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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I began the week with my reply to the Budget Address speaking about energy and economic development, and I'll continue today on energy security, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, non-renewables are still important to the Beaufort Delta, have been for quite some time and will be for quite some time. Given the potential shift in the federal government and their thinking around LNG development and, regardless of who forms the next government, Mr. Speaker, we heard in the Liberal leadership race, again, speaking about the importance of LNG production as we move forward so, again, Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier in the week, our energy strategy or action plan has been solely focused on renewable, but the reality is we are still heavily dependent on diesel, and we all know, Mr. Speaker, there are other cleaner renewable options other than diesel.

Given the work that we've seen the Inuvialuit do in the Beaufort Delta around the M18 project which is now fully funded, Mr. Speaker, and certainly well underway, it's time for us as a government to, again, engage with the significant discovery license holders in the Beaufort Delta and make it a priority of this government to have those conversations and to see what we can do as a government to move this industry forward. We have the MDLNG report, Mr. Speaker, that was tabled here, I think, in 2022, and it clearly states that it is feasible to develop natural gas in the Beaufort Delta. But I don't think, Mr. Speaker, we have a plan.

How are we supporting energy, Mr. Speaker; we have to ask ourselves. We are spending millions on renewable energy initiatives. And I understand that that those come with economic benefits as well. They come with jobs, they come with a lot of opportunities. They also come with a lot of money spent on consultants and likely a lot of studies that come with those, Mr. Speaker. But what I haven't seen is how an analysis or what that means for residents who are not able to take advantage of renewable energy, what's it doing to those grids, what's happening in those regions. I haven't seen that analysis, Mr. Speaker, what will that cost be to the people that still rely on non-renewables to heat their homes.

Mr. Speaker, I know we've spoke in this House about working groups for regions. I think this is a prime example of what we can do if we were to put a working group together for the Beaufort Delta, including Indigenous governments of course, community leadership, and find potential solutions to meet with industry, to meet with federal government, to look at what we can do to continue our true energy action plan that includes all energy in the Northwest Territories, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, if you find yourself stranded out on the land beyond network reach and with no alternative method of communication, how would you signal for distress? Do you shout into the air or run around with your arms waving when a plane passes by? The lifesaving facts are without communication or knowledge of your whereabouts, the pilots of that passing plane would be searching for your signal in the form of threes: Three blasts of a whistle, three lit fires, even three piles of rocks, anything in the shortest of patterns with the resources you have available. In a life-threatening situation that requires ground search and rescue, this knowledge can make all the difference.

Promoting that knowledge is why the territorial government must support the role of a highly sophisticated network of ground search and recuse, or GSAR, organizations and volunteers that stretches across Canada. Their partners here in the North provide educational services vital in teaching Northerners and tourism outfitters how to stay safe. But, unfortunately, there's no funding made available to them from ECE or ITI, and now the federal government has clawed back their support as well.

Even MACA, who is responsible for public safety, has cut their fund -- has cut funds to the Yellowknife search and rescue team, an organization of highly trained volunteers who now must dedicate time to fundraising instead of training and saving lives. Beyond YKSAR, the GNWT still relies on smaller communities to organize their own ground and search and rescue operations or get help from the RCMP or the armed forces. But the RCMP has no mandate, and the armed forces take precious hours to mobilize.

Mr. Speaker, despite several year-old reviews, ground search and rescue services which found our territory to be the most unprepared out of any Canadian jurisdiction, there are still no commitments to implementing the recommendations. To make matters worse, budget cuts are taking us backwards. If this government is serious about public safety, the Premier must show leadership and bring volunteers and and communities together with the relevant departments and agencies to finally get a real strategy for ground search and rescue to take place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I will be speaking in the House regarding the elder abuse.

