowknife. So welcome here.

Ministers' statements. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I stand today to highlight one of the most significant achievements of 2024: The finalization of the Our Land for the Future Agreement, formerly called the NWT Project Finance for Permanence Agreement.

This landmark initiative is a monumental achievement for Indigenous peoples in the Northwest Territories, fostering Indigenous-led conservation, stewardship, and economic development. The GNWT had the honour of supporting this transformative initiative in partnership with 23 Indigenous governments, the Government of Canada, and private donors. Through the process of finalizing the agreement, the GNWT worked closely with Indigenous governments, NGOs, industry leaders, and local communities. Extensive consultations ensured that this initiative aligns with Indigenous priorities and balances conservation efforts with the community economic opportunities. Not only is Our Land for the Future a testament to the strength of true collaboration but also a clear example of what can be accomplished when Members of the Legislative Assembly unite behind a common goal.

Mr. Speaker, as we all can remember, advancing this agreement required substantial effort to develop new legislation enabling the creation of a trust. I am proud that the Members came together to move this critical legislation forward at an accelerated pace, ensuring that the benefits of the agreement could be realized as quickly as possible. This achievement highlights our shared commitment to working with Indigenous governments to do what is best for NWT residents and communities.

The funding, $300 million from the Government of Canada and $75 million from private donors, will facilitate the establishment of Indigenous protected and conserved areas, Indigenous guardian's programs, and climate resilience and tourism projects.

Mr. Speaker, the benefits will be transformative. Our Land for the Future will create jobs in small communities across the NWT while promoting sustainable stewardship of NWT lands and resources. Investments in Indigenous-led conservation efforts will enhance community health and well-being for future generations, contributing to cultural continuity in the territory.

Implementation is already underway, with funding anticipated to flow in mid-2025. The GNWT will continue to collaborate with Indigenous governments, industry, and stakeholders to ensure that the benefits of this agreement reach all NWT residents.

This achievement brings the Government of the Northwest Territories closer to fulfilling its mandate commitment to enhance reconciliation while supporting sustainable economic development and environmental stewardship in the territory. It is a monumental accomplishment for Indigenous peoples, and the GNWT is honored to be part of it. Together, we will work to create opportunities for Northerners that ensure a prosperous and sustainable future for all NWT residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Ministers' statements. Members' statements. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I was speaking about the polytechnic transition and wasn't able to fully finish out my thoughts, and I wanted to share those today.

Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear that when I'm advocating for the polytechnic transition, I am not advocating for something that would be a zero sum game where some communities lose, one community gains. That is a restrictive vision, and I'm tired of it going around because what I want to advocate for is something expansive. This is not about concentrating resources in one community, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, when I think of an expansive vision of the college, I think of something like establishing an ENRTP program which they've talked about doing and which I'm a graduate of, one that would bring students into various communities in the territory. Imagine that program bringing students up to Inuvik for a year and having them work on High Arctic research with whales, with the ocean, with things like that, and then moving around to different communities, working with elders, working in different ways.

Mr. Speaker, imagine a governance program that did something similar, a governance program which taught students about the various different governance models being established in the Northwest Territories and embedded them in those systems, a program which brought students into the communities and have them working with people who are doing the work of implementing governance right now. That would be a very exciting and attractive program. I think of students graduating from a program like that, the employability that they would have. This is the kind of programming that I think people would come from around the world to experience.

And when we think about our community governments, they are constantly coming to us and talking about capacity building. Imagine a program that embedded graduates and embedded students in these governments and helped them work with that capacity building and helped them work with that government. I think that's something that students from this territory could get very excited about. It would prepare them for careers in these governments. That's the kind of thing that we need to be doing. I think it would be very exciting, Mr. Speaker, and I hope we get on with it.

Mr. Speaker, I do want to highlight the fact that Yellowknife's campus is inadequate, and I want us to seek funding to improve it. That was clearly laid out in the facility's master plan, and I think we need to go through with that. But it's not about taking from someone else and giving to another.

Look at the situation we're in with the CLCs. We need programming that works for the communities too. We have to be thinking about everybody when we're thinking about a vision for the college. I think it's clear, and it was clear in the foundational review, that the college as it is is not working for the best interests of the whole territory. The vision that I want to work for and what I want to change is that narrative itself. So let's get together, let's do expansive visioning for this program, for this college, and let's get a polytechnic university that we can all be proud of. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member from Range Lake.

Mr. Speaker, perception is everything. How we view the world around us determines how we live our lives. Our perception of the challenges and opportunities we face every day informs our actions and thus plays a major role in each situation's outcome. Many Northerners face challenges in which often the last resort they approach the GNWT for solutions. In tough times, there's already a feeling of desperation so the perception that these services are difficult to access can be a serious detriment to whether or not a service actually reaches the person it's intended for.

Unfortunately, the often Byzantine nature of our departments can make these services appear out of reach - high, aloft, separate, confusing towers of bureaucracy that must be scaled through confusing applications, intimidating policies, and frantic searches for the relevant staff. This is precisely how government silos make delivery of vital services difficult especially when the trickiest situations call for access to multiple programs which exist across different departments.

Honourable Members have all worked with constituents facing these tough times who feel frustrated because they perceive the solutions are obscured behind unnecessarily complicated barriers. They may need access to public housing, social services, income assistance, or to be connected to an NGO in their community, but the policies, programs, and paperwork seem too overwhelming and, sadly, our constituents may not get the help they need on time.

Thankfully, our government has created the Office of Integrated Service Delivery. This was created to specialize in breaking down departmental barriers and provide resources and knowledge in services offered by both government and non-government organizations. This is a tool I referred Range Lakers to when complicated constituency files require more support. Very rarely do constituents come back from the integrated services unit without the support they needed broken down for them in easy to follow strategies. Even when a constituent does not meet the threshold for ISD, staff are more than happy to provide some quick, crucial advice or a package of programs and applications that would have otherwise taken much effort to gather.

