Thank you very much, Suzie Napayok. Please be seated.

Colleagues, before we get going here, I want to talk to a couple things. One, when we're asking questions, short preamble. Second and third questions, to the point. Ministers, short and precise answers, please. So we can all work together for the people of the Northwest Territories. So thank you.

Member from Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask for unanimous consent to move to item 5 which is recognition of visitors in the gallery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Hay River South. Member from Hay River South is asking unanimous consent to move number 5 up in the orders of the day. Hearing no nays, you may. Member from Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's an honour to be joined today by the grade 6ers from Hay River. They've been touring Yellowknife and having a great time, and we're happy to have them here in the legislature here today. So I would like to recognize, along with my colleague who will be reading the rest of the names, Hendrix Jones, Sofie Norn-Cardinal, Aaleyah Sabourin, Bailee McPherson, Chazlynn Lafleur, Kaelynn Lockhart, Raye McKay-Harris, Trent Sanguez, Ila Dean, Dyna Earle, McCoy Fraser, Jeremy Graham, Lexi Lafferty, Seamus Russell, and Addison Smith. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Hay River North. Member from Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to also recognize the grade 6 students from Hay River, Miya Taylor-Dumas, Jaxin Thompson, Bejamin Woehl, Jaxon Zdebiak, Parihaan Abrar, Scarlett Robillard, Emily Latour, Eleanor Bassett, and their chaperones Sherisse Bouchard -- chaperones and teachers, Sherisse Bouchard, Stephanie Haas, Adam Smith, Jillian Zdebiak, and their drivers taking them home safely this afternoon, Daniel Perron and Nicole Klause. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Hay River South. It's great to see these young people here. I appreciate you coming into our beautiful facility and seeing the capital, and I'd just like to recognize Mr. Danny, a former partner on the wrestling mat. He was the guy that beat me up all the time, so I thank you very much for being here. Hey, hey, hey, Member from Range Lake -- oh sorry, Yellowknife Centre, you be quiet. Anyways, so thank you very much for being here, and we appreciate having an audience here today.

Ministers' statements. Minister for Municipal and Community Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, as we move further into the high-risk season for flooding and wildfires, the Government of the Northwest Territories is taking every step to ensure we are ready for emergencies, with the capacity to respond swiftly, coordinate effectively, and work collaboratively with our partners to protect the safety and well-being of NWT residents and communities.

In recent years, our territory has witnessed the impacts of the changing climate and has faced increasingly severe and frequent emergencies including wildfires, floods, and evacuations have become part of our collective experience.

In the 2023 wildfire season, the most significant in our history, tested our systems, stretched our capacity, and placed immense strain on the residents and responders alike. It was a season that highlighted both the strength and the urgent need to continue improving how we all prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies.

As we continue into 2025 emergency season, I know some residents are feeling anxious and concerned. I want to reassure you that the Government of the Northwest Territories has taken significant steps to prepare for the weeks and months ahead. Our emergency management system has been strengthened through additional training, coordination, and planning efforts at all levels. We are investing in people, partnerships, and preparedness.

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs has supported community governments across the territory, who are in the lead in emergency response activities, by updating their community emergency plans. Community planning workshops and tabletop exercises have been delivered in every region. These exercises bring together leaders, first responders, and the Government of the Northwest Territories staff, to practice emergency scenarios, validate the plans, and clarify responsibilities. These exercises are vital tests of how we function and respond in high-pressure situations.

The Government of the Northwest Territories has also invested in building an internal surge capacity to support communities when emergencies strike. Currently, there are 137 staff members on the emergency management organization surge capacity list. Staff are encouraged to sign up to assist during emergencies when called upon.

As of last month, 106 staff received incident command system training, or ICS training, ranging from ICS-100 to ICS-400. This training ensures that when emergencies occur, trained personnel are available and ready to support response operations across the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, emergency preparedness is not only the job of the Government of the Northwest Territories but also a shared responsibility. That is why the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs launched the Be Ready campaign in 2025. This public awareness initiative helps residents understand risks and take practical steps to prepare for emergencies. The campaign encourages people to build or check their 72-hour emergency kits, speak to their insurance providers, and develop household emergency plans.

My personal emergency plan and emergency kit was shared on a video on my Facebook page earlier in May.
While we focus on the present, we are also building for the future. Earlier this month, an independent after-action review of the 2023 wildfire emergency response was released. This review was conducted by a third party with an oversight from representatives of the Government of the Northwest Territories, Indigenous governments, and Members of the House. The after-action review is not intended to assign blame; rather, it aims to identify opportunities to improvef that will benefit the residents, the responders, and the future of our communities. It provides a detailed assessment of the emergency response efforts to the numerous wildfires during the 2023 season. And it outlines a path forward with clear recommendations.

The Government of the Northwest Territories will respond to the recommendations in the report, many of which have already been identified from lessons learned and have been implemented. Several of these recommendations are already shaping our work to improve our emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts, including enhanced training, updating emergency planning tools, improved coordination with Indigenous governments, and modernized financial assistance policies.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories is prepared for the 2025 flood and wildfire season. We have strengthened our systems, trained our people, and reinforced our partnerships. We are encouraging and supporting residents to act through the Be Ready campaign. This is how we build safe and more resilient communities in the Northwest Territories. Be prepared together. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Ministers' statements. Minister for ITI.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories is proud to serve as Chair of the Committee on Internal Trade this year, at a time when Canada's economic unity, supply chain resilience, and competitiveness are more important than ever.
We may be a small jurisdiction, but we are punching above our weight. You know what they say, never waste a good crisis and we are not.