Mr. Speaker, we know that there's a lot of abuse happening in the Northwest Territories and especially in Tlicho region. So today, Mr. Speaker, we have heard and seen there are many forms of elder abuse here in the North, and not enough is done to prevent it. This abuse can be in the form of financial abuse, physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, health care fraud and abuse, elder abandonment. For example, we have young people extorting elders for their pensions or forcibly moving into elders' homes without consent. Seniors are falling victim to cybercrime and scams. Some elders suffer in silence enduring the pain. They don't share about what is happening in their lives. It is difficult for them to take actions to protect themselves because they do not want to feel guilty if anything happens to their abusers who may be their loved ones. Our elders worked hard raising their families. They should be treated with respect and loved for who they are. They do matter, Mr. Speaker, and they should be able to enjoy the remaining years they have on earth with us.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier wrote in his mandate letter to the Ministers, quote, I have not assigned symbolic client-based portfolios for youth, seniors and persons with disabilities. I interpret this to mean that in a way everyone is somewhat responsible to ensure the needs of seniors are met. However, no one is accountable.

Mr. Speaker, what is the government doing to do to intervene, support, and protect our elders? I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Members' statements. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last year we were updated on several new initiatives that GNWT was spearheading to tackle our out-of-control drug crisis, including drugs strategy, a dedicated RCMP crime reduction unit, and the possibility of SCAN legislation. However, the community of my riding, of the Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh riding, especially in Fort Resolution, have yet to notice any positive change.

Drugs are still pouring in, stealing away my community's wealth and well-being. There are obviously hot spots in the community of criminal activity that my constituents are constantly complaining about. And worse yet, I am now hearing that some of my constituents are being threatened by these criminals to set up shop in their homes and rope in their vulnerable youth to be their drug runners. I don't want to hear my constituents and community leaders worry every day about when the next assault or overdose will be. The RCMP are doing their best with the resources federal and territorial governments can provide to them, and Ottawa relies on feedback and advocacy from the government here in Yellowknife to make the RCMP more effective.

This is one my constituents' top priorities because they feel the next overdose are just minutes and hours away. Therefore, in order to achieve a more effective RCMP, we need to improve the partnership between the Indigenous governments, federal, and territorial government. I will give the Premier and the Minister of Justice the opportunity to update my constituents on the actions he is taking with the federal government to tackle the drug crisis in my community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this weekend is going to be a fun filled weekend in Hay River, Dene, the reserve. K'atlodeeche Reserve is hosting the annual K'amba Carnival this week through to March 2nd. That's this weekend.

Mr. Speaker, carnivals are happening all over the NWT this month and into April. This is a great opportunity to join in community events, take part and show your talent at indoor and outdoor activities.

At this weekend's K'amba Carnival, there will be dog sled races with dog mushers coming from as far as the Yukon and Saskatchewan to compete. It's nice that the community still keeps this tradition as part of their carnival. There will be talent shows for both youth and adults, and there will be big prizes, Mr. Speaker. A local craft market for handmade goods will also be on site.

Mr. Speaker, everyone is welcome, and I encourage residents to participate, especially to show off their singing, jigging, and fiddling skills. The weather is on our side, Mr. Speaker, and I look forward to seeing you all out there. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I've spoken and will continue to speak about accessibility of health care in the NWT. This impacts directly my constituents, your constituents, constituents up the Valley, down the Valley, all the way around, Mr. Speaker. Nobody cares more about health care than Northerners I'm sure. But that may not technically be a fact, so I don't look forward to the Premier calling me on my fact checking statement on that. Everyone cares.

Mr. Speaker, not to upset the government but, you know what, I've seen the hallmark of this Assembly so clearly it actually speaks more like the trademark has become we're working on something, we're having discussions, we're -- we don't have enough policy people here, we don't have legislative people here. In other words, I hear a lot of we haven't done a lot.

Mr. Speaker, I have seen so little out of this government as far as policy legislative initiatives, I'm getting worried. Its key policy legislation it's moved forward this Assembly was done 99 percent in the last Assembly. So what has it done other than a few typos and a few corrections here or there? Mr. Speaker, when I hear the government again talk about how they can't do something, I hear delay, deny and, even sadder, do they really care.

