Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So in the past, there have been attempts at integrating services in the GNWT, and they haven't been successful, and so a few years ago the GNWT went out and they worked with a contractor to look at those efforts and a path forward, and what the recommendation was and, you know, was -- I think it was widely accepted among those in government who were working on this initiative as well was that instead of trying to integrate everything at once, well, they start with a specific area and build from there. And so homelessness was that area. You know, at the time it was a, you know -- and still is obviously a growing issue in the Northwest Territories and involves a number of different departments and agencies, and so it made sense to try and use that as the avenue to build that. You know, we are learning a lot of lessons from it. One of the lessons is that, you know, homelessness is all encompassing and it is a lot of focus -- there's a lot of focus on dealing with the homelessness issue of the day, which is very immediate and maybe not as much time to integrate services as we would have liked. And so I appreciate the Member's comments and, you know, I have been considering whether or not it is better placed in a different department, so I will take those comments from the Member and factor that into the decision on where this goes. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. I'll go back to the Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I'm not looking when I say in this next comment about hiring a fleet or futile staff, but I think some evaluation has to be put to this question which is is it better suited elsewhere. We could easily argue that the homelessness could be in housing. We could talk about a cross pollination of issues in the sense of well, there's, you know, health issues, maybe it should be in health. You know, I don't think it should be, but I'm just saying we could justify it anywhere, and I'm just asking is there any chance of evaluating and maybe we'll see this in the -- in my humble opinion, that is, that it sits under the shingle of housing which homelessness might be better tied to. So I mean, is there any chance of an analysis happening? And I don't mean, again, hire fleets of staff, just more of a -- one of those -- a danish, a coffee, and some good soul searching kind of considerations. I don't know what's appropriate, but I'm saying it doesn't need to be massive -- a massive undertaking. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Yes, no. I think we're on the same page. I mean, that's what we're doing. I've ate plenty of danishes in this building, and I drink plenty of coffee, and I contemplate things like this. And so I -- you know, I'm happy to hear that the Member's perspective on this is similar to mine and, yeah, I value the feedback. Thank you.

Speaking of danishes, I'll go back to YK Centre.

Well, for someone who hasn't eaten a danish in ten years, I'll live vicariously through the menu of the Premier. But in all seriousness, there -- are there programs that although today might not be the right day -- I mean, it's the old we could try to force it through and we both -- we all know that that'll never happen, but -- so I not suggest it. But, I mean, there needs to be sort of some overall evaluation of how we do grants, contributions, and even organize business. No disrespect to the department of MACA, but I've often questioned, like, why do we have communities and community relationships under MACA. Why isn't that through EIA because of the interrelationship of chiefs and councils and mayors and councils and regional councils. You know, they all want to speak to the Premier. I mean, I appreciate that, you know, maybe the -- maybe the MACA Minister can do a break dance or karaoke at the municipal meetings and things like that, but the truth be told is they all want to speak to the money which is the -- and the head of government. And that's probably where we have most of our meetings at the end of the day. They all keep coming in their delegations. So I mean, when we're starting to think broader, this is not an ask to do, this is ask to think about, which is we should be asking ourselves how we realign certain departments with respect to where they sit.

Some of my colleagues might say -- and might not agree with either, and that's fine -- you know, is youth better placed in education as an example. And I'm not here to tear MACA apart piece by piece, but I'd be willing to do it in the sense of the examples. You know, like, different things, you know, does lotteries belong in justice. So, I mean, in the context of EIA specifically, Mr. Chairman, I mean, there are different things that would align, I think, much better back to the interrelationships of these things, and I point it out more -- more in line of municipal issues and municipal funding under grants and contributions, especially given the nature of the councils, chiefs, regional issues, and it all lines up with the intergovernmental affairs experience. So, again, not an ask or request or demand to do. The request is really about is what thoughts could be put into it about better integration and with the leadership working with direct leadership. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you. And there's a lot to unpack here so I'll start with the -- you know, the homelessness piece and why it's here. And as I mentioned, it was about integrating services. And so we have integrated service delivery and we have basically the homelessness file, and we were attempting to -- we are attempting to advance integrated service delivery through working on the homelessness file. And the reason it's -- this integrated service delivery and homelessness are in EIA is because integrated service delivery was formerly under the Department of Justice, and it's tough to get people to listen to the Department of Justice; it's easier to get people to listen to something coming out of the Premier's office and so we can, you know, force departments' hand a bit more when it comes to integrated services. That being said, the focus on homelessness has in some ways overtaken some of the work on integrated service delivery, and so I am thinking about, you know, the placement of things like that. And in terms of the broader question about -- you know, I've heard the conversation many times that MACA could be sort of divvied up and parts of it put in other departments. I think that the access that community leaders have right now to a Cabinet Member is probably better than it would be if it was under the Premier. There's only so many hours in the day, and I want to make sure that I'm available to, you know, Indigenous leaders, you know, all of my federal counterparts, MLAs, and I wouldn't want all the mayors and councillors to be squeezed out, and so I think that having a dedicated MACA Minister who is that direct line to communities, it still has a lot of value to it. That being said, I'm always happy to look at -- we're always continuously looking at how we operate and if there's better ways do it, and I try to balance that with the fact that organizational change can suck all the air out of the room and everything else can stop moving ahead while you do that organizational change and people get up to speed on the new roles and all of that work as well. So it's a bit of a balancing act, but I appreciate the Member's comments. Thank you.

