Working on it, Mr. Speaker. There's a lot of voices in the room so it's taking some time, but we'll get there. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I have been Premier a couple months now, and there's many different things in this portfolio. For some reason, there's homelessness, there's procurement, all sorts of different things. So I'm still wrapping my head around every single policy that we have, and I want to make sure that I put my stamp on it going forward. It's the start of a new term, and I'm not just going to accept what has been given. I want to make sure that I'm working with the Indigenous governments and going in the right direction before we start -- before I start putting things out that might not yet be finalized. So I'll just leave it at that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not a fan of reorganization of departments unless there's a good reason and a good plan. It can be very disruptive. It can take away from actual work that needs to be done. You know, we don't need people spending time changing letterhead when they could be delivering programs. That said, I'm always happy to make changes that are for the benefit of the people of the Northwest Territories and if, based on the priorities, it appears that some reorganization or changes to portfolios or new portfolios are necessary, then I'm more than happy to entertain that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is collaboration across departments; however, if I have an issue as an MLA and it involves a senior and it's about income assistance, I'm not going to the Minister responsible for seniors. I'm going to the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment because that's where the authority and the money is. So if there's an issue, you should go to the Minister who actually has the ability to deal with that issue. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There may have been a Minister responsible for seniors, but that didn't encompass ECE and all of ECE's programs that are geared towards seniors. So there was never a one-stop shop. There was a Minister responsible for something, and that Minister did not have authority over all of the programs delivered by the GNWT, all of the funds expended towards that group. And so I wouldn't say it's accurate to say there was a one-stop shop. There may have been the impression of that but by no means was that the reality of it. And so I was happy to hear that earlier this year the Minister of Health and Social Services and ECE met jointly with the seniors' society, and I think that's evidence that this is a -- this is a way to work together going forward and not just focus on titles that have no -- nothing behind them, no substance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So there's a number of steps that need to be taken before there's a direct appointment. There's guidelines laid out for the department, how they're supposed to work through this. There is an assessment by the Cabinet secretariat, which is independent from the departments. There's the Ministers. So if the Member has some examples of things that we can do, I'm happy to hear about it. But from what I've seen, the direct appointment process works very similar to a normal HR process that we have in the GNWT. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I know that the Member is saying I don't want to answer it. I've answered the best I can. I don't know what people think is happening, and I guess that's what the Member is talking about. We don't have a bunch of direct appointments for our buddies coming through Cabinet. I can assure the Member of that. We have the direct appointments coming through these three programs. And if they're not coming through those three programs, I can assure you that Cabinet Ministers will have questions. Cabinet Ministers are still MLAs. They're still residents of the territory. They have the same feelings about direct appointments and about nepotism that everyone has. And I can't imagine what would happen if something came through across our desk, there was a conflict of interest and it wasn't declared, and it was clearly, you know, some shady dealing. That Minister would -- they would hear it at the Cabinet table. So I can assure the Member that the direct appointment process is not being misused by Cabinet, and that is going to be the case going forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I heard a lot of the comments. I don't know if there is a question at the beginning of those comments but if there is, I'd ask the Member to repeat it. Thank you.

Thank you. So when someone is hired through the internship program, it's because there has been an expression of interest put out -- and I'm sorry if that's not the proper term, but it has been advertised, and then people who have enrolled in the internship program can then apply. So that's public. The regional recruitment program is similar. I see ads for the regional recruitment program around my community. It's a way to ensure that local people are given the opportunity for employment. And so sometimes there's a sheet up in the drug store on the bulletin board saying that there's an advertisement. And in terms of the Indigenous gateway program, it's similar. It's also advertised. And those are the three programs that we see direct appointment come to Cabinet on, as well as deputy ministers. I should clarify that as well. Thank you.