Mr. Speaker, there's a phrase used in this type of business that's referred to mirrored legislation. It's actually a keystone to how a lot of Legislative Assembly initiatives get done. So, Mr. Speaker, why is this government not scratching the itch of copying other legislations? Use the incentive. I say don't view it as you've stolen it; use it as you've liberated great ideas from other jurisdictions.

By way of example, as I've already brought up here, Mr. Speaker, we have the Pharmacies Act and the scope of their practice used in so many jurisdictions. As a matter of fact, it's used in almost every jurisdiction where we can have pharmacists issue vaccines, things like for influenza -- I can't say a few of the other words, but I can certainly say HEP A. Well, some of them are pretty tricky. HEP B, you know, measles and mumps. Mr. Speaker, could you imagine if we had our pharmacists, health care warriors, out there helping us with COVID-19? We'd have people cured and maybe protected in different ways, giving vaccines, flu.

But, Mr. Speaker, as we stand now, I had a constituent last night tell me they went to go book a vaccine appointment. They had to wait until April. Well, they'll probably cure themselves at this rate we're moving.

Mr. Speaker, I'm not saying our health care warriors, known as pharmacists, can do everything, and I'm not suggesting they do everything. But we have willing partners, and we have smart people in the legislative branches, and we have smart people in in the policy branches, why can't they go liberate other legislation and mirror it and allow us to have our pharmacists help us? Part of the solution. I mean, it was yesterday, I believe -- if not the day before -- I was asking about changing the Nursing Act so we could allow to find better ways to get nurses here. Mr. Speaker, here is another simple way.

So while the government over there sits on billions of dollars and says -- billions of dollars and says oh, well, the Members should tell us how to do things, well Members with their meager budgets are presenting real solutions. And I'm going to ask, would the Minister be willing to do this and make minor changes to the Pharmacy Act and just get rid of some of the consultation, get the acts in the public, get it out, let's start talking about solutions, Mr. Speaker. Let's show some courage to the public that we care about their health care because I do, and I know everybody on this side cares about northern health care. And as I use the last moments of my very good long statement, Mr. Speaker, which I appreciate, Mr. Speaker, I cannot say enough: Pharmacists give a darn and, Mr. Speaker, let's empower them to be the health care providers they so dreamt to be when they joined that industry. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Colleagues, today I found out I'm now a senior. Today, I'd like to recognize Mr. Roger Pilling on being selected as the 2024 elder volunteer. He moved to Fort Simpson in February 1988 from Fort Reliance where he was a weather observer for 18 months. Roger quickly became part of the community joining the curling club right away, then the slo-pitch league in the summer, then the Fort Simpson fire department in February 1989.

I had the opportunity to meet Roger in Fort Simpson at a ball tournament in the summer of 1991 and in Hay River in 1992 while my team from Coppermine was participating in the NWT slo-pitch championships. He was playing ball, umpiring, and helping run the tournament wherever he could help. I moved to Fort Simpson in 1992 and saw firsthand his involvement in the community.

Roger was a hydrometric tech with Environment Canada measuring water levels, water flows, and water quality. His job provided support to the community, especially during the spring breakup time when people worried about the flood. This is only a small impact of what he had done for the community.

Roger has volunteered for many things over the years - curling, ball, golf, ski trails, umpiring, archery, and supporting his children's participation in events. One of his biggest contributions has been as a member of the Fort Simpson Volunteer Fire Department where he has been a firefighter, training officer, lieutenant, deputy chief, and chief. He volunteered for over 36 years and still counting. He has thousands of hours training, fighting fires, rescues, and ambulance calls. Roger's always there to answer the call and to help people.

Roger and his wife Val have two children, Tyler and Madison. Volunteering is a family affair. If one of them signs up, the rest of the family is volunteering too. They believe that you need to not just be in a community but part of a community. Your community will only be as strong as your help.