Let's all celebrate the innovative nature of this office and all the hard work staff there do to ensure the services each department works hard maintaining are wildly accessible to those who need them. The success of this unit here in Yellowknife is a model for the entire territory, and I hope we will see more of it in the years to come. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Members' statements. Member from Monfwi.

Mr. Speaker, I'll do this in my language for the opening comment -- I mean for the opening of the statement.

Mr. Speaker, [Translation] INSERT* [Translation Ends].

Mr. Speaker -- I'll do it in English now -- a few days ago, last week, in response to questions about the closure of the community learning centre, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment mentioned that a GNWT in What We Heard report and the 2024 facility report. Mr. Speaker, we can see from these reports that learning centres are at the heart of college programming in small communities. Of the 19 centres being closed, the facility report notes that 12 standalone CLC facilities were constructed between 1967 and 2011 and are in various states of repair. Seven CLC centres share space in GNWT owned or community facilities. This is the case for the Whati centre which is located within Mezi Community School. Mr. Speaker, can I have unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Okay, Mr. Speaker. According to the What We Heard report published in April 2024, awareness of CLC program is currently perceived as low but the report states partnering with local governments will strengthen the presence of Aurora College in communities. The CLC are currently run by full-time community adult educator as well visiting instructors who deliver short courses and workshop.

Mr. Speaker, instructors in small communities can direct our youth towards trades and professionals. We need more specialized programming like training for the office workers and apprenticeship. I will have question for the Minister of ECE at the appropriate time. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Members' statements. Member from Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Norman Wells oil field resource revenues. Mr. Speaker, the Norman Wells oil field celebrated its century anniversary in 2021. Mr. Speaker, this legacy oil field is unique in many ways within the industry. The resource is of high quality, sweet, light crude, with low viscosity and low refining costs.

Mr. Speaker, another unique view or perspective is the ownership structure. The federal government retains or owns subsurface rights and, with a joint operating agreement with Imperial Oil, retains two-thirds.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the NWT Land and Resource Devolution Agreement, the Norman Wells proven area remains under federal jurisdiction. Mr. Speaker, the resource revenues are significant, over $2 billion over 40 years. This structure, Mr. Speaker, opens the doors for closure and reclamation opportunities. Mr. Speaker, my office authorized NORTRAN a training readiness plan for remediation and reclamation. Mr. Speaker, the Sahtu region is filled with remediation sites. And, Mr. Speaker, combining our efforts to address the trades workforce shortages through a design-build approach for a new trades training tech school in Norman Wells is not only innovative but realistic on approaching our federal counterparts to redirect resource revenues to the O and M of NORTRAN. Later, Mr. Speaker, I will have questions to the appropriate Minister. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member from the Sahtu. Members' statements. Member from the Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] INSERT* [Translation Ends].

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to talk about housing support for residents in the Deh Cho. Mr. Speaker, I'm worried about the communities in my riding. Enterprise residents should not feel abandoned by this government as they look for solutions after losing their homes during the 2023 wildfire. Many of them are currently living in Hay River wondering when they can move back home. I have heard from other constituents in housing in Deh Cho communities who have received eviction notices during the winter.

Mr. Speaker, according to the rental office annual report for 2023-2024, the number of eviction orders issued decreased by 39.6 percent. Even though eviction rates went down, people are still being evicted. I want to know why these evictions are happening now during the winter months. Many of these people have arrears but they're willing to pay to stay in their home. I want to know how we can help these people. The NWT rental office must hold hearings with landlords and tenants before determining an eviction order should be made. I want to ensure residents in small communities have a voice.

Mr. Speaker, I've heard from constituents in NWT Housing who have lost their jobs or who have taken on a caregiver role for family members, and their rents have not been reduced. The cost of living is getting higher, is becoming harder and harder to find solutions, and we need to work together to help these constituent residents of the NWT. I will have questions for the Minister of housing at the appropriate time, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. In 2023, the 19th Assembly passed Bill 85, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Implementation Act. I was here when this happened, Mr. Speaker. It was a momentous occasion that promised to be very beneficial to First Nations, Metis, and Inuit governments across the North.

The UNDRIP declaration provides a framework for a reconciliation, healing, and peace. It reaffirms the right of Indigenous people recognizing the section 35 of the Canadian Constitution. After that vote in the previous Assembly, work must be done to factor this declaration into all decisions. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission highlighted this in their Calls to Action as well.

Mr. Speaker, all MLAs in this House made an oath to honour and respect the treaty signed with Indigenous people when they took office. The treaties were always the law of the land. They backed up by international legal standards which were reaffirmed through in this chamber.

Furthermore, Indigenous governments and organizations across the territory had also signed NWT Council of Leadership Memorandum of Understanding so we could have a meaningful way to measure true reconciliation.

It was reported on Thursday that the Government of the Northwest Territories is expected to spend $2.5 billion in 2025-2026. The majority of that money will come from the federal Government of Canada transfer. For every dollar in the federal transfer, it works out to 76 cents from the Crown of Indigenous and Northern Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, more than 50 percent of our population is Indigenous, Metis, and Inuit, and yet the GNWT does not consult with Indigenous governments about how to use that money they receive from the federal government even though much of the transfer to the GNWT is supposed to fund their services. Therefore, the GNWT budget still fails treaty rights by refusing to recognize the intent of these transfers and ignores duties to consult Indigenous governments on how these funds should be spent in contravention of UNDRIP. According to the action plan committee 2024 annual report, an action plan still has not been published and implementation of UNDRIP remains unfinished. This continued lack of consultation -- Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my Member's statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Members. According to the action plan committee of 2024 annual report, an action plan has still not been published and remains unfinished. This lack -- continued lack of consultation persists in many other ways such as through the scrapping of the affirmative action policy without asking Indigenous governments and Aurora College closing 19 community learning centres in Indigenous communities which will come at total surprise. I will have questions for the Minister at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know the Members have heard me speak of this topic several times in this House. I know the previous MLA for Inuvik has brought it up as well, and that's the state of the Inuvik Bypass Road, Mr. Speaker.

