Mr. Speaker, old government/new government, good offer/bad offer - I don't know. So why did the Minister refuse the 50 refugees so we couldn't get the opportunity for the 150 nominees? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we just heard a number of rounds of questions about the strain on our healthcare system in this territory. One of the questions in my response to the federal government, and I think it's worth saying that I never refused it, but I did ask questions. I did say, can you give me information on those 50 asylum seekers and what type of services they would require in the Northwest Territories. Because we would be required to address them and provide them. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, is the Minister supportive of the program to get the nominees and what's wrong with getting 50 refugees? It will help solve our economic crisis here we're having in the Northwest Territories, in all our communities, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, would the Minister write the federal Minister responsible for this file and take the 50 refugees so we can get the 150 nominees?

Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the offer was for 50 asylum seekers and, at times, asylum seekers can require additional services. And so what I needed to know for my colleagues who would be in departments that would be required to respond is what type of services would we be obliged to provide and what level of service would be expected. I never received a response to those questions. I never received a response asking what type of supports we would receive to be able to provide those services to asylum seekers. So I was definitely in the conversation but, as we all know, the federal government did go into an election period. Never received a response. And I intend to continue the conversation on immigration for the Northwest Territories next week in Ottawa. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My next set of questions are for the Minister responsible for the public service, also the Minister of Finance.

So the NWT Medical Association has been advocating for interest-based negotiations as a way to ensure that the collective bargaining process can be focused on areas of common ground and the outcomes that everyone wants, which is ultimately a better healthcare system. In the winter sitting, I had asked the finance Minister about the government's position on interest-based negotiations, and the response was that the government was -- would look into it. So is there any update from the Minister on any decision that the government has made whether or not to enter into interest-based negotiations with the NWT Medical Association? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, in fact, there is a bit of an update. We are later -- I guess not quite this month. Early in June, Department of Finance officials and staff from NWTMA will be together going and doing a workshop that helps investigate and helps learn about what interest-based negotiation might look like, so we can see where that process takes us. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So that is encouraging to know that the government has agreed to participate in the workshop. Is there a time by which the government will have to confirm or decide, indicating to the NWT Medical Association that it is willing to go forward and enter into these style of negotiations? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're not under a deadline, per se, Mr. Speaker. There will be a new round of bargaining that will commence when the collective agreement that we're under comes to its conclusion which is in 2026 so that, I suppose, is the deadline, but as far right now, the next step really is to go to this two-day workshop and to, you know, engage really collaboratively with both parties there to determine whether or not that's going to be the process we use. Lots of time between now and 2026 to put that into place if that's the path that we go down. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Finance. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.

Nothing further.

Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was meeting with a constituent over the weekend and learned that their child is having trouble accessing gender affirming care. Can the Minister explain why the government continues to rely on Alberta Health Services to provide Northerners with gender affirming care when it's well known that many surgeons are unwilling to perform these procedures due to the current political climate in the province? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the support that we have from Alberta, we have physicians here in the Northwest Territories that do provide this care. It's kind of like MAID. We have some physicians that do provide MAID. We have some physicians that do provide transgender care; that's a safe care for them to access. And within their practitioner, that is where they -- they work with their practitioner on how they move through the system. Alberta currently -- there are no surgeries done in Alberta currently so bottom surgeries and things that are done, there's only one place in Canada that those are done, and those are done in Quebec. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, and everyone is aware that, you know -- and I'm not going to speak for Alberta and their rules. And I know that their legislation does speak to puberty blockers before the age of 16 and surgeries before they're age 18. So when the Member speaks to top surgeries, yes, that's accurate. And also the conversation that I had in person with the Minister, and I am going to be going down to Alberta to meet with the -- you know, to schedule a meeting with the health Minister there. They have switched portfolios, so there is a new health Minister that will be responsible -- is to ensure that Northwest Territories residents, whether they're going down there, transgender youth, people, that are going down, any 2SLGBTQ going to access care in Alberta, that they are going -- for anything, because that is where our master agreement -- you know, where we get services from -- that they are going to be safe when they access any types of -- they're going to be respected for who they are. And this is an ongoing conversation that I will continue with the Minister of health in Alberta. However, I did also say on this floor of the House if -- you know, if there are services that we need to do differently, those are where we take master agreements and we start to look and those routes have been actually -- I've directed the staff to start to look at different routes that is not in Alberta. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you. And I appreciate the Minister's advocacy. Good luck with that government, unfortunately, Mr. Speaker. So I mean, if -- instead of waiting to convince the political -- or waiting for one Minister from the Northwest Territories to make the political and climate in Alberta change, which is unlikely, no offence to the Minister, can we just enter into this agreement to get trans youth who need these surgeries, who need this gender affirming care, in other jurisdictions? We know Ontario has developed a bit of a specialty here. Can she reach out and make an agreement with Ontario so we can -- my constituent's child can get the care that they so desperately deserve? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned -- and I don't want to keep going but it -- you know, with youth under 18, if they are looking for top surgeries, that is the route that we are looking at right now, if that is an insured services that Canada does provide, we will find the routes to do that and the department has been directed to begin looking at that.

One thing I would like to say, though, is although, you know, there is direction from the government, it is the health care people that actually are on the floor of -- you know, when our residents do, it's the nurses. We have nurses that come here from Alberta. We have doctors that come here from Alberta. You know, they have to work within that system that they live there, but they are the ones that are caring and taking care of our patients and I know that, you know, they will respect and care. Those are the people that I would ensure that, you know, have patients as a health care provider, the patients are, you know, who we -- who we care of the most. So, again, I may not be able to change law in there but I know that I will continue to work and advocate for the Northwest Territories residents, youth, elders, all residents. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, six months ago, this Assembly stopped at nothing to approve an initiative brought forward by the Indigenous governments, and their proposal, I believe, was called the NWTPFP -- I'm not sure why it's actually specifically called project finance permanence. But that said, must matter. So there was $375 million being offered, and the NWT government potentially could stand in the way if we had dragged our heels. In short, Mr. Speaker, it was about a project of lands and keepers of the land, and I'm giving a simple description of it, but it's never been approved federally. So my question to the Minister is is where is it today, and what advocacy is our government doing to get this money approved so it can come into the Northwest Territories to protect the land? Thank you.