Thank you. I'm going to go back to the Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a minor comment, although it may not be exactly on this page, but I ask for your grace on allowing.

One of the -- it was mentioned by the Premier about the integrated service process, and I just would be -- I'd disappoint myself if I didn't highlight this area which is one of the challenges I often hear when it's being led by initiative and across multi-departments is no one's in charge. And, you know, so not picking on anyone in particular, but I'll just say the ECC Minister is the lead of something -- I'm just not picking on you -- but the problem is it integrates other departments and so the ECC Minister is not in charge of the staff under MACA, and hence, you know -- and health, etcetera, and everybody seems to coalesce in some way the night before the report's due but the fact is that there's no way to work with them together because they have to keep going up and down, up and down, and there's no lateral support or reporting lines; it's literally a mess, and it's difficult -- and I hear this from the staff, the management, the leadership within, that the fact is that, you know, the ECC DM or director and that can't tell an employee in MACA what to do and hence they don't do it so people are all saddled with, you know, hot potatoing issues around. So just as a reminder that, you know, as the phrase is brought up, you know, there's got to be a better way to do this. I'm not sure what the better way is, but I'm just going to say is we have some pretty smart people that I acknowledge that can find a better way to do business, and this is just one area I thought I'd mention given the opportunity. Thank you.

Thank you. Did the Minister want to respond?

Sure, yes, I can make some comments on that. So, you know, there are cases where the departments do have integrated teams, and so while you might not have the DM from one department directing an employee from another department, there is integration. So there's those internal structures in place. And the reason that this is under EIA and the Premier's office is because I recognize the difficulties in getting departments to work together. I was Minister of ECE. I was Minister of Justice. I had difficulty getting ECE and justice to work together. So I'm very much aware of these issues, and working to address them. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. Next on my list I have is the Member from the Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think it's underneath this section but within this department here. As I mentioned in my Member's statement here earlier today, and we've had some ongoing discussions with this department here for the government's presence and support to bringing food security to the Sahtu communities, and we had to postpone our last planning engagement. It's not convenient for the communities during the winter road season as they're all travelling before it closes. So we're looking at community engagements there with Food Bank Canada and Nutrition North representatives here sometime in the neighbourhood of mid April.

So I want to ask the -- I want to ask the Premier and Minister for this department, the ongoing support I would say or the continued support, I'll wait for this budget to be approved, and then I'll have my hand out knowing the numbers are going to be approved. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you. I am glad the Member has such confidence that this budget is going to be approved; I appreciate that. And I appreciate the Member's advocacy. I know the Sahtu has the highest cost of living in the Northwest Territories and, you know, we do have a number of programs to fund, you know, food, whether it's funding for a food bank, whether it's funding that goes directly to schools, or whether it's other programs we have that allow for some sort of, you know, food distribution under them. And so we do have a lot of that. We are also engaged with the federal government on the Nutrition North program that will be providing feedback to the new ministerial special representative on that as well. And I do understand that there is a -- some events happening this summer and, you know, if there's an availability to meet while, you know, in Yellowknife while that organization is here, we'd be happy to do that as well. So thank you.

Okay, thank you. I'll go to the Member from the Sahtu.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks for the reply to that. I feel encouraged that the continued support is there. When I visit small communities, yes, the cost of living is high, cost of groceries is high, and when we hear comments and announcements made that the food program is getting another $45,000, you should see the overwhelming smiles on the parents and teachers. So it's really encouraging to keep motivated to help our communities when you see those smiling faces. Thank you. That's more of a comment there, Mr. Chair. Mahsi.

Thank you. I'll just take it as a comment and continue on. Okay, thank you. There's no -- any further questions? Okay, no further questions, please turn to page 137.

Executive and Indigenous Affairs, governance and services integration, operations expenditure summary, 2025-2026 Main Estimates, $11,435,000. Does the committee agree?

Thank you. I'm going to continue on. Now moving on to health care system sustainability on page 140 with information items on page 142. Are there any questions? I'm going to go to the Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.

Mr. Chair, I move the chair rise and report progress.