Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And as has been stated, there already is an agreement in place. The Inuvialuit are undertaking this and work is going forward. We are working across the NWT with Indigenous governments to advance self-government agreements, to work towards settling land claims. We have forums like the NWT Council of Leaders where we discuss issues like child and family services so that we can have better understanding of where different Indigenous governments are and where they would like to move forward. So, Mr. Speaker, this is an area that we are seeing progress, and I think we're leading the country in this area. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Final supplementary. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What is the government's plans and timeline for implementing the transfer of child and family services authority to Indigenous governments under Bill C-92? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The timelines belong to the Indigenous governments who would want to take on that authority. That's not something we would ever impose. Thank you.

Oral questions. Member from Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Premier. Will the Premier confirm that the GNWT will comply with the interim measures agreement signed in 2001 by stating clearly that there will be no sales or leases of any kind in the Deh Cho territory without the support of affected Deh Cho First Nations communities? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I was asked this question by a regional chief in the Deh Cho, and there's an agreement that was signed by the federal government, by the Minister -- the territorial Minister of Indigenous affairs at that time and by the grand chief of the Deh Cho, and yes, I would -- of course, I am going to honour that agreement.

The Member's question talked about requiring support, and there are provisions in the interim measures agreement that state that support is required on certain transfers and in other instances, it's prior consultation. But we are committed to following that interim measures agreement, and I have told the grand chief if there are any issues that arise please let me know, because I want to stay on top of it and make sure that we're honouring it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My next question is will the Premier establish a system of joint decision-making on proposed land dispositions in the Deh Cho territory as he has publicly given his support to? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know I've been asked to do such a thing. I haven't given support to the proposal. What I want to do is move forward with the land claim and come to an agreement so that we can settle once and for all the administration in the region as opposed to coming up with interim steps that also need to be negotiated. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Final supplementary. Member from the Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Premier issue his negotiators with a new and clear mandate to support Deh Cho First Nations in their efforts to establish a public government in the Deh Cho that represents the legitimate claims of the original inhabitants of the Deh Cho and the security of their communities? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've had a number of meetings with the grand chief, the negotiators, about the Deh Cho process, about their concerns, about what issues they see as outstanding. And the purpose of those meetings was to educate myself so that when proposals are brought forward to the negotiating table that I'd have a better understanding of what -- of the context. And so what needs to happen now is that proposals need to be brought forward at the table for consideration. I can't give direction to agree to a broad principle. There's a lot of detail that needs to be worked out, and the place that gets worked out is at the negotiating table. I've expressed to my team that I want to hear those proposals and as soon as those proposals are made by the Deh Cho negotiators, we will consider them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask a few questions of the Minister for ECC following up with some of the things I was asking about last week. Mr. Speaker, I'd just note that it's been in the news that the De Beers company is currently up for sale. Can the Minister detail any lessons learned or changes to process which may inform assignment proceedings if the Gahcho Kue license were the subject of an assignment application? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, mine assets or corporations are not something that the GNWT would have authority to influence. You know, this also applies to corporate restructuring or sales processes. These are private. If the requirement under ECC would be for the company to provide applicable forms of security for their operation and if the company is not able to post these applicable forms of security to the GNWT, then we would not recommend to the land and water board that the license or permits be assigned. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that answer, and the Minister is going in the direction that I was as well, and that is just noting that, you know, there's -- you know, in cases where these sales go down, as we've seen in this territory through the example of Ekati, sometimes it's taken on by a smaller company who has less financial capacity. I am just wondering if the Minister is thinking about that issue, how it might relate to De Beers, and how the government can best mitigate any negative consequences from such an assignment taking place and ensure that the public is not held liable for the cleanup of the site. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, so the Department of ECC works closely with the land and water boards in the assignment of security requirements for any different company or corporation in the Northwest Territories. We provide information and recommendations but ultimately it is the land and water board that sets the level of security required, so we will continue to work together in that process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is the Minister currently confident that the amount of security held for the De Beers site is adequate to cover reclamation costs? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we currently do not have a final closure plan. The security that was provided by De Beers is based on the recommendation of the land and water board which had input from environment and climate change, and we will evaluate that as the final reclamation and closure plan is determined. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Oral questions. Member from Monfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a statement from yesterday.

Can the Minister provide the current average wait time between a completed addiction treatment application and the person actually entering treatment. Thank you.