I am proud of sustained efforts of provinces, territories, and the federal government to reduce internal trade barriers and build a stronger, more connected economy. This work is about ensuring that every part of the country, including the North, can fully participate and thrive.

Improving internal trade is not just about regulatory alignment. It is about building economies, supporting businesses, creating jobs, reducing costs, and improving access to goods and services for people in every region. For the North, where infrastructure gaps, high transportation costs, and limited year-round access to communities are major challenges, the stakes are especially high.

Earlier this year, the Committee on Internal Trade submitted a consensus-based package of recommendations to Canada's First Ministers. These included reducing party-specific exceptions under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, concluding negotiations on financial services, improving labour mobility, advancing mutual recognition of goods, and supporting new approaches to domestic trade promotion and direct-to-consumer alcohol sales. These recommendations were endorsed by First Ministers in February.

Since then, we have seen meaningful progress. Five governments have identified more than forty trade exceptions they are prepared to eliminate, and they continue to work on more. Work is underway to integrate financial services into the Canada Free Trade Agreement. Jurisdictions have agreed to push regulatory alignment that ensures that if a consumer product, excluding food, is approved in one part of Canada, it can be sold in another part without needing to go through the regulatory process all over again. This is the kind of practical change that makes a difference for businesses, workers, and consumers.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories has been a strong voice at the table. We have worked to ensure that the perspectives of northern and remote regions with developing economies and infrastructure gaps are reflected throughout this process. That includes advancing sector-specific work like the Mutual Recognition Pilot Project in the trucking sector, which was announced following last year's CIT meeting. Earlier this month, the northern Premiers agreed to explore the creation of a territorial trade zone. This would respect modern treaties and land claims, while promoting economic opportunities across the North. It is an exciting development, and we look forward to continuing that work with Indigenous governments and industry.

As Chair, I have approached this work with the same values that guide our work in this House: collaboration, respect, and consensus. We may come from different regions with different priorities, but we have shown that when governments work together, progress is possible and it is happening.

Mr. Speaker, labour mobility is a key part of this effort. In March, First Ministers tasked the committee with working alongside the Forum of Labour Market Ministers to improve the movement of workers across the country. That is a clear priority for the Northwest Territories.

We know that healthy communities depend on strong populations and strong workforces. While we have relatively few formal barriers to labour mobility, we do not yet have legislation that formally supports these principles. That is why we will be working directly with regulatory bodies here in the NWT to make sure national goals are implemented in ways that reflect our unique context.

At the same time, I want to be clear. Our remaining trade exemptions are carefully scoped. They support our economic development, Arctic sovereignty, and recovery from climate-related impacts. They also reflect the fact that the territories face amplified challenges compared to provinces, including smaller and more vulnerable industries, and significant infrastructure gaps.

Mr. Speaker, strengthening internal trade does not mean ignoring regional realities. It means working together to move forward in a way that supports all regions fairly and equitably. Economic growth in the territories is essential to Canada's long-term success. Our government will continue to work with local industry, regulatory bodies, and Indigenous governments to make sure Northerners have a voice in this work and a stake in the solutions.
At a time when external trade pressures are growing, including the risk of new tariffs on Canadian goods, strengthening trade within our own country is more important than ever. As Chair of the Committee on Internal Trade, I remain committed to advancing real and lasting change for the Northwest Territories and for all Canadians. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of ITI. Ministers' statements. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife North.

Mr. Speaker, at the end of March, I attended the Renewables in Remote Communities conference in Whitehorse, and today I'd like to share a few of my takeaways, especially around promising renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives being led by northern and remote communities. One thing that may be of interest is that Arctic Energy Alliance has produced some brand-new mini books and flashcards with words and terms related to energy that are translated into several Indigenous languages. Hopefully, we can get those books to our interpreters here at the ledge.

It became clear that out of all of the territories and provinces represented at the conference, the NWT is the furthest behind in that we are the last ones to come up with the policy on independent power producers, which communities have been asking for a long time. This is important because many Indigenous development corporations and communities would like to own the assets to be able to produce their own renewable energy and then sell that power to the power corporation or the GNWT. Another policy change that's long overdue is increasing the current cap of 20 percent on intermittent renewable generation. What I've learned, though, is how communities such as Inuvik have been getting around this restrictive cap by helping to stabilize their system with more battery energy storage. Inuvik is the territory's biggest non-hydro community, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn it has well over 150 percent penetration with renewable technologies, such as solar and wind.

I also heard loud and clear that for these community-led renewable energy projects to be sustainable, we need more federal funding to support operations, not just capital, and the GNWT needs to fund more training for community members to install and maintain and repair the energy technologies because it doesn't do any good to invest money in shiny new technology that sits there broken or unused.

