Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I am alleging that the Honourable Premier broke Rule 3.2(3)(i) and Rule 3.2(3)(j); the first being imputing false or hidden motives to another Member and the latter being charges another Member with uttering a deliberate falsehood.

Mr. Speaker, I've had the chance to review the live feed of our proceedings earlier today, and to quote from the Premier's speaking to the point of privilege raised earlier this morning, and I quote: And from this side of the floor, this post appears to be a continuation of the spreading of false information and a campaign of intimidation that I witnessed here in this House and in this building.

Mr. Speaker, it is against the rules of this House to make allegations; but further, specifically, to impute false or hidden motives to another Member and to charge another Member with uttering a deliberate falsehood, which the Premier has done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. To the point of privilege -- point of order. Sorry, point of order.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I never like to speak ill of my colleagues or the work that they do, and I know that when we speak in those types of terms in this House, it can cause disorder and it can cause the public to lose faith in our institutions, and so I want to apologize to this House, to all of my colleagues in this House, and I withdraw my remarks. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Hay River North. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement today talked about the Pharmacy Act challenges and the scopes thereof, and I also talked about the opportunity this government could have if it would only seize the day of capturing some excellent work done by other jurisdictions. I don't have to name them all because it's all provinces have updated their scope of work for pharmacists.

Mr. Speaker, what can the Minister of Health and Social Services do to either capture, emulate, create, or borrow the work that's already done to ensure our pharmacists can be a health care partner in our needs here in the NWT? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as of right now, the work that's happening with the regulations under the Health and Social Services Admin Act which oversees the professional specific regulations, the regulations that's been working on right now are the midwives, the pharmacists, the dental hygienists, and the social workers. And all that work is in conjunction with the updating, and the LP will be coming forward in the winter of 2025. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what is specifically holding them back? As I mentioned, the example I gave, a constituent went and was told they would wait two months to get a flu shot, which they could have gone to their local pharmacy and got. So that said, what is holding up this work? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the public engagement proposed key elements took place between July 29th and August 30th of 2024, and a What We Heard report was done December 3rd, 2024. Drafting instructions are currently being developed right now, and it's anticipated that the regulations will be ready to come into force with the coming into the force of the Health and Social Services Professionals Health Act.

The one thing that I would like to add is is that we are not the same as -- like we always say, we're not the same as in the south, so we have to ensure we've been working with our pharmacists in the Northwest Territories to ensure that the things that we are going to put forward in the legislation as part of that working group is that they're going to be able to do those things. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, I talked about delays; I talked about opportunities; I'm going to ask the Minister what opportunities can we do to accelerate appointments that people need simple, straightforward care. As I said, someone needed a flu shot, they got to wait two months. There must be a better way. What can the Minister propose as a solution?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If we're speaking about flu shots, flu shot clinics were openly open to the public when flu shots are available, usually in October/November. There are ongoing clinics. They have space occupied. It's a walk-in. And so now after that time is over, they have to book the appointments through public health. And I'm -- and, you know, even when we have pharmacists, you know, they're not going to have on ready, on hand, you know, there will be times when -- you know, I'm sure that they're going to have to book appointments there. What's happening now is there is a shortage in public health. There was some recruitment challenges going on. They are recruiting. They have recruited public health nurses in Yellowknife to be able to administer vaccinations so I'm hoping that there will be more appointments coming in the near future. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one day all of us in here will become an elder or senior. And even you said it today that you are senior today so, you know, like, congratulations, and a lot of us will be following between 5 to 25 years, we will be there. But, yeah, so with that in mind, Mr. Speaker, I just -- I want to ask the GNWT if they are tracking -- if there is a tracking rates of elder abuse in the NWT. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in 2020, Statistics Canada reported that the NWT had the highest rate of police reported family and nonfamily violence against seniors in Canada. Unfortunately, Stats Canada stopped breaking out statistics of family violence against seniors and so we're unable to provide more up-to-date statistics. The GNWT is currently not able to track rates of elder abuse. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. That's good to know, Mr. Speaker. So what programming is available for seniors that are being abused? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, older adults facing abuse can access the same support services that other adult victims of crime use. This includes victim services, court orders, emergency shelters, counselling, help lines, legal support. Older adults may not recognize these services are available to them which is why the 2024 Seniors' Society Handbook includes information about elder abuse, warning signs, where to seek help. This handbook was distributed in the summer of 2024 and is also available online. Additional work undertaken by the department includes a territorial-wide elder abuse awareness campaign that was launched in June 2024, resources with information on elder abuse available supports. The department is also in the process of drafting materials to support the development of training for service providers and the public about recognizing and responding to elder abuse.

In addition to this, the department provides funding to the NWT Senior's Society for a variety of initiatives and workshops that empower seniors and community members to identify and address elder abuse.

Also, the GNWT's Office of Public Guardian and Public Trustee under the Guardianship and Trustee Act can support older adults who do not have the capacity to make decisions for themselves if they are experiencing or are at risk of psychological or financial abuse or neglect. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Without a Minister or ministry responsible for seniors -- I know she answered some of these questions but I would like to still ask -- responsible for seniors, where is the best source of information for people who want to help seniors bwho are being exploited or abused? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the GNWT maintains a dedicated elder abuse web page on getting help for elders' abuse. I would be happy to send these links and pages to the Member or all MLAs. People can also phone the NWT Senior's Society information line for relevant information. People can also call 811. And if it's an emergency, 911. And, you know, I -- Mr. Speaker, I think it takes all of us to, you know, to be keeping aware of our elders in our community, you know, educating, you know, youth, advising our seniors in our community when we witness the abuse. We know that we find sometimes that our elders do not want to push, press charges, and things like that. But there are ways, you know, and I think reaching -- having them reach out to the seniors' society, the help line, to be able to find ways to support their individual needs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake. Great Slave, that's it. Try one of those lakes. Great Slave.

So many lakes, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, can the Premier please explain if our main focus and strategy moving forward with transitional and supportive housing is only with building new stock with federal dollars, or will other opportunities being considered? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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