Debates of March 6th, 2026

[Translation] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Communication standards and government services apply to communications and services provided by the government's departments. It also includes the office of the Legislative Assembly, as well as all agencies, offices, commissions, or designated organizations as set out in the regulation on government services as well as as set out in the Official Languages Act which contains criteria. This also involves central offices.

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[Translation] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for the response. Are these services actively provided, or does a request need to be made? How can residents know whether these services are currently available in French? Is it always clearly indicated?

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[Translation] Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The services that are provided are subject to a (audio). There is a process that informs the public that they can communicate in English or French when they access government services in the NWT. The goal is to make sure that individuals feel free to express themselves in the language of their choice. But, Mr. Speaker, the person could also ask for services in French if there is any kind of uncertainty.

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

[Translation] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If a government employee is bilingual, can this employee be asked to respond to a request for French services, and can a request be made to translate documents into French? Thank you, Speaker.

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[Translation] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The response that I'll give, which will be short -- I don't usually give short responses. But the answer is no. This government document to be provided to the public must be translated by the French service -- translation service. By going through this service, we ensure that the terminology used is accurate and consistent, and the draft versions are corrected before publication. Those who hold a position where bilingualism is mandatory and who receive the bilingualism bonus are encouraged to serve the public and correspond with the public in the language of their choice.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During our Bring Alma Home challenge there last year, which eventually was successful -- I am grateful for all those involved -- it rose a particular question that the Northwest Territories does not have a Cemeteries Act. And I've talked to the Member for Tu Nedhe that this is something we should work on, including some other people in the community. And just to be clear, Mr. Speaker, the primary function of a cemetery act, not an extensive list, of course, but is to protect the standards, operational responsibilities, financial accountability, and protection of burial grounds, etcetera. And I am sure there are many more nuances to it than that.

Mr. Speaker, my question is particular to the -- in particular, I will be directing to the Minister who's charged with being the House leader. So is there a reason why the government does not have a Cemeteries Act? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Mr. Government Leader.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have that information at hand with me today, so I will take that as notice. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, government leader. Oral questions. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to ask the Minister of ECE on this last day, I am curious to know where things are at with Aurora College. It's always something I want to find out about during sessions. So I am curious to know where we're at with the implementation of the mandate agreement. Is that agreement being reported on anywhere publicly? How is the public to know where Aurora College is at in their progress? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I am happy to provide a bit of public pressure behind that initiative that the Minister just suggested so I would just, yeah, put my support behind that and would like to see that as well.

Mr. Speaker, I know that the college was -- or the Minister's office was advertising board appointments. How is that process going, and when can we expect to see a fully appointed and -- well, full appointments to the board? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is right. Just recently the deadline passed for the closure of the call for applications to the board of governors. And that process is underway, and those announcements will be made imminently. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate hearing that, and I am glad to hear that it is imminent.

Mr. Speaker, are there any other milestones that the college has coming up in the near future that the public should keep their eye out for? And, certainly, I will keep my eye out for it.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are a number of things that the college continues to work on that is found in the implementation plan on page 6 of the mandate agreement. The most exciting piece of that, Mr. Speaker, is that in December, the CAQC from Alberta -- so that's the accreditation body -- did travel up to the campuses here in the Northwest Territories as part of their process, and they are currently working on that process with Aurora College. And my understanding is that it was quite a successful trip and that this spring Aurora College intends to come out with very detailed information about what that process has looked like to this point and what it means for the remainder of 2026 for the college itself. So I very much look forward to being able to share that information once the college puts it out publicly. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as with most sittings, I'd like to ask the Minister of ECC about the ongoing efforts to make targeted amendments to the Waters Act and would like to do the same this sitting.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister give us an update as to where we are at in that process to make targeted amendments to the Waters Act.

Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we've worked through, we've committed to a three-phase process on the Waters Act itself. We're currently working through phase one. A tremendous amount of work has been completed in phase one, and we are very -- unfortunately, I cannot give a specific date, but we are very, very close to moving through the first part of our process in phase one and hope to have those available very shortly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not going to pester the Minister for a specific date, because he certainly just said he can't provide one, but I hope very soon -- I am going to interpret that a certain way. So I am excited to hear that.

Mr. Speaker, what will be the next steps for this process once it comes out of what he describes as phase one? And I am confused because I know there's a couple of different processes going on with the Waters Act, and one of the phases is a much wider set of amendments to the Waters Act. But I think he's talking about the specific phases within the process of making the targeted amendments. And I could be wrong there, but just curious what the next step is for the targeted amendments, to be clear. Thank you.