In Inuvik, this is the final extension of the Dempster Highway used by trucks, but not only used by heavy equipment and vehicles coming into the community, Mr. Speaker, it's also used -- people use it for walks, they use it for recreation, the schools use it for their running clubs, it's used by -- for a lot of different things in the community, Mr. Speaker.

Safety is also an issue there, Mr. Speaker, with vehicles coming through there on a regular basis, both for the vehicles and for the pedestrians that walk on it. And, Mr. Speaker, not to mention the dust that it causes in the community all summer long. So, Mr. Speaker, I'm hoping with the completion of the Inuvik runway expansion -- and I know the next phase, Mr. Speaker, is to have that runway paved. That project, by the way, which was done on time and on budget and provided economic benefit to both Indigenous governments in Inuvik. So I'm hoping, Mr. Speaker, when we do that paving of that runway then the department will also consider finally paving the Inuvik Bypass Road, Mr. Speaker. And the Inuvik Bypass Road is an arterial pass highway under the highway designation and classification regulations. So, Mr. Speaker, I will hopefully only have one question for the Minister of Infrastructure this afternoon. Thank you.

Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife North.

Mr. Speaker, I want to speak today about the Stanton P3 project, the biggest infrastructure project the GNWT has ever undertaken, now estimated to cost at least $1.2 billion.

I'm not here to just wag my finger. I want to focus on the value of government publicly admitted its mistakes, which we are often so afraid to do. If this government wants us to take seriously its ambitions to build three new multi- billion-dollar megaprojects, including highways and the Taltson expansion, it needs to address head on what went wrong with the Stanton P3. It's so obviously absurd that we are now subleasing from a private company a building that we still own at a cost of $78 million over 30 years. By refusing to consider the Liwego'ati Building as part of the P3 project, the government is refusing to report publicly on the sublease which, frankly, only adds to the scandal instead of shielding the government from it.

When the lease was signed with Ventura in 2016, the government didn't analyze the value of just keeping the building. It was well known as early as 2014 that the government needed more space for health care services. So, of course, if raises eyebrows when only a year after signing the lease we lease the building right back. We still don't even know how that decision was made, who made it, whether the person who signed the sublease even had the authority to sign it.

Who or what are we protecting by refusing to acknowledge mistakes?

The legacy of this trail of irresponsible decision-making is found all over this budget that's before us. It's a huge part of our interest payments and debt that us bumping up against our debt ceiling. It would be one thing if the new Stanton Building and the Liwego'ati Building were running smoothly, but both buildings have been plagued with serious plumbing, heating, wastewater, and mold issues. We have entire wings of the cavernous new hospital, as well as wings of Liwego'ati, sitting empty because we don't have the staff or resources to use them.

Now, ideally, we would unshackle ourselves from this 30-year payout to Ventura; however, there was indication from the infrastructure deputy minister during the public briefing that there might be no exit mechanism in the lease. That, too, needs to become part of the public reckoning on this issue. I ask this government, Mr. Speaker, to earn our confidence by fully admitting its mistakes. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to speak to some of the challenges of consensus government today, somewhat of the fundamental lacks or concerns I'm seeing.

In my 14th year, I've personally never seen -- or I want to stress or felt -- it being so ineffective or paternalistic in many ways. And, again, I'm saying I've seen and I've felt. Mr. Speaker, when I watch two-thirds of Members want to support something and it seems to paralyze Members or the Assembly to the point it has to be watered down so far it becomes meaningless, it questions what value do Members at large present here.

Mr. Speaker, we can all get behind motherhood issues or big cause issues; I mean it's like saying who would be in favour of cancer. Of course no one. It's easy to get behind those things. But when we talk about tough issues, government issues, legislative issues, we seem to be paralyzed, and it's always us against them.

Mr. Speaker, when the government brings forward its budget that's 99 percent done and then they ask us what do you think -- by the way it's printed and ready to be handed out -- it's not here for consultation; it's more of a drive by, just to answer a clarification, a few questions here or there. So when the government says we're cutting $150 million out of the budget over three years, it's more of a this is what we're doing, this is what we're doing, as opposed to what do you think. I mean, Mr. Speaker, when they expand the debt wall, they don't come to Members and say this is how much we're asking for and this is why. It's we've expanded the debt wall and we're asking for it, that's all you get.

Mr. Speaker, there are many examples of this when you are in a Member's side of the House that you just get told how things are going to be.

Mr. Speaker, 12 ridings are not represented in Cabinet. That's 63 percent of northern voices go silent, and we constantly have to be relentless trying to get the attention of the government.

When the Premier-wannabies asked me a question about what would I like to see in this coming Assembly, I was elated by the opportunity to express what my experience has seen. And one of the fundamental things I asked for was not about I want a road, I want a plane, I want any of those stuff, I said -- and I meant this -- Members want to be heard. Members want to feel relevant. When Members have issues in their ridings, they want to feel that they are being recognized, appreciated. And we hear from the government things like, we'll see what we can do, we'll see what we can work. But when I asked a question last week about maybe we should talk about an issue, we get a dismissal from the Premier saying, no, not interested. And that's not how consensus government was supposed to work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Good afternoon, Colleagues. Today, I am going to recognize another long serving member of the public service, Mr. Gary Schauerte. Some of you have known him as the younger brother of Doug Schauerte, a former clerk of this House. I realize that I am not going to get everything said in the next two and half minutes about him so I'm just going to start.