Recognizing the time, I'd like to have the rest of my Member's statement deemed as read and printed in Hansard.

Roger is retired from his job with Environment Canada but is definitely not retired. He can be seen throughout the community doing a variety of things - cutting grass at the golf course, driving the school bus, making curling ice, towing people out of the ditch, teaching learn to curl, grooming the ski trails, running tournaments, and much more.
Roger's hobbies are golf, hunting, curling, and sledding in the mountains. I'm not sure which is his favorite. He is always willing to help anyone who wishes to take up these activities.
Roger contributions make him, and outstanding NWT resident and we are lucky to have him in Fort Simpson.

I would like to congratulate Roger on a well-deserved award.

Members' statements. Motions. Member from the Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. State of Emergency for Humanitarian Reasons for Norman Wells.

WHEREAS the Town of Norman Wells has been requesting long-term solutions from the Government of the Northwest Territories;

AND WHEREAS the Town has offered to work with the Government of the Northwest Territories on proactive community planning because of climate change impacts on resupply to Norman Wells which has resulted in rising food insecurity, rising heating costs, rising and prohibitive costs of living, and rising and prohibitive costs of doing business;

AND WHEREAS Imperial Oil is transitioning out of the community, which will result in a reduced tax base for the community and territory, diminished opportunities for skilled workers in the community and unknown risks and changes to the community's power generation and transmission;

AND WHEREAS the Mayor and Council of Norman Wells is seeking assistance and is requesting that the Government of the Northwest Territories:

1. Recognize the Town's local declaration of a state of emergency and communicate the matter to the to the Government of Canada, seeking humanitarian aid;
2. Develop a comprehensive policy and procedure to respond to any humanitarian state of emergency within Northwest Territories communities;
3. Engage in sustainable community planning with stakeholders in Norman Wells; and
4. Facilitate a discussion between Imperial Oil Resources and the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Tlegohti Got'ine.

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh, that this Legislative Assembly resolve that the current situation in the Town of Norman Wells is a state of emergency for humanitarian reasons;

AND FURTHER, that this Legislative Assembly calls upon the Government of the Northwest Territories to communicate this state of emergency with the Government of Canada, seeking humanitarian aid for the community;

AND FURTHERMORE, that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a response to this motion within 120 days.

And, Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member from the Sahtu. Thank you, Member. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member from the Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to add to the motion I just tabled.

In recent months, I have brought forward many concerns regarding the town of Norman Wells. The situation is dire, climate change impacts are very real, as we see with the rising food and heating costs and the impacts on the overall cost of living and conducting business. I am thankful to the Ministers within this Cabinet that I have met with myself and other leadership to discuss these issues. However, the outlook remains break.

Norman Wells, for example, on this winter road resupply, which is an annual one, has received 30 percent -- 34 percent of the total fuel supply for this season. Another 34 percent is expected in the coming months -- month I should say, Mr. Speaker. But it won't be completed, the complete -- the resupply.

Mr. Speaker, people are foreclosing on their homes. It's a reality. I've met people that are doing that. They are leaving the town of Norman Wells for better prospects, opportunities, for themselves and their family, which will help make it more difficult for the community to succeed at large. It is time that the Government of the Northwest Territories to step in and declare this state of an emergency and seek humanitarian aid for the community.

To add to that written statement, Mr. Speaker -- and I have some time allowed -- I've seen firsthand and discussed with many parents, grandparents, youth, take the youth community, as said by the mayor of Norman Wells the community is in a state of fear. To describe that, take our children going to school. The parents are living in fear. Are the teachers of the school going to leave because they can't afford to stay there? Take the middle-aged population. They're living in a state of fear. Are we going to have another job? Industry's closing. State of fear. Example, take our elderly. The elder pensioners, living on their low income, can they afford to live there under these circumstances? So that's a wholistic approach to the three categories that make up each and every community.