I met with the Gwich'in company Dinjii Zhuh Solutions which is aiming to set a new standard for sustainable housing and reduce home heating costs. They've already completed energy audits on 36 homes and retrofits on five homes in Fort McPherson, and they're looking to scale up to retrofit 120 homes over five years. They're looking to overcome challenges in getting contractors and materials by establishing local training programs and a centralized material hub. Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thanks to my colleagues. Mr. Speaker, the NWT has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to renewable energy, but we have no shortage of passion and energy in our communities to drive it forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I tend to write out my statements in advance as a way to collect my thoughts. I'm going to do a little bit differently today, with bullets. It's so I can speak a little bit better from my heart and my experience.

So with the release of the after-action review, it's pretty clear to me that we have a long ways to go to become a more people-centered government, and I think that that's always a goal that will always exist. In speaking with my constituents, there is less of a desire now for a formal public inquiry after those two after-action reviews have been conducted by both ECC and EIA and MACA. That said, I do understand and respect for some residents that closure has not come and may never come. The after-action review that was released recently details this in extensive amounts as to why.

We, as a territory, need to heal from this collective trauma. We -- at least I can speak for myself -- have been compartmentalizing, and that doesn't really work in the long-term.

There's still a desire to see officials express regret for missteps and ownership for actions that could have gone much better. I specifically want to thank certain people in the public service. That would be Aggie, Emily, Jay, Jennifer and Mike, but also many more who didn't have a public face and didn't interact with the media in daily briefings. Thank you to all of those who redeployed in that chaos, especially those who tried their best to help fellow residents at evacuation centres while they were evacuees themselves. Thank you, especially, to all of our firefighters and support staff who faced down a freight train of wildfire. And thank you very much to my ECC family and the loss that we all experienced of a firefighter on that year.

Mr. Speaker, it is an awful topic, it is a heavy topic, but I will have questions for the Premier later today. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to take the opportunity today to further highlight the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment's Report on the Review of Land Use Permitting and Water Licensing Regulatory Framework in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, our Cabinet, through their mandate commitment, one of their commitments is to ensure regulatory systems and decision-making are consistent, efficient, and predictable. Mr. Speaker, when Cabinet released those commitments, I committed back to push them on those commitments, push them on the mandate, and to focus my work on doing what I can to help achieve those commitments.

Mr. Speaker, I also spoke previously in the Assembly to the concept of red tape and how, when speaking about our regulatory system, this is often a lot of criticism about the red tape that people had to cut through. But I found that those conversations tended to focus on either fundamental changes or removal of the system altogether and didn't get into the weeds of figuring out what's wrong with the system and what needs to be improved to change it. Knowing that the system is not going anywhere, Mr. Speaker, the regulatory system in the Northwest Territories is foundationally rooted in land claims, and we've learned through court challenges that the system is not going anywhere. And so we needed to cut through the fog of this discussion and identify what's not working and why and lay out a path for change.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that standing committee's report does just that, and I'm particularly proud of this work and want to echo that the comments made by the Member for Yellowknife Centre yesterday thanking our excellent staff for their work on this report.

Mr. Speaker, if fully implemented, I think this report could lead to significant positive change. Certainly, no single report is going to be a panacea, but the recommendations in here lay out a path in a very complex system for changes that could be made, tangible changes, that could lead us to a more efficient, more meaningful participation in a regulatory system that's working better. So I'm particularly proud of it, wanted to take this opportunity today to highlight it, and to just highlight it for Cabinet and note that I am going to be holding you to account for implementation of this report and will continue to pressure the Ministers, the relevant Ministers, on it, and look forward to doing that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the week of May the 5th to the 9th, a Sahtu tour took place to discuss the critical issues of food security and food sovereignty in our region. We met with local leaders, elders, community members, who generously shared their thoughts, concerns, innovative ideas, about addressing affordability.

Mr. Speaker, these meetings were a huge success with participation from community members, leaders, investing in finding sustainable solutions. The discussions were heartfelt and productive, touching on traditional harvesting practices, modern food distribution challenges, and potential collaborative approaches.

I would like to personally thank Food Banks Canada, Nutrition North, and Sysco Canada for their travelling to our remote Sahtu communities and for their commitment to understand our unique northern challenges. Their expertise and willingness to listen to community voices were invaluable to the success of the tour.

I also want to express my sincere appreciation to CBC and Cabin Radio for their excellent media coverage throughout the tour. Their thoughtful reporting highlighted the significant hardships that are faced in the communities, including the high cost -- extremely high cost of food, limited access to fresh produce, and the importance of traditional food in maintaining cultural connections.

I'd also like to extend my special thanks to Buffalo Airways for providing the chartered services. Their discounted rate for the charter made it possible for our diverse group to visit all Sahtu communities despite the vast distances between them.

Mr. Speaker, the community members and leaders in the communities came together, shared their personal experiences with food insecurity, and asked thoughtful questions about how they can realize food security, the discussions -- Mr. Speaker, I request an extension to conclude my statement. Mahsi.

---Unanimous consent granted

Mahsi cho, colleagues. The questions revealed a strong desire to blend traditional knowledge with modern solutions, creating food systems that are culturally appropriate, environmentally sustainable, and economically viable for our communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And now the work begins on logistics.

Thank you, Member from the Sahtu.

Colleagues, before we continue with Members' statements, I'd like to recognize members of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada's team that are here in relation to the publication of the Auditor General's report on protected and conserved areas in the Northwest Territories, and I apologize to the people if I say your name wrong:

• Jerry Demarco, Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development;
• Carey Agnew, principal auditor;
• Emilie Anne Duval, director, territorial liaison.

