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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the NTHSSA and the department, you know, they work closely together and they work with their partners with the medical association on, you know -- and I'll highlight an article today that the medical association is doing a lot of things that they feel that they can try to, you know, work with their staff; however, turnover in physicians throughout the Northwest Territories, historically, you know, has happened but this, again -- and I highlight this is not something that is isolated to the Northwest Territories. This is something that my colleagues, health Ministers in jurisdictions across Canada, are struggling with. There is some work being done at the national level to identify -- as I recently was at the FPT, and we had this discussion on data. So we actually know what the vacancy rates are in physicians and primary care physicians and family physicians, in specialty areas, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, all of the fields that we are currently seeing that we have vacancies in. And, Mr. Speaker, one of the things that they've identified through gathering that data is the amount of positions that -- or amount of spaces in schools that are producing -- that are college students and, you know, going into. The graduates of all of those programs across Canada are not even enough to fill those gaps with the numbers of people that average retire through every year. So there is a national plan on looking at how can we open up more seats across Canada, how can we use that data to improve, you know, providing more training, more health professionals across Canada, because that's the area that we're struggling right now across Canada in. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that's a great assessment of the problem but we're looking for solutions, and the Minister mentioned the work the association's doing. But what's the work that the department is doing for recruitment and retention of physicians? She mentioned university spots, there's too few. Are we funding new university spots? Are we expanding the residency program? There's a ton of things we do that are actually very helpful that we've heard from physicians are useful. Are we going to expand those programs? Like, when are solutions going to come forward? We all know the problems. They're loud and clear in our ridings. They're loud and clear in our hospitals and clinics. So what are the solutions the Minister's bringing to the table? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the solutions that we are doing is we are actually doing the health sustainability system review. We need to find out what our core systems are and the dollars that we are getting in that -- you know, and if there's changes to our system that are going to support our core programs to make them more robust and to be able to do the things that we need to do to attract more physicians or health care workers within the system, we need to get that work done. That is the big part of the work that needs to get done because we have a system that is constantly, you know, moving. It's a 365-day system that never stops within health and the other work that we're doing is we're now looking at models of care in the small communities, and so that way we're looking at primary care reform. You know, we're looking at ways that other health care professionals can do and work at the scope of their -- like, their profession. And that takes the burden off the physicians to do the things that they can do. You know, we've heard from physicians what their thoughts are in primary care reform. We're working with them. The PA is working with them to continue this work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in 2023-2024, we lost a family physician, an obstetrician, a pediatrician. These are frontline physicians that provide primary care services that families need, that Northerners need. I get the public administrator is busy doing this work. We haven't seen that plan. So I'm going to turn again to this: What's the public administrator's role in this, and when are we allowed to find out about it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned before, we will be having -- offering a briefing to standing committee within the early first quarter of the next fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, back, I believe in June of last year during oral question 253-20(1), my question, I was asking about the future of Rockhill. And the Minister in her response said that they had an agreement with the NWT Disabilities Council, and that's in Hansard, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to get an update with respect to what's happening with that agreement, and is it moving forward in what form, either with the disabilities council or what is happening with that property? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in February I shared a highly confidential letter with MLAs that indicated the progress with the Rockhill properties. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, Mr. Speaker, there must be some future with respect to what's happening with both. The Minister can speak to that. And it's her letter, so it's not confidential if she speaks about it. It's confidential if I speak to it. So that said, can she enlighten the House as to the direction of this relationship: A, with Rockhill; and, B, with the NWT Disabilities Council; which way or where is it going? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The most important thing we're doing with Rockhill properties is we're working in collaboration. We want NWT Disabilities Council to succeed, but we also want Housing NWT to succeed. We have a prime piece of property in downtown Yellowknife. We have potential projects on the go, and we want this to succeed. But we have to work in collaboration; we have to work together. Success is really important, especially with Yellowknife. I mean, we have many families on the waitlist that are looking for Yellowknife housing. So it's important we work in collaboration, and that's what we're doing, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm trying to find out has any new agreement or objective, even a handshake deal, been done between any of these situations that can be clarified in the House? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Nothing to share at this moment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT.

Colleagues, time is up for oral questions. Oral questions. Written questions. Returns to written questions. Replies to the Commissioner's address. Petitions. Tabling of documents. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following documents: First is Towards a Basic Income Guarantee in the Northwest Territories prepared by PlanItNorth for Alternatives North. And second is Towards a Basic Income Guarantee in the Northwest Territories: A Proposal to Invest in People for the Common Good - Summary for Policy Makers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Tabling of documents. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned in my Member -- or sorry, my oral questions -- I think even mentioned in my Member's statement -- I have a draft joint working group terms of reference. And, again, I can't stress enough it's a draft to start a conversation off. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Tabling of documents. Notices of motion. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Thursday, March 13th, 2025, I will move the following motion:

Now therefore I move, seconded by the Member for Range Lake, that this Legislative Assembly calls upon the Government of the Northwest Territories to immediately halt any further advancement and implementation of the new Indigenous employment policy, also known as the IEP, and return to using the affirmative action policy without delay as the primary hiring guidelines for the Government of the Northwest Territories;

And further, that the Minister of Finance engage with the Standing Committee on Government Operations prior to any further changes in the Government of the Northwest Territories' hiring policy, to discuss and seek guidance that can improve the affirmative action policy which ultimately strengthens the Government of the Northwest Territories hiring practices with the intent that supports northern Indigenous, long-term Northerners, women, persons with disabilities, as well as other marginalized communities;

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Notices of motion. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Thursday, March 13th, 2025, I will move the following motion:

Now therefore I move, seconded by the Member for Monfwi, that the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly undertake a comprehensive review of healthcare management practices, bargaining structures and labour policies, in consultation with nurses, labour unions, independent professional associations, frontline healthcare workers, and other key stakeholders to identify and implement measures that:

1. reinforce workplace protections for nurses and healthcare workers, including improved work-life balance initiatives, competitive compensation, and mental health supports;
2. address management practices that contribute to low workplace morale, fostering a supportive and collaborative working environment;
3. strengthen recruitment and retention strategies for nurses and healthcare staff through focused incentives and stable workforce planning; and
4. increase accountability in the administration of health care in the Northwest Territories to ensure that policies reflect the realities of frontline work and lead to real improvements in working conditions in all healthcare settings including hospitals, health centres and health cabins;

And further, that the Legislative Assembly engage thoroughly with labour unions, professional associations, health agencies and Indigenous governments to ensure that these measures accurately reflect the needs of healthcare workers in the Northwest Territories;

And furthermore, that the comprehensive review of healthcare management practices, bargaining structures and labour policies, be referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for further study.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.