Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, given the ongoing concerns raised by families, will the Minister commit to advancing the development of a dedicated special needs facility in Behchoko and/or other Tlicho communities? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am more than committed to, you know, having these discussions with the Member and with the Tlicho on being able to better analyze the data that's for the residents in the Tlicho and what the need is and, you know, to have a discussion on what the -- where and what can happen with the residents of the people in the Tlicho and work with their government. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral Questions. Member from Dehcho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of ITI.

Can the Minister explain what steps the department is taking to improve access to ITI programs and services for Fort Providence residents given that the nearest regional support is currently located outside the community? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from the Dehcho. Minister of ITI.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So some of these things would be, for example, predictable office days. So thank you to the Member for raising that in her statement. Also doing things like hosting mentorship and training opportunities directly within the community. And then continuing to support local business, because we know that when one business receives support and talks about it to their neighbours that that drives momentum and also drives buzz about starting business and kind of creating that snowball effect of driving new opportunities within the region. Thank you.

Thank you, and thank you to the Minister for that. What plans does the department have to better support small and emerging businesses in Fort Providence so that local entrepreneurs are not required to travel long distance to receive guidance or program assistance? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It can be something as simple as making sure that clear and transparent program availability and kind of the flow chart of what that progression of different types of supports at different stages of operating a business looks like from the Government of the Northwest Territories right up to work that's being done right now with reviews of both the SEED program, the community transfer initiatives program, and the community futures program. So those reviews are currently underway.

Within the Fort Providence region, over the last couple of years there's been over $250,000 of grants that small businesses have received in the region. That's everything from SEED, arts and crafts production, tourism businesses, community garden, and some of those highlights have been, for example, the Mackenzie Cabin tourism business and also a service truck for a local mechanic business. And so there are some good examples of some really big success stories in the region. Thank you.

Final supplementary. Member from the Dehcho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for that. Will the Minister commit to staffing a position permanently or at the very least implementing scheduled monthly visits by ITI staff to Fort Providence to ensure residents have consistent and reliable access to business development programs and services? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can give the Member a yes right off the hop on that one with a specific schedule so that there are predictable visits in Fort Providence every single month. So the last visit was February 11th. The next one will be March 11th, then April 15th, May 13th, and then June 17th. And there is a schedule for the whole rest of the year so that community members will know exactly what days the office will be staffed. And this poster is also posted both at the office and at the cafe as well, and I am happy to ensure it gets posted in any other area that the Member recommends. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, ITI. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to follow up with more questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services.

So we've heard from the Minister that paramedics have a unique scope of practice. Can the Minister explain what is the rationale for contracting private paramedics to fill shifts in the Stanton emergency department? Is it because of their unique skill set or an inability to fill shifts with emergency department nurses? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, their role is limited to providing care within that area and are only used in situations where nursing staffing levels are critically low. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So if the department or the authority is finding that staffing levels are chronically low, why wouldn't the department or the authority plan to hire paramedics on staff rather than contracting them on a shift-by-shift basis? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned that -- you know, within the emergency department when they've tried in areas of time where they're critically low, that means that they haven't been able to confirm casuals, people are on vacation, there's no -- last case, you know, resort would be agency, and sometimes when we do have paramedics that -- you know, that was when they would bring them in to just assist with this area. However, this is not a model that's been in our system before, so we don't have an overarching model of paramedics in our system. And so where we're starting is that we're looking, and that's the work with -- you know, with the proposed position that's going to -- that's in the budget, upcoming budget, that that work will happen to be able to analyze and do that work to see how and when and what policies and how they'll work within our system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So if a patient has a complaint against a health care provider, they can go to the Office of Client Experience, but how would an NWT patient go about filing a complaint if there was a complaint against a paramedic operating within our system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when the NTHSSA does contract them, they do revert to an employer. So their employer, you can complain to their employer. You can bring that forward to the NTHSSA. As well as the appropriate jurisdiction where their license is active, you can reach out directly to that jurisdiction where the individual can -- you know, they can take a look and investigate that concern. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I think the question is what sort of carrots are we offering Indigenous governments to conclude their land claim negotiations? I would say that we are having -- we are working towards finding common ground that may not have been common in the past. When there was two parties or, well, three parties negotiating in this case, and we want to make some changes going forward, we want to see progress going forward, we need to look at what has been worked on for the past 20 or 30 years. And actually as the Member was asking, I was just going over some of the tables and looking at some of those ways to move things forward. So, Mr. Speaker, there is a negotiation framework. There's a mandate in a number of tables. Things are moving forward under that mandate. And there's areas perhaps where we need to re-look at those mandates, and that's what I am doing right now. And I recently had meetings with the Dehcho grand chief and their negotiating team. I am meeting with the -- you know, their other representatives from the Dehcho tomorrow. We have regular meetings with the NWT Metis Nation. So there's lots going on to try and advance these. Thank you.