Welcome to the Assembly, and thank you for your work.

Members' statements. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last September, the NWT's new Extended Health Care Benefits Policy took effect, replacing the old specified disease condition program, with an income-based model that now covers drugs, medical supplies, dental care, and vision care for everyone who qualifies. The program requires residents to register and go through an income testing process.

I am hearing, Mr. Speaker, from some residents in my community that they are unaware of the extended health benefits program which begs the question, Mr. Speaker, how is this program being communicated to those residents who need it most.

The Minister has told us that her department is monitoring uptake and refining the application process. I am curious about how that work is going and if the department is seeing any indications that certain pockets or demographics are being missed in their efforts to boost enrolment in this program. Are they seeing any gaps that may reflect challenges for residents with the new income-tested deductibles or confusion about eligibility requirements? Clear communication and targeted outreach are critical to make sure no one is left without the benefits they need.

Another concern, Mr. Speaker, is related to medical travel. Under the old SBC program, eligible residents were covered for travel for insured health services; however, medical travel is administered under the NWT medical travel policy which created a duplication. Mr. Speaker, I understand the Minister's working on modernizing and simplifying the medical travel program, and I wonder if any consideration has been given to folding the Medical travel policy into the extended health benefits framework. This could streamline administration, align cost sharing roles, and give residents one pathway to essential health benefits. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll have questions for the Minister of health later.

Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Members' statements. Member from Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Access to health care and addressing the effects of trauma is a priority of this Assembly. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, my colleague, the Member for Yellowknife North, touched on health promotion and well-being in our small communities, which is an issue I have raised in the past and something I am passionate about. We have people living with diabetes or cancer. Reliable health information can be life changing and lifesaving. Other people need information about quitting smoking, prevention, nutrition, getting active, sexual health, and education about substance abuse. Across the territory, and especially in small communities, we have high rates of alcohol use, smoking, chronic diseases, and sexually transmitted infections.

Mr. Speaker, this all needs to change. These rates need to go down, or our health system will become even more burdened than it currently is. During the fall session, the Minister of Health and Social Services said the community health representative in collaboration with the department of health and the RCMP had a campaign going on for illicit drugs. The current approach seems to be that the CHRs assess needs in the communities and then design programs based on those needs. I want to know what campaigns are in place in my riding to reach our youth, adult, and elders so that they can be aware of health issues, the risks, and how to manage them.

Mr. Speaker, I've said it before many times: I would like to see people being healthy, informed, and thriving. I do not want small communities to get left behind. I will have questions for the Minister at the appropriate time. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member from Range Lake.

Mr. Speaker, for many Northerners lacking access to a family doctor, the emergency room, once a last resort, has now become the only option for care. Month after month, I hear from constituents in Range Lake enduring six to ten-hour wait times for emergency room treatments that should be routine. How can we reasonably expect our doctors and nurses to provide safe and timely emergency care when their volume of patient overflows month after month thanks to gridlocks, cancellations, understaffing, alongside the alarming lack of access to primary care. Yet, year after year, the health and social services has failed to reflect these realities in its reports on statistics. Now the Minister suddenly insists that the ER will remain open by any means necessary, but so far her solutions amount to little more than adjusting shift schedules for a workforce already stretched to its limit without meaningful input from the professionals on the ground. If the Minister were to truly consult with frontline staff, she would hear unequivocally that Stanton requires at least a dozen more emergency physicians, yet currently, only two are in place. And it doesn't stop there.

The need is urgent for unit clerks, mental health nurses, care coordinators, social workers, lab assistants, and personnel to support elders and individuals struggling with addictions. When pressed on how she intends to reach appropriate staffing levels, the answer appears to be a revolving door of temporary workers, staff who must be constantly trained and oriented and who lack the necessary experience to respond to life threatening emergencies such as strokes or cardiac arrests.

This, Mr. Speaker, is not health care. This is chaos. And concerns about even further deterioration of our system are not hypothetical. They are the reality we've witnessed for far too long.

Last week, the Minister stood in a public forum and claimed that the Northwest Territories is the best place in Canada to get sick and seek treatment even as she admitted that residents cannot book a primary care appointment and, in many cases, can't even get someone to answer the phone. If the Minister cannot come before this chamber with a serious, credible plan, grounded in staff consultation, focused on real capacity building, then, Mr. Speaker, we may not have an emergency room at all this summer. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Members' statements. Member from Monfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about how we work in collaboration for the people of the Northwest Territories. The nature of our job as elected officials is to be a strong voice for the people we represent.

Mr. Speaker, the interpreters behind us are elders, and they watch over us when we are in this House. Also, the elders from our home communities are also watching us. Mr. Speaker, I can tell you our elders may not be registered psychologists or psychiatrists or psychoanalysts, but our elders have the knowledge and life experience to lead our communities in good times and bad. In our consensus government, my colleagues and I come together and make decisions that will have an effect on the lives of the residents of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, we must think of our elders as we do this work. They should always be respected and cared for. I believe it is important for all of us, as Members of the Legislative Assembly, to look to the elders as an example of how we interact with each other when we are in this House. Mr. Speaker, people in the Northwest Territories are our priority, and we need to work together for the benefit of all. Our elders teach us how to be responsible and respectful.