Gary started his career with the GNWT way back in 1987 where he worked for the department of personnel for the summer.
Following the summer job, Gary worked for the Department of Lands where he spent ten years during which time he also completed his kinesiology degree through Mount Royal College while continuing to work full-time for the GNWT.

In true Gary fashion, he had a goal to work for Municipal and Community Affairs sport and recreation division, and his pursuit of a kinesiology degree was deliberate. His hard work paid off in 1997 when, following graduation, Gary began his time with the sport and rec division. This is where I got to know him. Unfortunately, he was the new kid on the block and before you knew it, his nickname was The Rookie even though he had ten years of government experience under his belt.

After five years in the sport and recreation division as an advisor, Gary assumed the manager's role. It was in the manager role where Gary supported several projects and programs which continue to have positive impacts on the residents of the NWT. Some of these include:

Dene and Inuit Games cultural and coaching resources;

• 2019 Western Canada Lottery Act;
• 2010 Olympic and Paralympic projects; and,
• Youth Ambassador Program

Although there are many notable memories of his time in the sport and rec youth division, attending the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Vancouver as part of the Canadian Northern House was a highlight.

Through his career, the NWT proudly offered daily demonstrations of Arctic sports and Dene games which drew large crowds and long line-ups of people who wanted to enter the Canadian Northern House to watch. Shortly after returning from the Olympics, Gary started to show an interest in pursuing new opportunities and the director of corporate affairs at the time, convincing Gary to take on the manager of policy position.

Being respectful of the time, I will ask the next part of my statement be demeaned as read and print in the Hansards.

I would like to thank Laura Gareau for sharing this next part of Gary's career.

In 2012, Gary accepted the Director of Corporate Affairs position given his strong knowledge of the department's programs and services, and corporate affairs processes.

Some of MACA's successful initiatives that were supported by Gary during his time in Corporate Affairs, include:

• Amendments to legislation: The Dog Act, the Emergency Management Act, and the city, Towns and Villages Act;
• Devolution and the transfer of functions and employees to the Department of Lands; and,
• Supporting the early onset of the GNWT's response to COVID-19.

After several years working in Corporate Affairs, Gary moved to the Director Sport recreation and Youth position he was just barely in that position when Laura first started at deputy minister in May 2021 and, what did she do, but ask him to come back to the Corporate position to help with the response to the 2021 flood.

Gary has always gone the extra mile in our lengthy time working together, but I really want to thank him for the support, both professional and personal, he provided to me when I was a new DM and working on such a challenging file.

In her speech, she spoken only about some of the highlights of Gary's career. There are many, many others, including being the recipient of two Premier's Awards: One for the 2009 Youth Ambassador Program, and the second for his role on the 2011 Royal Visit Team.

She spoken a lot about Gary's work, but she spoke about Gary the person and understand the two are hard to separate. What makes Gary such a great person also made him the employee he is or was.

Gary took his job as a public servant very seriously and undertook his work with professionalism.

No matter how big or small the issue, Gary had a real passion for his work, and the work of the GNWT, and was strongly committed both to the department achieving its goals, and to the work the department does to support its clients.
There is no one who was more committed to supporting the department. He was a strong defender of it, and a strong contributor to making MACA what a great department it is.

On a personal note, she spoke about the outstanding support Gary provided to her in various roles in MACA. She always knew that Gary had her back and there is no more loyal co-worker or friend to be had.

She went on to thank him for always being the first to make the team laugh to help lighten a heavy load or help make a tough situation better.

She thanked him for the example he set for her, and so many others, about how to approach the work with professionalism and commitment.
As well, she thanked him for his passion, loyalty, and support for the work they did and for his many years of public service.

Like most good stories, there was always others that would say nice things about you. I would like to add Dave Earle's comments:

One thing that I think really deserves mentioning is Gary's dedication to the GNWT and MACA, his drive and desire to serve the residents of the NWT far exceeds anyone I've ever met in government. As he climbed the corporate ladder, I watched him devote countless hours in the office, weekends, evenings and to the detriment of his own personal and family time, he put his tasks with MACA first. Tina, Katie, and Matthew deserve recognition for standing by his side and supporting him through his desire to achieve excellence in the work he was so passionate about.

As a colleague, he could be difficult to work with at times, he pushed to get his decisions through and always stuck to his priorities. While he was firm in his stance on everything, the results in the end were always positive and Gary was a major part of that. He was able to see the bigger picture in ways that others couldn't.

As a supervisor Gary was incredibly supportive of all his staff, provided praise and recognition for efforts and worked through tasks as part of a team, he truly is great leader. He took great pride in organizing staff events to recognize the hard work of staff, notably the SMC Christmas breakfast where he would be up making bacon at 3am to be sure he had enough for all employees. At the end of every session, Gary would provide a lunch for all Corporate Affairs staff which he covered personally to recognise the extra effort everyone put in during the months leading up.

Gary worked for, earned and deserved every role he held as he advanced his career, and his accomplishments were nothing but exemplary. The positions Gary held have been his identity for the last 35 years, and I know there's a big hole left in his life now that he is no longer working for MACA.

Colleagues in closing, there is not enough time to recognize his 35 years, so I am going to say: "MACA has been so lucky to have had you these past many years, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Colleagues, I'd like to thank Gary for his time. For the residents, he's done a great job. Thank you very much.

Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Member from Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is there a policy to avoid issuing eviction orders for housing clients during the winter months? This is for the Minister of housing. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Deh Cho. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is no policy to not have evictions in the winter months. The Minister or Housing NWT could consider compassionate grounds, but it depends on the circumstance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister advise how many evictions are served during the winter months? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That would depend year to year. Over this last year, I believe we've had ten eviction orders issued over the winter months. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member from the Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister say how many hearings rental officers held with Deh Cho tenants in 2024-2025 before these eviction orders were issued? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, I don't have that number for the Member today. I can provide that information and also look it up on the rental officer site as well. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Oral questions. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake, one question.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, it's been a day, so I'm going to lob one over the plate for my honourable colleague across the way, the Minister of Infrastructure, so she can knock it out of the park, Mr. Speaker. Will she commit to paving the Inuvik Bypass Road during the completion of the Inuvik runway expansion? Thank you.

Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Real easy one. Minister of Infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, again, I am happy to be able to report as soon as we are paving that runway, we will be chip sealing this portion of the Inuvik Bypass Road. Thank you.

Members, oral questions. Inuvik Boot Lake, I guess you got your one question. You're good, right? Okay. Oral questions. Member from Slave Lake.

I'm not from Alberta, but thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm committed to reminding the government to listen and act accordingly on what they hear from the residents of the NWT. So during their public engagement, many thoughtful and detailed ideas were shared with Members as well as government on ECC's draft climate action plan. Most concerning to me is an overwhelming groundswell of feedback requesting clear, plain language, and direct tangible actions.

So to the Minister, I recognize that there will be a What we Heard document coming out in the near future, but can the Minister highlight at a high level what his areas of interest for changes are after reading all of the feedback. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you -- getting this right -- Member from Great Slave. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you very much to the Member for the question. As she said, there was a tremendous amount of engagement on this topic, and we extended the timeframe and continued to accept long-form submissions well into January. You know, throughout the process, we had 128 participants at a climate change advisory group gathering. We engaged with Indigenous governments, organizations, community governments, youth, researchers, land users, industries, other partners. We had 44 residents engaged through a public engagement on the website, and two Indigenous governments and six non-government organizations also provided long-form information.

So from my personal perspective, you know, resilience, ensuring that we have proper knowledge into this process, and that we're working to provide every option that we can to assist in the target for net zero by 2050 is certainly high on the mandate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that. I'm glad he took the time to review all of that feedback. Can the Minister outline if the next iteration of the draft -- or I guess the next climate change action plan will take the concerns of plain language seriously, and how is the department working to address and incorporate feedback on this particular issue? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the importance of plain language was the theme of the what we heard engagement throughout. And, you know, this is very important feedback for us in that we're considering the changes and improvements to the planned climate actions. We take this responsibility to communicate with the public in a clear, concise manner that everyone can understand very seriously. And to that end, already through the engagement process we have taken some opportunities to change how we were doing things. And the department worked closely with the local graphic artists to create some broadly accessible visual presentations that were used throughout engagement. And this is just the first step of how we will make change going forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Final supplementary. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for that. And I think graphic representations of conversations is a fantastic way to bring everybody in. But, you know, the other big theme I heard, and I know the Minister saw that, was that, you know, especially from youth, there's a lot of climate anxiety right now. So can the Minister explain what bold action he wants to see in his action plan that will address the concerns he's heard especially of our youth. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a topic that's close to my heart, ensuring that we are engaging with our youth across the NWT. I have grandchildren that are going to be coming along here into this environment soon and, you know, I'm encouraged by the participation that we had, and we had the NWT Climate Change Youth Council participate in a forum in October, Ecology North facilitated discussions, with a total of 190 students here in Yellowknife. MLA Morgan and myself are planning an engagement with high school students later in the month here in Yellowknife to discuss the issue, to listen to their concerns and their issues. And I think, you know, as a department and from my position as Minister, addressing the anxiety and the uncertainty of the changing climate with the youth in the Northwest Territories is a very high priority. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with the CLC closing, can the Minister commit to discussing partnership opportunities for apprenticeship and other programs with Indigenous government and community organizations to strengthen the presence of Aurora College in small communities? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to say that meeting with Indigenous governments is something that Cabinet does often, and education always shows up on the agendas for those meetings. In addition, I meet with the development corporations that are associated with our Indigenous governments and have met with the Tlicho Investment Corporation just recently as well and are having conversations about this very thing. I'm doing those conversations in my role as Minister of education, not through Aurora College, but certainly would want to invite the Member to work with the college to invite them into the community as well and to encourage those conversations to continue. So ultimately, Mr. Speaker, my answer is yes, from the perspective of Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you. Masi, Mr. Speaker. Community learning centres are currently staffed by full-time community adult educators as well as visiting instructors. Can the Minister explain what will happen to these jobs once the centres close? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Aurora College is currently working with the Department of Finance to help affected employees work through the staffing process and work through what comes next for them, including looking at lists of available positions within the GNWT. So I can confirm that Aurora College is working closely with the Department of Finance on this. Thank you.

Masi, Mr. Speaker. Seven CLCs share space in GNWT owned or community facilities. For example, there is no formal lease agreement between Mezi Community School in Whati and Aurora College. Can the Minister explain what will happen to these spaces in June? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can't comment on what is going to happen exactly with each one of those spaces right now. But I think it's important that we're creative and flexible in what this looks like going forward. Where there are facilities that are leased by the GNWT, those facilities would go back to the owner, and where the infrastructure is owned by the GNWT, I can say that there has already been outreach by either NGOs within communities or some Indigenous governments who have said, hey, we have a different thing that we would like to see that community learning centre used for. And so I think it's really important to hear communities out and to work with Indigenous governments and also work through the Department of Infrastructure's asset management policies of what happens to assets when they're no longer used by the GNWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my question is a follow-up on the options available for approaching funding to challenge trades and the demands in our workforce. My question is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Can the Minister agree to the publication of NORTRAN as I referenced in previous correspondence and in my statement? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from the Sahtu. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the Member's asking for the publication of it, I think that tabling it here in the House is a great way to make sure that all of our colleagues can see it and the Member can share his hard work on that. And I look forward to continuing conversations about NORTRAN with the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to bring to the attention of the Minister during my lobby efforts, we, the Sahtu, have secured a contribution of $7,000 from industry for the publication.

