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

No trespassing, Mr. Speaker. I'm referring to a no trespassing Act. Mr. Speaker, it's almost impossible to remove someone who is unwanted on a particular property, business, or even in a private situation.

Mr. Speaker, individuals can hold property owners hostage on their own property because they are exercising their rights to be there. Where is the fairness in this, Mr. Speaker? Where is the rule of law? Where is the basic reason of understanding, Mr. Speaker? Mr. Speaker, where is the fairness when you empower an encampment to be on your property? Where is the process to ban them, to make them move along? The citizens believe the law is broken with no law.

Mr. Speaker, when you have a grocery store that can't stop people from entering who are known for stealing from it or causing disruption with staff and patrons, what are you left to do other than complain to your politicians who he looks and won't do anything.

Mr. Speaker, I've come to learn that moving at the speed of government has become a trend here, if not a fact, and moving at the speed means is slow, if not backwards, as possible. I know they want to do the right thing, but in my experience that's after trying the wrong thing ten times.

Mr. Speaker, when citizens try to go home -- Northern Heights is a good example -- you have a cluster of people, 20 people, blocking the entrance of their home. They intimidate them. They block them. They demand things. They scare people. It leads to lower quality of life. And I guarantee you, I can't imagine that improves property value. There's no law on the books, but it's a slippery slope. When you start tolerating this, it emboldens them. You give them food, it entrenches them. You fence them in to protect them, you empower them. You provide toilets, you've given them a reason to be there. And of course, all through this process you end up acquiescing them by giving them, by your reluctance, to address the problem. This gives them rights over your rights, over owner rights. No court will remove them once you've emboldened them, protected them, tolerated them, and now provided for them, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I only took trespass laws packages from four jurisdictions, and there are more. I've got Alberta, BC, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia. They are less than six pages each. I'll be speaking to the government today during question period. Because if they don't want to do this, maybe a Private Member's bill is time to address this issue. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Members' statements.

Colleagues, on May 1st I had the opportunity to preside over the 2025 Youth Parliament. I have to say it was a great to witness these young people be MLAs. Today, I have the pleasure of sharing the Member from the Nahendeh, Payton Bennet, statement.

I am speaking to you today about the inadequacies I have seen regarding facilities, access to training, and insufficient space in our smaller communities compared to the bigger centers like Yellowknife, Hay River, Inuvik, and Fort Smith.

Today I'm speaking for youth athletes. I've done a variety of sports that are available throughout the different seasons in Fort Simpson, including speed skating, soccer, snowboarding, and basketball. I've witnessed and experienced different issues associated with sports in northern communities firsthand. After participating and competing in sport while growing up in small communities, I've grown up understanding that the larger towns will always have advantages that leads to be more successful. I have coached children from the ages of 3 to 10 in speed skating. I love watching them grow in the sport, and have fun with it, although I want more for them. They have already accomplished so much; I want them to continue making achievements. They deserve to continue to feel proud and have the pride in their sport. All kids across the Northwest Territories deserve that but especially in the smaller communities.

I feel that the territorial sports organizations, school districts and school boards must engage in meaningful discussions on how to approach the idea of giving equal access, along with attention to sports, in the smaller communities. This includes addressing barriers such as limited access to proper facilities, inadequate funding, insufficient training for community coaches, and beneficial camps for young athletes. I have observed, and experienced athletes have shorter seasons in training due to weather conditions affecting their facilities.

I have seen many youths in the North use sports as a constructive outlet. It provides them with an activity, a place to go to cope, and get away with their personal challenges. I've seen my peers grow together as individuals.

I want to advocate for all the youth across the North that would like to be involved in sport. I will continue to bring attention to these ongoing issues. I encourage others to understand the unique circumstances small communities deal with.

Mr. Speaker, I respectfully urge the Government of the Northwest Territories to look at the way the smaller community sport is funded and supported. I feel that the smaller community athletes have a good chance at making teams more often if they are given the attention they deserve. This is done by recognizing the community athletes as strong and equal to the larger-centered athletes.

Along with consistent learning and growing opportunities and frequent access to the facilities that do exist through training trips. Ultimately these youth deserve the resources to achieve. Thank you, Ms. Payton Bennet.

Members' statements. Motions. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Sarah Jane Dempster, the president of the Northern Territories Federation of Labour who is here today with her son Corbin Dempster. Welcome to your House; really glad you could be here.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery.