Mr. Speaker, I have recently learned that the Legislative Assembly has an elder on-site program. Members and staff can join an elder for quiet reflection, tea, and conversations in the tent behind this building. Mr. Speaker, this program is similar to the GNWT initiative like the elders in schools program. I would like to see more programs with elders in our public spaces, and I strongly encourage Members to visit with the elders at the Assembly. I will have question for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment at the appropriate time. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Members' statements. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the non-insured health benefit, NHIB program, is a fundamental right for all ineligible -- sorry, eligible First Nations and Inuit across Canada. For many of my constituents, it serves as a critical safety net, particularly in emergencies, where public or private insurance falls short. NIHB provides essential services, including medical transportation, when they are needed the most. However, I would like to bring attention to a recent case where the delivery of these benefits failed one of my constituents.

While travelling in Alberta, a constituent of mine became seriously ill and was hospitalized. As this was a personal trip and not a medical travel, they were deemed ineligible for medical transportation benefits. Compounding the issue, they did not have travel insurance. Recognizing that NIHB could apply in this urgent situation, my office immediately began working to secure access to these benefits. Unfortunately, due to jurisdictional administration barriers between Alberta and Northwest Territories, we face significant delays in Alberta.

Physicians could not initiate the NIHB process. This had to come from our own department in health and social services. Yet because the patients were hospitalized outside the NWT, the NTHSSA was unaware of this condition. As a result, we spent over two weeks navigating these barriers to access a service that should have been readily available.

Ultimately, coordination was achieved, and I want to thank the Minister and NTHSSA for their efforts, along with NIHB staff, but the delayed caused substantial emotional and financial strain for a family that should have been focused on supporting their loved one.

Mr. Speaker, this cannot happen again. We must ensure that NIHB services are available immediately and seamlessly regardless of location. I urge that NTHSSA to review this case, provide appropriate training, and develop protocols to prevent similar situations in the future. I look forward to working with the Minister to make this a reality. I would have questions for the Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Health care is what I'm going to talk to the House today.

Mr. Speaker, we have a great system, best system, some of the best people, Mr. Speaker, but all systems have their challenges. So, Mr. Speaker, when we talk about the heroic efforts that the nurses face or challenge every day, you know, we are a great -- we're of great appreciation of what they do. Mr. Speaker, often they're treated as the only people we talk about in the system, but they are the symbol of the system in the way we chat about them. Let us not forget there are many people that support this system, such as personal support workers, admins, techs, and the list goes on. So when we speak about nurses, sometimes we tend to forget to mention the other names so I don't want people to feel we don't think about them. They are on top of mind.

Mr. Speaker, but like every great system, a hospital is similar to what I would describe as the game Jenga. You can only put so many stresses and challenges on the system before it tumbles down. Nurses are on the vanguard of our healthcare system, Mr. Speaker, and often we talk about them in a way of being the first ones that we see to receive our health care. But I often wonder, you know, no matter how many health care czars we hire from far and wide, Mr. Speaker, will they get to the root of some of these challenges our system is facing?

Mr. Speaker, it seems to be that we're giving glazing efforts towards the management and relationship challenges, the pay equity challenges, and certainly the working condition challenges. Mr. Speaker, to go back, we don't seem to spend the time about finding out why the frustrations are there with the management challenges. No, we just assume everything's good, and if you hire the guy from Regina to go through it, well, heck, you know, he'll hear what he's paid for to hear. He's hired by senior management to look at the system. Well, he's not going to be as critical on the system as one would think. Mr. Speaker, pay equity, often we hear about -

-- point of order, Mr. Speaker.

Member from Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is speaking about an identifiable individual who is not in the chamber to defend himself. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Hay River North. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Premier's now identifying him. I said you can hire someone from Regina. We have had many people in this House reference who he is so if we want to get to specifics, we can name him, but we're not here to name people. Particularly, I think it's a far stretch, and we can't keep talking about these people and pretend they don't exist. It's a reference, and that's the point. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Colleagues, it was a very close line. Please let's not do semantics in saying could be where, it should have, would have. Let's be very respectful of our people in the public service. At this point in time, there is no point of order, but I appreciate us making sure we're aware of this situation.

Member from Yellowknife Centre, please conclude your -- or back to your statement, please.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the chance to finish, uninterrupted hopefully.

That said, Mr. Speaker, we should be talking about ratios. MIT did a review years ago, I seem to read, which was we're not computers; we're people, which is you can only challenge and stress the system so much whereas in nursing ratios asked the question can we allow our teams to focus in a reasonable and balanced way? Mr. Speaker, I'll end with this because I can't seem to -- I don't have enough time to finish my statement. I'll say you can only work the system to the bone and expect best results, but if you work the system to the bone, all you're going to get is a bony system and nobody wants that, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Members' statements. Member from Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Saturday, tomorrow, the community of Hay River will be hosting its annual lobster do. It's a much-anticipated event in Hay River. It's an opportunity for the community to get together. After a long cold winter, it's one of our first big annual events.

I would like to take a moment to thank all the volunteers, as much of the people that are going, it takes that amount of people of volunteers in the background to host this event, preparing and cooking hundreds and hundreds of lobsters for the community that go. It is sold out, so that's a good thing. Hopefully, there's a few Yellowknifers that decided to skip across the lake to the sunny side and take in the event. I would also like to mention that a lot of the funds from this event go to community functions, so it's a community event that raises money for the community. Although I won't be there this weekend, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to wish them a very successful, fun event for this Saturday. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Hay River South. One of these years, I'll hopefully get there. Members' statements.

