Thank you. Does the Department of Education, Culture and Employment have a plan to address the need for academic upgrading and basic literacy programming in small communities, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is no concrete plan at this time until we determine some clarity around what (audio) continue to hold. There is an existing MOU and contribution agreement for Aurora College to deliver adult learning and basic education through the community learning centres. So if that is not an MOU that they intend to continue, ultimately ECE will still remain responsible for ensuring that there are education and employment opportunities within small communities, and so that work is yet to come. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister tell me will the funding that was allocated for community learning centres be reinvested into opportunities for adult learners in the NWT, for specifically small communities. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So within that MOU that I spoke of, it is a contribution agreement that does go to Aurora College to be able to deliver the adult learning and basic education throughout the CLCs throughout the Northwest Territories, so that funding ultimately would -- any that was not used through the contribution agreement and the MOU with Aurora College would then come back to the department of education, and the department of education would still have the responsibility for ensuring that we're enhancing those opportunities within communities. Thank you.

Thank you, minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions will be directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services.

Will the department consider funding willing communities to establish a working committee to counsel potential individuals who would like to enter the substance abuse program? At the present time, the interested individuals who want to go for treatment have to seek counselling elsewhere, so they have to leave the community. And the community members know best who need the help, and they know each other. So will the department consider funding potential communities with these committees? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Mackenzie Delta. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this area where the Member is speaking to has been identified. There were changes put in place to ensure that programs for wellness and recovery addictions can be in one pot of money and be flexible. So within health and social services, we have the Community Wellness and Addiction Recovery Fund which Indigenous -- regional Indigenous governments can apply, and then there's a deadline if there is no uptake in the regional governments and the community Indigenous governments can apply individually as they're -- you know, for their needs of their community. But what I can say is for the Member's riding, the Gwich'in Tribal Council, which would cover two of the communities through -- well, actually three of the communities that the -- were approved for $303,033. And then the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation has a multiyear agreement that does also provide programming individually for those communities. There's also an additional pot of funding that Tetlit Gwich'in band council has accessed and their CA is in progress. There is the suicide prevention fund so that can be used to promote wellness and programming within those communities. Again, there has been $72,000 allocated in this budget for Gwich'in Tribal Council to provide programs and the Tetlit Gwich'in Council, $71,000 signed for those communities. So all of that money has been allocated to be able to be used in those communities as per the community wishes. So, you know, and then alongside of that health and social services still does provide clinical counsellors. The health and social services still provides if there is a need for out-of-territory treatment, so there is many -- and then if they're NHIB clients, there is medical travel to help assist to support those that are under those NHIB addiction recovery programs. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for all that information. That's real good news to hear that money has been allocated. There's another barrier that, you know, that we have to look at policies and procedures that will go hand in hand with these committees if they're established at the community level. Will the department look at assisting these communities with policies and procedures in order to make this committee work effectively? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as for, you know, I think committees, we do have the regional wellness councils that do help, and there are members from the Member for Mackenzie Delta's riding on the regional wellness council. They do provide feedback. Mental health and addictions have been one that has been highlighted by many of the regions and especially from the Beaufort Delta. This area -- you know, the thing is is that we do collaborate with the communities on the GNWT provided programs. There has been, you know, some work done in the Beaufort Delta on how we provide services within our communities at the community level working with Indigenous governments. But as well as those funds that we give, like all of the money that I had mentioned before that we give to those Indigenous governments, that is on them to decide how they want to use those monies and we don't have any -- like, other than it's used for wellness and recovery and addictions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Are there any active committees like that are actively working in to helping their residents of these small communities that we can learn from that are active within the NWT at the present time? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would have to have further conversations with the Member to understand the committees that he's wanting information about. As I mentioned, we have the regional wellness councils that give the input to NTHSSA on how programs work. Those are vital committees. They're members from the local communities. And, again, the direction of how those monies that are flowing to the Indigenous governments would be through their own committees to do that, so. But I'm willing to have more conversations with the Member to figure out how to respond to if there is more work that can be done to support Indigenous and small communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I hear what the Member is saying, and I too have had these conversations as soon as I became the Minister. However, before there was this -- the bereavement pot of money that sits within the health and social services to assist with low income families, you know, to assist with caskets and some funeral costs; however, over the years, this has been sole sourced, you know, and so there were issues coming up about how in procurement that this is not fair. I guess I don't -- I wasn't part of any -- most of those discussions. However, now as the health and social services Minister, this has gone through procurement, and so the program that we currently have that the funding is allocated is procured to a business and that business, whenever somebody needs to access that fund, has to go through that person, that contract that's been approved for these funds. However, we also have heard many of these issues so, you know, these -- this is something that we can always take the feedback and, you know, when looking at this contract when it comes up, you know, we can take a look at it from all the feedback in how we move forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We had an elder that passed just before Christmas and who had worked for the Government of the Northwest Territories for a long time and very well-respected in our community and when a casket was provided, it was provided to the elder in the community, and we learned that that casket was used. And in our culture, people get really offended and upset about that kind of thing. So my question to the Minister is what can we do better so that this does not happen again to -- especially to our elders and loved ones in our community. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I can do is I can commit to looking into the delivery of the service to better understand how it's -- you know, how it's operating within our communities just so that there's more clear understanding for myself -- not just for myself, but for residents in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, also I just want to bring up another issue is that when we have loved ones that have left our communities to go south or to be with family and that and sometimes they pass away and they need to come home, the thing is that the way the government has their policy set up, they -- because they're out of province, the family would have to go to the chief and council, the Metis council, and look at ways to try to bring the body back to the community. I just want to know if the Minister is open to looking at how we can fix this problem because originally these guys that are -- our members have moved away and they come back, so we want to see what we can do as a government to help out in this -- on a policy directive to look at this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, when a loved one dies, you know, and whether they're in our home, whether they're anywhere, this is a hard and difficult time; however, this program, this is intended to support current eligible NWT residents, you know, and I think if they are NWT residents and they are outside the territory when they pass away, we've had this conversation in the House that people that travel outside the Northwest Territories for any type of recreation, you know, visiting, holidays, business, anything, you know, if you're travelling on business, you're usually covered by your employer but if you're travelling for your own personal, you should be looking at out -- like, for travel insurance, and I mean that is something that we've heard many times happening recently. And so getting that information out to our residents that, you know, it does cost if something happens, you know, while you're outside of the territory. But this program here is intended for Northwest Territories residents. Thank you.

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