If we missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to your chamber. I hope you are enjoying the proceedings. It's always nice to see people in the gallery and allow us to represent you in the Northwest Territories.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Acknowledgements. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to take this time to acknowledge two graduating students from Ecole St. Patrick High School, which is in my riding. I want to Congratulate Audrey Debogorski and Stella Fairman on their achievements. Along with the accomplishment of graduating from Ecole St. Patrick High School, Ms. Debogoski and Ms. Fairman are both receiving the Loran Award from the Loran Scholars Foundation. These students were selected, from amongst 6,000 applicants nation-wide, to become two of the 36 Loran Scholars for 2025. The award includes a four-year post-secondary scholarship, leadership-enrichment program and a mentorship program.

Congratulations and all the best to Ms. Debogorski and Ms. Fairman, and I want to say how proud our entire community is of you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand why people do encampments. There are a variety of reasons, whether they're exercising their freedoms, they're demonstrating political statements, affordability and, of course, addictions and other types. It's not meant to be an all-inclusive list, but there's reasons why.

Mr. Speaker, knowing that the government isn't moving forward on the Trespass Act any time in the foreseeable future, it may be on a list for one day in the fulsome of time, but the truth be told is we need to act now.

So the question to the Minister of Justice is would he be supportive of accelerating the Trespass Act within this next sitting -- upcoming sitting. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Member for the question. Totally agree. I think that, you know, the three pieces of legislation that we've been targeting from the Department of Justice, the SCAN legislation, the Trespass Act, and the Civil Forfeiture Act, are certainly high on a priority list since I've become Minister of Justice and continue to have conversations with the department about moving these forward. And we've already accelerated the timeline from where it was originally proposed and, you know, we'll continue to work toward trying to bring that quickly to the House as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the spirit of collaboration, that was the nicest no I've heard all week.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier yesterday -- I'm not going to quote him in specifics because I don't have it in front of me, but he said it's the time to do things. So less talk, a lot more engagement and walk.

Mr. Speaker, would the government be supportive if a Private Member, such as myself, brought forward a Private Member's bill noting that most of these examples, whether they're Alberta and Nova Scotia, Manitoba, BC, are less than six pages? Would the government be open to a proposal from a Private Member? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a considerable amount of work is already underway toward the Trespass Act. An LP is being currently developed. A lot of research has already started to address the fact that, you know, all the provinces within Canada have a Trespass Act. Unfortunately, the three territories, as of today, do not. It's certainly a priority of mine, as I said, to push this forward as quickly as possible and I am happy to, you know, continue in that direction. Certainly, you know, respect the Private Members -- or the Member's right to move forward with a Private Member's bill if he so chooses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Justice. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Mr. Speaker, I'm always happy to do the government's work for them so anything they want to share with me, I'd be pleased. And that's not the question, but certainly I hope that's embedded in there somewhere.

Mr. Speaker, I want to point out and finish with families are feeling emotionally hostage, their personal safety, financial costs, and it's impacting their general daily lives. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister be willing to share what they have prepared today on this initiative? Because I'll push to move forward on a draft bill this coming fall so we can actually see some action in this Assembly with some new meaningful legislation that affects the day-to-day lives of citizens. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I previously said, a lot of work is already started on this initiative and just prior to coming into the sitting today, I did have my staff reach out to the Department of Justice and ask them to provide me with an update on how quickly we could advance these three pieces of legislations quicker than the planned accelerated timeline that I spoke to yesterday. So happy to share that information with the House as soon as it's available. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Justice. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said in my Member's statement, there's very serious concerns in Fort Simpson and in the Deh Cho education region. Mr. Speaker, the district educational authority, the district educational council, have all made recommendation along the following lines: Immediate administrative action to remove or reassign the individuals in question pending investigation, an independent review of the incidents of leaderships practices, trauma-informed support for affected staff and students, and inclusive leadership that reflects community values, fosters trust, and prioritizes safety and accountability.

My question today is, will the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment honour the recommendations of these duly elected boards and implement them immediately? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is due process that needs to take place with anything that has to do with public servants in this territory. While we do have an Education Act, the Education Act also has clauses that points to the Public Service Act, and we do have a Northwest Territories Teachers' Association who has a collective agreement. We need to make sure that we are operating with due process in the territory while respecting the residents of the territory as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I hear what the Minister is saying but what about the due process of parents? Of students? Of the elected board, so the people who ran to solve problems and are being told they're not allowed; what does the Minister have to say to them? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is a responsibility on all of us to ensure that we have healthy relationships across this territory. We are a small territory, and we are all very intimately connected and we all, I would like to believe, at the end of the day have the common goal of the success and prosperity of Northerners and our northern children at heart. I am using the tools that I have at my disposable, Mr. Speaker. I am listening to many of those DEA members who are also parents, listening to DEC members, and have never been in a position to not have those conversations. These conversations are incredibly important and finding a path forward is my focus. Thank you.