Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I suspect there's a time schedule. Will the Premier or the Minister share the schedule for concluding this agreement. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So consultation is expected to, as I mentioned, be completed September/October, sometime around then, and then it has to be ratified. And so there's a process by which all the parties have to ratify the agreement. That is -- I don't have the detail on how long that will take. It is variable. We're dealing with a -- I will say it's variable, and we want to ensure that the communities have the time they need to do the ratification, to travel -- or to have the community meetings and make sure everyone understands it. So I don't necessarily have a timeline but things are progressing. They're progressing at a good pace, and all parties are committed to advancing this and concluding it as soon as possible. So this is definitely a good news story. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Final supplementary. Member from the Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question is, I guess we can expect that the conclusion will happen for the remaining term of this Assembly, is that true? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So there's some parts of this that are out of my control but I would love to see that happen this term. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Child and family services have apprehended children in cases where parental rights and custody agreements were still before the courts despite the safety of the children. How does child and family services have the authority to take such action prior to pending court decisions without any emergency taking place? This is a question to the Minister of health. Thank you.

Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh, just ask the question. I will redirect it to the appropriate person. Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, I mean, there's a lot of information there. There was a lot of assumptions in that that I am not familiar with. I don't know the specific instances the Member is speaking of offhand so I would have to look further into that one. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Child and Family Services Act spells out the authorities involved in this area. Thank you.

Final supplementary. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A constituent of mine returned home after completing a successful journey of healing and treatment and was preparing for court to determine custody rights anticipating reunification yet child and family services apprehended the children right there at the airport. How is that consistent with the agenda of reunifying families when CFS did not wait for the court to make its determination before taking their children from them? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So obviously I can't speak about a specific case, especially -- well first of all, I can't speak about a specific case, not in the House, and there's obviously more details that would be required to provide a fulsome answer to that if there was the appropriate authority to provide that answer publicly. So, unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, just given the nature of the question I can't speak to it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure.

Pursuant to section 10.1.4 of the Gwich'in modern day treaty and the Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement indicates the following: Where government carries out public activities in the Gwich'in settlement area which give rise to employment or other economic opportunities and government elects to enter into contracts with respect to those activities and the Government of the Northwest Territories preferential contracting policies, procedures, and approaches intended to maximize local, regional, and northern employment and business opportunities shall be followed respectively by Canada or the Government of the Northwest Territories. Does this government recognize claimant groups within the NWT where economic opportunities can benefit companies within the settlement areas? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As this topic is before the courts, I am unable to answer that question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Prior to submitting public tenders within settlement areas within the Northwest Territories, does the Government of the Northwest Territories consult with the impacted claimant groups? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, Mr. Speaker, a lot of this topic that he is discussing is before the courts however any of our contracts or projects that we're doing usually go out to public tender, as we do with all public funds. This has the ability for anybody in the areas that the work is under to bid on the project or the program in an open, transparent process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Final supplementary. Member from Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I did not specify any specific claimant group or contract. I don't know what the Minister is referring to. But will the Minister consult with claimant groups now and in the future prior to a public tender? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't control all the programs for the Indigenous governments. We do a lot of work with the Council of Leaders and work with all the Indigenous governments however, again, like I said earlier when it comes down to any of the projects that we're doing, we use a tendering process through an open, transparent program. And this is available for anybody to bid on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Colleagues, the time is up for oral questions. Oral questions. Written questions. Returns to written questions. Replies to the Commissioner's address. Petitions. Tabling of documents. Minister of Justice.