Colleagues, on Monday my Member's statements will be about three amazing young ladies from Fort Simpson who are giving back to their community. Today I would like to talk about a couple of other amazing people from the community of Fort Liard.

Roslyn Firth and her husband returned to the community to help the hamlet of Fort Liard. Roslyn took on the role of helping run the community's recreation and youth department. One of her main goals were to help train a local person to take over. I am proud to say as of April 1st, 2025, Holly Fantasque is the manager of recreation and youth programs for the hamlet of Fort Liard. I would like to thank Roslyn for coming back to the community and providing Holly the support and encouragement she needed.

Holly lived her whole life in Fort Liard and graduated from Echo Dene School in 2019. She was a member of the Liard Giants soccer team for eight years and attended many soccer competitions in the Deh Cho region and beyond. She travelled to Spain with a group of Liard soccer players in 2017, a trip that took them around Spain and to the soccer stadium in Barcelona.

I am proud to say that I had the pleasure of knowing this young lady since 2011. I witnessed her being a member of the community soccer program. I can tell you she was always a leader and encouraging others to do their best. It was not about winning for her; It was about doing her best on and off the soccer pitch. I personally felt that she would be great in whatever career she would choose. I may be a bit biased, but I am glad when I heard that she decided to enter the field of recreation. I was very excited.

Holly completed the recreation and northern leadership and recreation and northern management courses within 14 months in 2024 and 2025 and was an outstanding student. She completed her Indigenous Sports Circle training modules, mental health first aid for those supporting youth, and her C diploma with Grassroots Canada soccer in 2024-2025. Holly is a very capable young woman and no doubt has a long and successful career ahead of her. Liard is fortunate to have her on board, and I'd like to wish her all the best.

Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to take the opportunity to recognize one of our pages - who's just left the room a second ago. Sam MacKay is a Yellowknife North constituent, and I want to thank all the other pages as well here today from St. Pat's High School, which is also in my riding. And I believe Sam's parents were up in the bleachers a few minutes ago but are no longer but wanted to welcome Bill MacKay and Sarah Flaherty to the House as well. Thanks for being here and for being Sam's parents.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to welcome our guests from the Auditor General's office, Mr. Jerry Demarco, Ms. Carey Agnew, and Ms. Emilie Anne Duval. It's great to have their assistance at the Standing Committee of Public Accounts. We had a wonderful meeting with them last night, and we look forward to seeing them again soon. Thank you. Thank you for being here.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Yellowknife South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to have a representative from Yellowknife South acting as a page this week. Nia Nichols is a student at St. Pat's, and thank you for your service this week.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we have missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to your chamber. I hope you are enjoying the proceedings. It is always nice to see people in the gallery, and I'd like to thank you for allowing us to represent the people of the Northwest Territories.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I won't be asking questions regarding ratios because my colleague from Great Slave had raised it the other day, and it seems like it's moving forward. But I'll focus in on the administration process and the analysis.

Mr. Speaker, during a public committee hearing, one of the questions I had that never got answered was our health care czar is travelling far, wide, and whatnot, up and down wherever, and from wherever apparently -- that causes issues with individuals but I'll recognize that -- that despite that they're a publicly appointed administrator, I would like the schedule published as to who they've spoken to, when they've spoken to them, and where they're going. Because it's very important that Northerners see what's being done and also feel what's being done. So is the Minister able to publicize their schedule? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to ask that this House respect that the public administrator's position is the public administrator, and that we honour that. We don't -- you know, we don't call each other names in here, and we shouldn't call people that we have working for us different terms.

Point of order, Mr. Speaker.

Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you. I believe the Member for -- well, the Minister is calling me -- or implying in some way that I'm implying some type of negative implications or describing me in a negative way, that I'm implying something terrible. And I take offence to that. I don't have my book here to quote the actual infraction number, but it feels as if there is some type of motive -- false motives being implied. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Member from Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm just asking that -- I'm not saying that it's negative. I'm saying that it's the respect that we all in this House do with each other as titles. That is the respect that I'm asking. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was quite clear that I'm calling someone names, was her statement. That said, I wasn't calling anyone names. As a matter of fact -- and I thank you for the opportunity to do this, which is, as quoted, in the realm of health care and government, a czar is an informal term used to describe a high level official usually appointed to address a specific issue or crisis. The term is often applied to individuals or its authority to tackle complex problems in a particular field. As if anything, Mr. Speaker, it's an incredible accolation of respect for the expertise the appointed individual has been given and tasked with for a certain period of time. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Colleagues, I've asked you, I'm going to ask you again, let's stop being semantics with words and that. When you answer the questions or ask the questions, please let's be respectful. Members of the public that work for us need to be -- understand that they are treated with respect and dignity that we have. So I would ask the Minister, though, to please apologize for the -- or apologize to, or remove your -- withdraw your comments on that one; just withdraw your comments, please and thank you.

I withdraw my comments. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Minister, back to the question, please and thank you. The question was to you.

(audio).

Okay, well ask it again. Member from Yellowknife Centre, please.

Mr. Speaker, the question was surrounded publicizing the schedule, who they met with, who they intend to meet with. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I committed in standing committee -- in the public standing committee, we will -- as the public meetings of the public administrator, we will release those publicly. Thank you.