My next question is, can the Minister share what supports are in place for this training readiness publication supports in terms of funding, etcetera? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I spoke to yesterday about the different training opportunities that ECE does have, there are supports for businesses who are -- or employers, rather, and also Indigenous governments and community organizations, that would like to deliver training and on-the-job supports for staff. There's also wage subsidies that are available to staff as well. And certainly through a program like this, those subsidies would still be able as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister for Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from the Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thanks to the Minister for that information here. That all goes towards what supports are behind this plan.

Can the Minister in consultation with Cabinet colleagues for the federal engagement ask or rely on whether there's a joint initiative that can be supported by this government for the federal ownership of accessing and redirecting resource revenues from the Norman Wells oil field towards NORTRAN. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe in the Member's statement he referenced legacy royalties from the site. The GNWT certainly would not be in a position to ask for those back. And then in -- however, Indigenous governments certainly could have their own conservations and bilaterals with the federal government.

In terms of federal engagement, certainly the government does have a federal engagement strategy and has identified key infrastructure projects as of what they are going to the federal government and advocating for. When it comes to our FTP tables, our federal, territorial, provincial tables that we all sit at as Ministers, we certainly work with our province and territorial colleagues in order to advocate for additional funding and advocating for additional labour market funding is something that I do on a regular basis. So in that respect, yes. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as mentioned earlier, in the 19th Assembly we worked on Bill 85, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Implementation Act. We sent a lot of time on it. We came up with a report, and we submitted it in the House. However, Mr. Speaker, right after it was implemented, the NWT Council of Leaders, through a memorandum of understanding, put forward an agreement that was signed by those Aboriginal governments.

Right now, Mr. Speaker, I just want to ask the question to the Deputy Premier, can you let the House know on what's happening with the United Nation UNDRIP document with Indigenous governments. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Madam Deputy Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is an action plan that is underway. I understand that there is a target date of the fall of 2025 to have that action plan published and that work towards that is, indeed, on track. Departments are all contributing to it, working with participating Indigenous governments toward that. Thank you.

Jeez, you took my next question away. Now that you just announced that it's going to be released in 2025, this plan, how is it going to roll out? Is this working with Indigenous governments; can you just update the House on this. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't want to presuppose the work of the committee with respect to how the action plan is being formed and what it will contain or its detail. There is a lot of work happening across departments. We are all contributing to being part of the work on behalf of the GNWT as being just one Member at that table. So, Mr. Speaker, and I don't want to also -- to take away from the fact that the GNWT has bilateral agreements with multiple Indigenous governments and that we also sit at Council of Leaders and at IGCS. So there's a great deal of integration within the Northwest Territories between this government and that of Indigenous governments, and we'll certainly continue to see that as it goes forward, both this as well as then looking forward to see what the action plan ultimately contains. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Deputy Premier. Final supplementary. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the 2025-2026 Budget, I went through it and I'd just like to know what the Deputy Premier has planned to implement UNDRIP when there's -- I didn't see no money in the budget. Can she explain as to how we're going to move forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the work of implementing and respecting UNDRIP and treaties is part of the day-to-day work that happens across every department and is the responsibility of every single Minister at all times. Mr. Speaker, there doesn't need to be a new line item or new money to be reflective of the honour and the oath that we've all taken, nor of the role of every government or every department vis-a-vie each community and each Indigenous government.

And, Mr. Speaker, the example I'll give is, frankly, the work of the GNWT on the action committee in order to see that we are delivering on 2025 as being the action plan. That work is happening with budgets that are proposed for executive and Indigenous affairs as the lead but also with every other department that they have folks and staff available to contribute to it. Thank you.

Thank you, Deputy Premier. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's probably rare I get to make a statement like this. I'm sure we will all agree in this House that health care dollars are precious. It's very difficult to find agreement on anything some days, but I think we might be able to agree on that.

Mr. Speaker, the questions I'll be raising today are to the health care Minister, clearly, regarding the security of health care regards. And that's always been something of interest of mine because if I recall during one of my previous assemblies, we had more health care cards out there than citizens. What an interesting paradox it was at that time.

So, Mr. Speaker, my question specific to the Minister of health is, is she aware of how many health care cards we have out there, and does that number relate to the number of citizens we have in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the question. You know, my very first job after high school was a health care card registration specialist, and one of the things my colleague taught me was is that we have very -- we have a lot of people that we're doing, we have to be doing investigations on that are outside of the territory. So that probably speaks to the time when the Member was in the House, that we started to change the way that we provide health care cards. And now they actually have an expiry date. So when you renew your health care card, you have to have an NWT address. Before they never had expiry dates. But I do not have the detail of how many people that we have as residents right now offhand and how many cards we have out there, but I am sure that I can get that data for the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll take the Minister on their offer of how we know and how we know.

So, Mr. Speaker, other jurisdictions place health care dollars so high on their list, they actually make health care cards also an identity card. So in other words, their picture's on their health care card. And places such as Ontario, BC, and Quebec do this to ensure the quality of the health care is going to the right people. They can guarantee the number with the person. So, Mr. Speaker, my specific question is this: Is this an initiative that the department of health can take on to, again, protect the precious northern health care dollars? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, and it's -- you know, I find that question -- it was just a couple of weeks ago that I was having this conversation because renewal is up this year for health care cards. And on our health care cards, they are very plain. They have an expiry date and they have our name. And so that was the question that I asked my staff, to go back to the department to say how do we work with infrastructure? You know, we have this struggle right now in our communities where a lot of people are looking for identification cards. How do we work together to provide identification cards, have that information, the picture so it's the right person with the card so that, I've just tasked my staff to kind of look at options on where we are with all that kind of information and is that something that we can do and what is that cost going to cost us. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Well, it's funny because I get -- what's the right phrase -- I don't want to say targeted, but I get target -- I'll say it anyway. I get targeted for not giving my questions to the Minister or advancing this up, but yet she scooped my last question. So good on her for being on her toes, Mr. Speaker, instead of heels.