In our community, we've seen the drastic measures, catastrophic impacts of no water. You can't afford to live there on an annual affordable resupply. As we said numerous times, what if you miss the boat? In this case, what if you miss the winter road? Is your project going to go ahead? Yes, we can fly sugar in, but who's going to afford that retail price? So picture that, and that will substantiate the concern of this motion.

Look at the eight grocers. Now they got to finance to make affordable retail prices based on that affordable winter road going into those communities. Then it begs the question, expiry dates of products, heating costs for warehousing this annual stock. It's an incremental example of taking each and every concern seriously. And with the backing of this Assembly, there is no doubt in my mind that we have the capacity to help that community and that region.

More importantly, the task at hand is the motion at hand. Are we going to step up to help our small communities? People are leaving. I've talked to people. A couple of young people recently just moved out. I'm living in fear, I don't want to live underneath that tension. So the overarching concern is the unknown. Are we going to get a barge? Good choice. It may, and it may not be a choice. It's looking like we won't. But I will not guarantee the businessperson to say okay, resupply come July. I would say guarantee your stock now. We got 32 days, and even that 32 days is unknown. Are we getting warmer weather? If we look at the forecast as shown by one of the leaders, yes, we are. And as we know, the distance of Wrigley north to the communities is long in distance. It may seem short from Red Deer to Edmonton but drive on the conditions of the road or the winter road is the only factor that takes time to go from point A to point B. It may seem 250 kilometers from Wrigley to Tulita, but you can't drive at the speed north or south on those roads like High Level. Warmer weather creates overflow which deteriorates the road. So having the trucks and tire chains go over top of that road is really deteriorating the surface of the road which prolongs the turnaround of the fuel.

As I said in one of my previous statements, the trucks fuel up at Enterprise, all the way to Colville Lake, offload, a six-day turnaround. Based on road conditions, it may increase to seven days, eight days. And people, Mr. Speaker, the drivers are getting burnt out. I know of several people said, no, my back can't take it anymore. That road is rough. So as I mentioned earlier, with the backing of this Assembly we can stand behind and stand proud after the road closes at the end of this coming month, we resupply the challenges in front of us, but we did it. We supplied 17.8 million liters of fuel to five communities. That's just fuel. It's an essential service to our homes and our workers, our institutions. So I share that with you, and there's many others.

I can go on there, Mr. Speaker, but I think I've highlighted the need for this institution to stand behind this motion, and I look very aggressively forward to working with all the Ministers. And I must compliment my feedback by these Ministers and the Premier for the past several months. Thank you, and I look forward to your support. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member from the Sahtu. Members, to the motion. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I could relate to what's been brought forward to this motion to the House here today and thinking back to 2023 -- sorry, 2023 fire season, and we all remember what happened with that fire season here in Yellowknife, my community Dettah, N'dilo, going all the way down to Fort Resolution, and it impacted everybody. Lessons learned. It was a very tough time for everybody. And we thanked the frontline workers, the fire support that we got for our small communities. It hit home because by the time I -- when I was in -- actually, I was in Hay River when that alarm went off on our phone and asking us to evacuate. My wife and I were there and eating in the restaurant and everybody took off, and everybody was heading south, and we turned off to Fort Resolution at that time. And it was a really scary time for everybody. In particular, after my wife went to Fort Resolution I managed to get back to Yellowknife and to help the elders in Dettah and N'dilo to help evacuate them as well. It was a very scary time for the elders too as well. And being in Fort Resolution too, I remember being there and, you know, I recall that I don't think I changed my clothes for about a good week or ten days because we were so busy dealing with issues. At one hand, it got to the point where, you know, the community was almost ready to be evacuated but we couldn't because we had a fire in Fort Smith, we had a fire in Hay River, and then if we were to get through that to go south, where were we going to go? Everything was -- all the small towns all down to Alberta was taken up. And so the leadership in Fort Resolution decided just to stay there, and we got lake there, we got the airport there if we had to do something.