The public administrator, Mr. Speaker, has been appointed I believe, if I could remember, for about five months. Mr. Speaker, they have a one-year contract. So what does we will do this mean? We've already had five months of water behind us, very little in front of us; can we get some timelines as to when you're going publicize this information? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I shared the last meeting that was this week with the Members, and we are working on the next couple of regional wellness council chairs as the public administrator is travelling through all the regions, attending, visiting the health centres, working with staff, meeting with the regional wellness councils in-camera and then meeting in -- and listening to the public as they bring forward their issues to these regional wellness council meetings. So as those meetings are scheduled, as those are in control of the regional wellness councils, that is when we will publish them and will release them to the Members. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of grave concern that gets asked of me is how many days have they spent here in the North in their five-month contract thus far; will the Minister answer that question or provide it publicly? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the public administrator is working full-time. They're travelling around throughout the territories. I'm not going to release publicly where he is at every given moment. I don't keep track of that. He's got a responsibility to work full-time and report back to me. And as long as the objectives are being met and I'm meeting with him regularly, weekly, myself, then, you know, I will ensure that the work is continuing and that there's changes that are happening. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our kids need access to sport, and this is yet another problem that's not being resolved by the Fort Simpson education system. Today I've been told that there are three Indigenous kids, one kid with disabilities, that are not allowed to go to the track and field meet because they need their school to sign off on their bus. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment has told the district education association that she was going to look into this decision. So what has she found? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is true, I am dealing with this at the moment, and as soon as I have a resolution, I will be in touch with the chair of the district education authority. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the deadline for these kids to get on the bus is 3 p.m. today. Will the Minister have a resolution before that deadline? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm currently working on this with the department. I also have slightly different information than what the Member is referring to on the floor of this House, but I can assure the Member that I am following up. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, the information comes to me from the parents, so can the Minister explain what counter information she received; what different evidence is before us? I just want to know. I think the parents want to know as well. This is very concerning for them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand that the families want to be able to bring their own children to the track meet, not to get on the bus. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to my colleagues for dealing with my consistent leaky eyeballs.

Will the Premier acknowledge that the evacuation did not go right on many fronts as outlined in the after-action review and apologize to residents of the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member spoke about the collective trauma that we all experienced. And I agree, that is something that as a territory we have to come to grips with. The other day I was thinking that, boy, this is the best time of year. It was, you know, early May, it was spring, and I just felt like a punch in the gut because the last few years, you know, they haven't been great. It's been a really tough time. And I acknowledge that. And, you know, to the Member's question about the evacuation, I want to note there was evacuations. There were 12 communities evacuated a total of 14 times. So this is not just a Yellowknife evacuation issue. This was an issue around the Northwest Territories. And obviously things did not go as -- there were many areas where things didn't go well. I've been saying that since I've stood up in this House and ran for Premier. That's one of the reasons I wanted to get into this House and into this role is to address the deficiencies that I saw, that I experienced, during that evacuation. And so that is the work that began on day one when we formed government and with this after-action review, we are going to make sure that we are implementing the recommendations based on the review that we're doing of that report because we want to make sure that what we saw, the deficiencies that happened, don't happen again. And so, you know, this is something that happened in the past years ago, and I'm sorry to those residents who had, you know, terrible experiences. Many of us had bad experiences, Mr. Speaker. We're all coming to terms with it. You know, I was an evacuee. My colleague from Hay River was a first responder. And so, you know, we had completely different experiences. And there's unique experiences across the territory. Some people, it was no big deal for them. Other people, it was devastating for them, and I feel for them, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Premier for that. And please let it be known that I never meant to minimize the fact that there were multiple evacuations. I use evacuation as a singular as to cover the entire year and -- yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, will the Premier make a point that in the GNWT's response to the after-action review to also address that healing needs to occur in the public service to demonstrate that leadership supports them in tangible ways. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I've gone over the recommendations in the review. In time, the GNWT will be putting forward a response. And I do recognize that healing needs to occur. There has been reach-out in the past from, you know, senior management to staff, but there needs to be ongoing support. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Final supplementary. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, yeah, I recognize that's a thorny issue. I'm just asking for some tangible ways that the Premier can address that and address specifically to the public service who feel kind of hollow with the responses thus far. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There's no easy fix to this situation. There's some people in the public service who are, you know, emotionally scarred from this. And I hear the stories from across the public service of the work that was done, you know, heroic efforts. You might not have been on the front lines; you might have been in an office; you might have been in a hotel room with three kids and two dogs. It doesn't mean your efforts weren't heroic. So I completely recognize that, and I appreciate the work done by the public service during an unprecedented time. It's clear that we were not prepared for a disaster on the scale of which we've never seen in the Northwest Territories. We don't have a standing army to respond to these things.

What we're doing now is we're taking steps to ensure that we don't put public servants in those positions again. We're making sure that people know what their roles are, that we can all work together in a coordinated fashion as government with community governments and with Indigenous governments to ensure that next time something like this happens, we will be better prepared and everyone will feel more supported. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister responsible for the Public Utilities Board. So on April 16th, the Minister sent directives to the Public Utilities Board on 11 kinds of policy changes that need to be made to allow for the growth of renewable energy generation in the territory. The Minister stated in a subsequent letter to the government operations committee that it's expected to take five years before the policies are fully in effect, but it's hard to see how we can achieve the goals in our 2030 Energy Strategy if we don't even have policies in place before then.