Mr. Speaker, that said, I just want to reaffirm, with the contract coming up, will she ensure that Members are involved in some type of early discussion and will she commit to this contract we are going to do health care card business differently and more improved? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to clarify, I think it's the renewals that are up right now for Northwest Territories residents to make sure that they're applying within a couple of months of their health care card. I'd have to look into how or who is the procurement of how we do our health care cards. But that is all kind of the questions that I have just started to have because I think it's important that if we're doing this in the Northwest Territories, then we need to be making sure that those cards, everybody in our territory has one. Maybe having their picture on it, maybe it being their personal identification for flying, all that type of stuff, it would be a good thing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Infrastructure.

So the Office of the Auditor General in its audit of the Stanton P3 project recommended the GNWT publicly report costs related to the Legacy Hospital Building leasing arrangement and to provide updates to total project costs when there are significant changes over the 30-year term. Now, the GNWT has disagreed and declined to publicly report those costs.

Can the Minister explain who or what the government is protecting by refusing to publicly report these costs? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Finance -- or Infrastructure.

Either way, Mr. Speaker, on this one, thank you for the question. Mr. Speaker, this report from the auditor general, every single other recommendation the GNWT has accepted. It's singularly around the classification of the Liwego'ati Building as being whether a P3 or not a P3 that we continue to have this issue. If it is a commercial lease, we do not report any of our commercial leases publicly. They are proprietary information to the landlord. Because we have classified this one as a commercial lease, it is proprietary information, it is reported by constituency, by community, as every other commercial lease is. This one is no different. There's no matter of any -- then when people are being protected, Mr. Speaker, it's the same as on every other commercial lease. We don't report them publicly. They are not part of the P3 reporting. They are held separate. But on every other aspect of the audit, we were more than happy to accept the recommendations. And, quite frankly, we're already making the changes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the Minister's claiming this is a case just like any other commercial lease. Does the GNWT hold any other commercial leases where we actually own the building and we've leased it to someone and then subleased it back from them? Is there any other cases of any other building or any other commercial lease that works that way in the territory? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to my knowledge this is a unique situation. It was also a unique opportunity, Mr. Speaker. It's not one that was -- any Member of this Cabinet was in government at the time. What we had is a building that we owned that needed to be remediated, and we needed to remediate it at significant costs. This is a large building, a medical building, and the remediation would be significant. So that was included as part of the leasing arrangement.

Subsequent to that -- and I think this is where there starts to be some challenges. And subsequent to that, it was identified that we would, in fact, need space for long-term care. And so instead, we -- we already had the cost sharing or the agreement -- revenue sharing agreement in place. With that revenue sharing agreement in place, Mr. Speaker, we were able to go into the Liwego'ati Building, go back to the commercial party, negotiate a lease with them, with our revenue sharing agreement in place we got a better deal as a result of that, and that's the situation we find ourselves in. That's a fairly unique circumstance as compared to any other lease in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the Minister has just claimed that subsequent to the lease, we realized -- or the government realized that it needed more space for health care services but, in fact, it was as early as 2014 that the government had recognized that more space was needed for health care services. Can the Minister explain why that was not taken into account when this lease agreement was first arranged with Ventura? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this, again -- more than happy to say if we want to admit wrongdoing, that looking back ten years ago we don't have all of the records that we should have in order to explain that decision. None of us were here. I wasn't here.

What I can say, Mr. Speaker, to the best of the knowledge today, at the time in 2014, the plan that health and social services was to build a new and standalone long-term care facility, and then when that project would have been ready to move forward closer, if I recall correctly, to the 2019, 2020 -- or rather 2020, the situation had changed, the markets had changed, commercial realities had changed, and costs had gone up significantly for new builds and at that time -- I believe it was at that time that the decision was made to, in fact, reutilize this building where we already a revenue sharing agreement rather than going and building new.

So, Mr. Speaker, if we want to now -- and, again, one of the recommendations was to keep better records. Agreed, and we'll do that going forward. But in this case, that's the history that brought us here. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this question is -- these questions are for the Minister of ECE.

Mr. Speaker, I've been speaking with daycare operators. The wage certification grid that the government has brought out is causing difficulties for operators in a time when we're trying to expand daycare spaces. Mr. Speaker, is this new grid something that's been imposed on us by the federal government, or is it our own program? Thank you.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, the Canada-wide agreement with the GNWT solely dictates that we must have a wage grid, but it doesn't say where that wage grid starts and where it ends. That is solely dictated by our pocketbooks. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that clarification. So, Mr. Speaker, daycare operators are telling me that this new system is restrictive and preventing them from hiring staff and helping the department achieve their goal of creating new daycare spaces. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to sit down with these operators and work with them and figure this out, find a solution that works for them, that works for the department, something that can help us move forward? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my last -- I know which early learning and childcare institution the Member is speaking with. My last conversation with the executive director of that institution, I did say any time you want to have a sit down I am more than happy. I can also inform the Member that there's been three separate meetings since last Friday with this particular childcare provider, and I believe there was even one as recently as today, Mr. Speaker. I'm always happy to sit down and have these conversations, but I will also say that we have to ensure that our program falls in line with the federal agreement and while we stipulate the minimum that people need to be paid, providers are more than welcome to exceed that. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'm glad the Minister highlighted that because that dovetails well with the question I was about to ask.

