Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All-of-government approach. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm always looking to cut red tape. I know there have been improvements made in reporting for at least some of the contribution agreements that we have. But, again, we can always do more. And, again, it is a balancing act. These are public dollars, and we do need to account for those dollars and ensure that we're spending them in a way that this Assembly agrees with and the public is happy with. So there's always going to be a need for some reporting requirements, but a lack of trust really slows things down. And so if we can strengthen that relationship, build the trust between the GNWT and the NGOs, then I'm sure that we can streamline those requirements and make life easier for everyone, for the government, for the NGOs, and for the residents who ultimately we are both serving. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Communication -- bad communication is the cause of 80 percent of the problems. That's been my experience in this role or as an MLA over the past eight years. And so I'm always looking towards ways to improve communication, and I'll have that conversation with the departments on how we communicate with NGOs. Oftentimes it's a resourcing issue on our end. We just don't have the people to just spend the time having the conversations that need to be had. And so if that's the case, we need to figure out how to have those conversations differently. So yes, I am committed to improving the conversations and the communication between NGOs and the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have to look at what is being offered, what is needed, and what funding we have available. So it's a combination of those three things. It's not just what the NGO is offering and what services they're providing, it's also whether or not it is a priority for this Assembly and the government to fund those services and what exactly is being delivered. So there's more factors than the Member is putting into the question that we need to consider. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that there are some NGOs that do receive core funding; however, obviously not all NGOs receive core funding. And to the Member's question, we won't be extending core funding to every single NGO in the territory. That being said, we are looking at the core services that are offered by the GNWT. And if an NGO is offering those core services, then we can look at core funding. So there is an opportunity to expand core funding in recognition of the fact that these NGOs are delivering core services of the government. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise the House that the Honourable Jay MacDonald will be absent from the House today to meet with federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Indigenous leaders on the project Finance for Permanence in Ottawa, Ontario.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, the salary of MLAs is something that's been an issue in every Assembly I've been in. It's always a political issue. And part of the reason, from my understanding, that it's not tied to any sort of a negotiated contract, a collective agreement, is because we don't want our salaries -- we don't want any skin in the game when we're in those negotiations. It wouldn't make sense. I don't think it's good practice to basically be negotiating our own salaries. So I think that is the rationale for the exclusion. So, thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House Bill 2, Missing Persons Act, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have to confer with the Minister of Finance, but I do know that public servants do have some whistleblower protection under section 2 of the Charter, freedom of expression, and in certain circumstances. But that's not a decision for me. I have to confer with my colleague, the Minister of Finance as she is responsible for the Public Service Act. So I will do that as soon as reasonably possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.