So my first question, with regard to the first directive around integrated power system planning, which is incredibly fundamental, can the Minister clarify whether it's expected to take five years before the power system planning can even begin or when can we expect to have a plan for an integrated power system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, yeah, I guess the thing here is we're doing the integrated plan, system plan, to ensure that we have the right mixture of power to meet the demands of our system. The work has already been happening. It's already begun. So, you know, it's not a wait five years. You know, we're planning to have our goal of 2050. So, you know, we're already working on this system. It's not just starting right now. While the plan, the full plan, will take some time to complete, it's not a prerequisite for implementing the other policy directives. The plan will consider the impacts to those directives and support the long-term energy security, affordability, and sustainability of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So as the Minister alluded, you know, work has already begun and, in fact, the GNWT's already commissioned four independent analyses and completed extensive research, so couldn't the Public Utilities Board simply use the existing research to speed up its policy development, or does the PUB have to start all over again with its own research; can the Minister clarify? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT has commissioned several technical studies. The PUB has directed the use of existing studies also. We're not just putting them on the shelf. So we're using them. The PUB established its own process of implementing each directive. For example, while the GNWT has directed the PUB to establish an independent power producer policy, the exact design will be based on evidence and consultation through the PUB process. So the PUB can commission additional studies, if needed, but it's been using existing ones also. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Public Utilities Board. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I wonder if the Minister could provide us with a revised timeline that's sooner than within five years and perhaps even prioritize some of the directives to be completed sooner, especially the ones communities have been asking for, such as the policy on independent power producers or the overly restrictive cap on community generation of renewable energy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the structure of our directives allow for the -- for a phrased or prioritized rollout. That said, it's up to the PUB to determine the process and timelines for the implementation. So we're recognizing the strong community interest of these changes, and the PUB is expected to consider that as it sets its priorities. The GNWT's role is to provide direction. The PUB is responsible for executing the way that is informed and align how our utilities operate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Public Utilities Board. Oral questions. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following up on my Member's statement, can the Minister confirm how many -- sorry, my questions are for the Minister of health.

Can the Minister confirm how many NWT residents are currently registered for the new extended health benefits, and can she provide a reasonable breakdown by income band of all approved applicants, both seniors and non-seniors, so Members can see where there may be pockets of residents that may need additional support to register. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as of the end of April, we have 894 non-senior residents approved. We have 3,671 seniors approved. Of those non-senior -- oh, yes, 461 were formally on the specific -- specified disease condition program. So right now, we have 433 brand new registrants. What I can do is get our enrolment database to record -- I mean, they do record the clients' region so I can share that information with the Member once we have all of that information compiled. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that. And we'll get into the financial impacts of that maybe another day. But so I understand that seniors are automatically renewed, but other beneficiaries must reapply every year. What reminder systems or supports are in place to ensure that non-senior residents re-register on time so that they do not experience an interruption in their coverage, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate this question, yes, and non-seniors, because there is no income threshold on -- or sorry, seniors, there's no income threshold so those just automatically renew every year. Because the extended health program is based on income, there is an annual CRA that needs to be added to their application. However, I've directed my department to put in clearer processes as this -- you know, we're hearing this, that there's vacancies -- or there's gaps in people that are applying. So we'll take that back, and we'll look at how we can streamline that process better or to ensure that the information is getting out soon enough to NWT residents so that they apply early enough. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister. And I think that's crucial. It was alarming, the number of people that weren't aware they had to register for the program. So I'm glad to hear that, and we'll keep an eye on that as we move forward.

Mr. Speaker, as part of the work to modernize the medical travel, has the Minister given any consideration to folding the medical travel policy, if possible, into the extended health benefits framework. Is that something that's do-able and something she's considering? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Member has said, we are modernizing the medical travel, and we will be reviewing the extended health benefits in this next few -- like, I think it's one year from the time, so we'll start the review in September. And, yes, the medical travel benefits were applied across the board for those specific disease, but now that's been removed and they have to use the medical travel policy. So there is lots of different pieces going on. But with the review of the medical travel modernization, I believe that this has -- we will -- like, I have flagged this because it has come up to. So we'll continue to work with the department to provide some model options so that we can bring that forward. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we all need an elder in our lives. Sounds like we need one in here. With that in mind, Mr. Speaker, the elders in school program was started in 2013. Can the many Minister say how many schools across the territory currently employ an elder for this program? Thank you.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have a specific number for that program, but we have multiple programs across the territory that create space for elders within our school system. The Member's absolutely right, the power of elders is absolutely undeniable and one that we have the privilege of experiencing in this House. Some of the programs that I'd be happy to talk more about are the elders for Indigenous languages programs, our school-based mental health and wellness program, our community focus from the Indigenous languages secretariat, as well as our school food program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand there is an elders in the classroom, in classroom component. Can the Minister explain whether the elders are teaching as part of this program and how the program works. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, absolutely, elders are always teaching when they are anywhere in our communities. A lot of the programs centre around language revitalization and on the land experiences and cultural experiences for students across the Northwest Territories. And even when elders are in a health and wellness role within the school, they're still teaching at that point. So teaching is a key component in imparting knowledge and experience to our youth. Thank you.

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