Mr. Speaker, operators are telling us that they can't charge fees for additional services like providing healthy meals, extracurricular programming, or even making up the gap between what the government is willing to give and what daycare operators need to be paying in order to keep staff. So, again, is that a rule being imposed on us by the feds or the GNWT, and can we change these things that are creating problems for operators?

Mr. Speaker, I just want to remind the Minister, as she's well aware, we are trying to increase spaces; we want our operators to be given the tools they need to increase spaces to expand. So can the Minister commit to working with them to change the things that need to be changed to solve these problems? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too would like the same things as the Member. The stipulation of no additional fees being charged is in the Canada-wide agreement and any additional fees that are charged must be deducted by the primary fees that are being charged to the parents. So we are in a situation where we need to figure out how to create sustainability and stability within our own system but ensure that we are, at the end of the day, following that agreement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to follow up on questions raised by the Member for Yellowknife North on the Stanton renewal project.

The auditor general maintains that the leasing -- the decision to lease the Legacy Building, it's not value for money. Plain English. It's in excess of $70 million that wasn't part of the initial project to a building we own. Does the Minister agree with the auditor general, and can she tell us today that this was not good value for money as a decision? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Range Lake. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the auditor general, as I understand, was -- is looking at the two projects as one and our view continues to be that the two projects are not one. And so the way that we are looking at that value analysis continues to differ, Mr. Speaker. And we do now have a campus-based approach with health care with the two facilities operating side-by-side rather than a Stanton Territorial Hospital and what would have then been a separate building built somewhere else at some distance. So at this point, Mr. Speaker, we have two operating facilities and, again, looking at them as the two separate projects, it is our view that they are, indeed, a good value for money. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I guess I'm confused. This seems to be new information. Was there ever a plan that Liwego'ati would not be used or that Stanton Legacy would not be used as part of a health care campus? My understanding is there was always a component of that in the initial RFP that went out for the rebuild was to demo this building for other uses and that was -- so was there some other purpose intended for Stanton Legacy before it became the Liwego'ati Building? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, when the decision was made to lease it out and to have it remediated by that leaseholder, the intention was that the leaseholder could make whatever choices initially that they wanted about what they would do with that building. Like office space, commercial, commercial space, but not bound necessarily to turn it back into any kind of health facility. That would, of course, require the health department to be planning to go back in there and initially that was not the plan. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know for a fact that the clause or the arrangement with the P3 partner is very specific that the GNWT gets final say about what goes in there. We had jokes about, you know, it not being allowed to be a casino, for example. So the GNWT had a say over it. They could have made it clear that it needs to be health. But I'll say this: Can the Minister produce any evidence that this is actually saving money -- that this -- at the time, it is saving money competitively from leases? We've heard as much as 30 percent savings but there's no dollar figure. Can she produce a receipt? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, so there's the P3 partner who operates the Stanton Territorial Hospital and then there is a separate arrangement, commercial arrangement, with a leaseholder over the Liwego'ati Building. Again, two different entities that we are speaking about. And what I certainly can look again back to, and I believe was committed at the time, is that some further evidence can be provided, some further information can be provided with respect to the cost differentials. So specifically on the Liwego'ati Building, at that time it would have been -- at the time that the decision was made to lease back the room and the spaces that were being remediated, given the revenue sharing agreement that was in place, it was better value for dollar than to go out then and build a new building for the long-term care facility.

Mr. Speaker, there's -- again, we acknowledge that records back from 2014 and 2015 are not as complete as they should be, that that recordkeeping and that decision-making wasn't as good as it -- in terms of records, wasn't as good as it should be, and that is the situation we find ourselves in now. Not going to do that going forward, and we have a lot better checks and balances in place. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm full of compliments today; here's one to Aurora College.

I went to their website recently, and I don't know if it's in response to my earlier questions several months ago or in the sense they were doing it anyway and just decided to do it better, I like what they've done with the timelines and the progress tracker on the work being done for the transitioned -- for the polytech.

Mr. Speaker, that being said -- not a criticism, just an observation. Mr. Speaker, on its website, it points out that they have a lot of things outstanding even though it shows it looks like they should been done or should be in the progress of doing, such as recruitment of marketing communication strategy development, release a polytech university five-year academic plan, and the last one is establish a new legislation -- establish new legislation for polytechnic university.

Mr. Speaker, all of these things look like they should have been started. I'm asking is this initiative still live, or is there some concerns that we need to know that there are delays that need to come to light to the public? Thank you.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am sure Aurora College staff will be happy to hear the Member's compliments in regards to new legislation. That is certainly something that needs to be worked on in the life of this Assembly. And as the Member knows, Members have received an embargoed copy of the new mandate agreement which does have an implementation plan in it and that will be released publicly tomorrow -- later this week. Later this week. I don't -- yes, later this week. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, maybe to help the Minister, the old Minister used to say in thee fullness of time, which if you were paying attention, that could mean any time. So needless to say, please don't use that further proof of what's happening.

Mr. Speaker, establishment of new legislation for a polytech university is the cornerstone of where it's going, defines it, and everything then comes out of it. In other words, its budgets, its plans, its mandate, etcetera, etcetera. It needs legislation to be real.

Mr. Speaker, when -- sorry, on the website, it says it will be released for completion obviously -- thank you, Mr. Speaker -- March 2025. Can the Minister update us on this initiative? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that new legislation will not be released in March of 2025. It still needs -- it's GNWT legislation so it still needs to go through GNWT protocols. It will be tabled in the House here and then will go to standing committee as per our usual protocols. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And for the record, I appreciate your guidance. Mr. Speaker, my question is when can Members expect this draft legislation to come forward for review? Again, I can't stress enough, nothing can really happen without it hence we're waiting and want to ensure that the process is moving forward.