Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure. I emailed the Minister responsible for the airports within the NWT. The concern is with the community of Aklavik and the airport. There are many deficiencies surrounding the airport. There are willows that are growing at a rapid rate, and the fencing is laying on the ground, more than half of the fencing. There are wildlife crossing the airport coming out of the willows, and it's posing a threat to both aircraft and human life.

What will the Minister instruct his department to do to rectify the severity of this problem at the Aklavik community airport which is adjacent to the community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, we were notified from the Member about the concerns. I immediately sent them to the department, and there's work being done to assess what the hazards are. Obviously, if the -- you know, the fencing's down, that's something we have to look at and get it fixed. We'll confirm that time and date with the Member in the response to him. And also, if there's any other concerns, we'll get those addressed. So this is something that's being looked at as we speak. So once I get the information on what's going to be done, I will share that with the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for that response. These concerns are coming to me from members of the community, Mr. Speaker. How is the department given reports on deficiencies surrounding NWT airports before they pose a threat to human life and aircrafts? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Many communities have contractors that work in them for the airports or their staff. You know, if there's any concerns they're usually brought up that way. However, this is my first time hearing about this. I don't know if it's been addressed before but my first time hearing about it through the Member and other individuals. So immediately, as soon as I received it I shared it with the department. Safety concerns are always a top priority, and we want to get them looked at right away. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister provide a timeframe as to when the remediation work will commence and be completed before there's an accident being reported? I've worked at the airport before and, you know, these are very important. Can the Minister provide a timeframe for completion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I am waiting from the department to hear what's going to be happening. And I know the Member is concerned about safety. Again, you know, the contractors and whoever else is working there is required to do, you know, facility and grounds checks essentially to make sure that everything is safe, runway checks. You know, if there's concern and one of the issues is wildlife, if there's concerns about wildlife, you know, the pilots usually do fly passes or can see them on their approach so, you know, we're always aware of that. And hopefully the fence, when it goes up, it's going to restrict some of that or stop some of that. So once I get more information about it, I will share it with the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So similar to my colleague from the Sahtu, I am also passionate about skilled trades, and I'd like to ask questions to the Minister of ECE, education, culture and employment, about our apprenticeship, trades, and occupation certification board, or ATOC. So ATOC reviews appeals and provides advice to the Minister of ECE; however, there appears to be no public record of the board's work, such as meeting minutes or reports on what advice they've offered or what the Minister's responses have been. Can the Minister commit to making the work of ATOC public, including meeting minutes and reports. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have used the ATOC board numerous times in my time as Minister. I share the Members' interest in trades and seeing them grow. I certainly would want to have a conversation with the ATOC board themselves to see if they have any concerns about that. Certainly, I am very happy to find a way to log my letters to them with education, culture and employment but would want to make sure that I am closing the loop with ATOC first. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do believe that transparency would benefit everyone in this case. Secondly, now that the college is arm's length, Aurora College, does the Minister believe it's sufficient for ATOC to provide advice only to the ECE Minister given that the Minister doesn't necessarily have direct control over operations at the college? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, certainly the ATOC board provides advice to the Minister. That's their role within regulations and legislation. Mr. Speaker, the Member is right. Aurora College is arm's length. Aurora College does have its own academic advisory council. In addition to that, Mr. Speaker, it has a board of governors who come from a very varied work experience background. Their current chair definitely has experience in trades and comes from that sector, and that is certainly not a happy accident at all. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So if employers or apprentices have complaints based on their experience with the apprenticeship program, are they to direct those complaints to ATOC or to the Minister, or is there even a clear process for who is ultimately accountable with this program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker. So Mr. Speaker, we definitely do have a process. There is an appeals process for people who, you know, have concerns around termination, cancellation, or refusal of an apprentice. Any of these concerns can -- or employers or apprentices can contact the director of apprenticeship trade or occupational certification for more information on how to essentially log the appeals process. It certainly does not come directly to me. But it would be best for people to reach out directly to the director themselves. It is worth saying, Mr. Speaker, that I am currently in the process of doing a review of the regulations to do with trades given where we're at as a territory, given also the opportunities that sit in front of us, and making sure that the regulations that we have in place as well as the processes speak to the need that we have in the territory and that we're ultimately working with industry and with employers to make the system better. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, on June 10th, the Premier is joining a fireside chat hosted by Gary Maher for an event titled Canada's Arctic Future Runs Through Alberta. But the future of Canada's Arctic depends on Alberta respecting the sacred treaty rights and transboundary agreements. My question is to the Premier. Is the Premier going to bring a message to this event that's working with Northwest Territories means respecting our rights and treaties? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member's referencing an upcoming speaking event. I am not exactly sure which one. I've been doing this for the past couple months, and I am going to continue to do this for the next little while. What I do is I go in front of the rooms of policymakers, business leaders, federal Ministers, and just folks around Canada who we want to educate about the North. And I say, in the North, we have a system where development can happen. We have the resources that you want. And we have -- and the way to come to the North and work is to work with Indigenous governments. Our regulatory system involves the participation of Indigenous governments. They're partners along with the Government of Canada and the GNWT. And so that is the message I take everywhere around Canada. I say we're advancing three major projects, and the reason they're advancing is because we're working in collaboration with Indigenous governments. And that's -- yeah, and that's the way to get things done in the territory. So that's the message that I am trying to get out to everyone in Canada. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So the question is how are those remarks going to be known to the public? I just said what I was going to say. I am happy to publish any sort of speech I make. It's always the same content. It's always the same message. Whenever I can, I try to go to these events with Indigenous leaders. The last couple of times it's fallen through, but we make honest attempts to do that. I think that's actually the best way to go out and show the public that we are working together and that the territory is a place you want to come and do business. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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