But anyways, so when this motion came up, I asked my colleague if I could help maybe second the motion, and I relate to what he is talking about. And I have been listening and watching my colleague bring up his issues in the House where they had a fire season in Norman Wells -- sorry, Fort Good Hope last year, and a lot of that fuel that was used on that fire didn't get replaced. Everything was brought in, was flown in, but people had to pay for that and at a premium. And it was a very tough time for my colleague and his constituents in the Sahtu region. And, again, you know, we had issues with the barging season to bring the fuel in. It was just a tough time. So I relate to what he's been through with his constituents because we've been through that as well. But we spent $175 million that year.

So I stand up here today to give support to this motion and second it, you know, again calling on the state of emergency for humanitarian reasons for Norman Wells and for the fuel supply as well. Again, it's a tough thing. It's an act of God. Nobody knows what's going to happen even this coming summer. All we could do is to prepare as best we can and -- but, again, we need to give support to our colleagues as much as we can and be there for them because as a government, we all have to -- I'm almost like a -- my Speaker talked about, like, being an elder. I am. I feel like an elder. But at the end of the day is that we all got to work together. And I often -- I say that amongst my colleagues as well, that we need to do that. So I just want to give support to my colleague on this motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. To the motion. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will be supporting this motion today. I don't think anybody in this House could say that the Member for the Sahtu is nothing but not determined, is not speaking and advocating for his region extremely well over these last 15 months we've been together. And fundamentally, Mr. Speaker, a part of why I voted on the capital budget was to support the access that he is -- to projects that he's been talking about on the winter road these last few weeks. So all that said, Mr. Speaker, it's fantastic that he's trying to seek every avenue for his people, to make sure that they can find some sort of reliable way to be resupplied knowing that Mother Nature is not in our favour these last few years. And so happy to support this motion and support the Sahtu. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Great Slave. To the motion. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too will stand in support of this motion. Last year in October, we put aside the business of this House to have an emergency debate, which is not common practice for us, about this very issue, the humanitarian crisis in the Sahtu. It is with some regret that I support this motion because I would hope we wouldn't need to bring forward -- the Member wouldn't need to bring forward yet another call for a state of emergency in his riding and in a regional centre of the Northwest Territories. We have to do a better job of caring for the people of Norman Wells.

I've spoken with mayor -- with the mayor there as well, and his passion is very clear that this is a crisis. And there are practical things that can be done, and we need to ensure that our government is working with the municipality, the federal government, and everyone else who can help bring much needed humanitarian relief to the community.

There's also a need for long-term solutions. We need to continue to invest in the infrastructure, the Mackenzie Valley Highway that's going and other energy solutions as well, local energy solutions, that can help support this region and not set it up for continued climate emergencies and states of emergency.

You know, and I -- I'm just reflecting on some words that we -- that I -- my honourable friend, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, mentioned this morning that some of the dialogue out there in our community of Yellowknife is, you know, we shouldn't be supporting these motions, we shouldn't be supporting motions that don't relate to our ridings, that don't relate to our community, and that Members who do stand and support our community members are in somehow doing this for political gain, to score points. These are comments I saw this morning, and I want to stand in this House and say that's having compassion for other Northerners is why we're here. We are not here to score cheap political points. And while our styles may differ, where our approach to this job may differ, and where our passions may differ, does not mean that any of us doesn't want to be here for the right reasons. And it's very easy for people's personalities to be a source of criticism, and it's very easy to become a caricature when you're a politician.

So all I'll say, Mr. Speaker -- because I see that you're getting -- you may be getting advice -- is we stand in support of this motion because it matters to all Northerners, not just one community, and that is relevant to this motion. So I'm very proud to support my colleague. I'm proud to support all of our colleagues as we work together for a better future for the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. To the motion. Member for Yellowknife Centre.