Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And that's a good answer, Mr. Speaker. And I know that the Minister's well aware of what's happening here and what needs to be done and the length of time it's taken many years to get to where we are today. Following up on that, Mr. Speaker, one of the things that come out of the forum was the develop -- follow-up materials for Indigenous governments. Can the Minister speak to the timeline now as when we're going to follow up on that and, indeed, start this -- continue this consultation, gets that information out to Indigenous governments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to report that the work has started. It's well underway. As the Member indicated, there was a meeting on the 20th and 21st of May that was very well attended with some really good work done by all participants. There was also a follow-up meeting this morning, actually, between ECC and the technical working group to, again, advance this initiative, and ECC is working very close with the technical working group through the Intergovernmental Council on land and resource management and under the development protocol to amend the NWT act and regulations. So this work is very collaborative. You know, we're very committed to following a process that is really working together to ensure that all of our interests are represented at the end of the day and that they are truly informed by the traditional knowledge within the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Final supplementary. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister. I think we're starting to see a little light at the end of the tunnel here, and I know it's going to take a continued commitment from the Minister to keep pushing this issue forward and getting this work done. Follow-up question, Mr. Speaker, you mentioned the amendments to the Northwest Territories land regulations. Do we have a timeline for that? Has the department come up with a schedule and timeline to get these amendments done so we can move this forward? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Member pointed out, we have committed to, you know, trying to reduce the rent to a nominal fee or a dollar in the short-term, as well as, you know, ensure that we're addressing this in the long-term. Right now, currently, the way the legislation is written, we can't technically charge rent less than $150. So that's our -- really our short-term goal here is to address that. And as we work with our partners, giving a specific timeline to this process is difficult. There are many participants here. If I could, I'd be happy to do that tomorrow. But, you know, we have a process and a protocol that we follow to ensure that all the voices are heard. And I, again, just wanted to reiterate my commitment to get this done as certainly, as quickly as we can. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Oral questions. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I got my treaty book here. I highlighted areas in terms of education, and education is a treaty right. And so --

Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh, it's a prop. Okay, thank you. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of ECE is travelling to Ottawa next week to meet with her federal counterparts. Would she use this opportunity to advocate to restore these recent cuts to the Jordan's Principle program before they come into place with our new MP who is now the Minister of Crown and Indigenous Relations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I share the Member's concern, and the answer is yes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If these cuts to Jordan's Principle go forward and it eliminates tens of millions of dollars from Indigenous students, will the Minister commit to working with the federal -- sorry, working with affected community school boards and First Nations to restore this critical funding over the summer? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a close working relationship with our education bodies. I meet with them multiple times a year. I'm meeting with them again in June. This has been a conversation on our agenda all year. It is a huge concern for both education bodies and myself. Those conversations will continue. This conversation has also happened with the NWTTA.

Mr. Speaker, one thing that is -- needs to be very clear here is the GNWT cannot afford to take on the programs that the federal government introduces and does not continue. When this program was introduced, and over the last number of years, officials at the department of education have reiterated to officials within the federal government that we cannot afford to take on this program should they choose not to continue it. So that is why the Minister of Health and Social Services and I are teaming up together to deliver this message to Ottawa. That is why I have teamed up as well with education Ministers from the Yukon and also from Nunavut because this has an impact on Indigenous people across this country and across all three territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, within our school funding formula, we have accounted, within the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, for different positions within schools. The federal government, with their program, accounted for putting other positions in schools that were different from the method of supporting schools that ECE had in place. So, for example, there was program support teachers that are funded through education, culture and employment. Those program support teachers have funded through our inclusive schooling directive and already last year we have jump started the process of reviewing our inclusive schooling directive to make sure that we are doing this work properly and that work is already underway. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, thank you. It's good to see my two pages in here, Nicolai and Shylo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister of housing explain what specific plans are in place to ensure transitional housing and wraparound supports like those offered in Yellowknife are extended to small communities across the NWT? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was waiting for you to -- that's okay. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question.

Transitional housing and wraparound supports, it's required all across the Northwest Territories. Looking at our waiting list, looking at Behchoko, we have over 130 families waiting for housing. In your Member's statement, you indicated some applicants may wait their entire lifetime for housing. So the work we do at housing, the money that this Legislative Assembly has approved over the next number of years, the federal engagement piece, the working with the Cabinet, the federal Cabinet, working with the new federal housing Ministers, these are the conversations we're going to have. This is a vision that we have. This is a priority of this Assembly. So continued good work and advocacy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given that the $2 million federal territorial funding for transitional housing is limited, how does the Minister plan to prioritize or supplement this funding to meet the urgent need for temporary housing with wraparound support in regions like Tlicho?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my most recent visit to Behchoko, and hopefully going into Whati over the summer, I see the need going into the communities, looking at what people need in communities to survive, and transitional housing is one of those pieces, including shelter space, including warming shelter space, including transitional housing, including THARP, including public housing, including market housing. So there's a huge need in the housing continuum across the North, and the Tlicho region is one of those regions and ridings that need housing. And, again, we have to look at this on a territorial basis.

We have 32 communities in the Northwest Territories that we provide public and social housing to, so these are the decisions we make and hopefully the plan over the next three years will encompass that decision. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister say how the department is working with other GNWT departments like health and social services and with Indigenous government to expand programs like Northern Pathways to Housing and ensure they include long-term social supports for residents with addictions? Thank you.