Caroline Cochrane

We are trying to be more open and transparent. I think that was a direction that we were given by the general public. It is a direction that I have given my Ministers. However, I have also heard from MLAs across the table in different areas, "Let's get to work. Let's get it done." My Ministers are also waiting. They have been waiting months to get their mandate letters. We're still in the process. Everybody is just anxious to get them, so I want to get these off. I want to get to work.

I will not commit to going through the process, because from delivering the draft mandate right now, we...

I will try to do a better job of addressing both issues. For clear direction, I may be wrong, but my understanding is that the priorities that are developed by every Legislature are not to encompass every single task that every department will do. It is meant to define what the major issues are that we want to tackle. It does not give clear direction for every single department, nor is it meant to, in my understanding. I am only one Member of the Legislative Assembly, though, so I am open to feedback on that.

For how we deal with other departments, business still goes on. The departments do not...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also want to recognize one of our Pages in the House today, Ms. Brenna Willis, who is a student with Range Lake North, and we are really glad to have her helping us as Page. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome all my colleagues to this sitting of the Legislative Assembly. I also want to thank them on behalf of Cabinet and myself for selecting us for the Executive Council. You have chosen a hard-working, strong Cabinet that is committed to working collaboratively with Regular Members in the interest of all residents of the Northwest Territories.

I am proud to take my seat here in Canada's first and only gender-balanced Legislature. Women make up half the population and, now, half of our representatives in this Assembly. We have a responsibility to serve as a...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "Cabinet's Guiding Principles – 19th Legislative Assembly." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As stated in my opening statement, we are committed to working more closely with the Regular Members, so we will actually, as we develop this work, we will be consulting and working closely with the appropriate standing committee to define the actions as we move forward. This will not be done in isolation. It will be done together.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Normally, questions on this topic would go to the current Minister responsible for the Status of Women. However, in discussion with it, because I was the previous Minister responsible for the Status of Women, it is appropriate that it would come to me.

There were commitments made in the 18th Legislative Assembly on behalf of Cabinet. We had committed to being part of the national action plan that would be done by the federal government, of course waiting if they got elected again, which they have been. We did a high-level review of the report, and we identified not...

Any Member who is sitting in this House today who did not hear very clearly during the candidates' debate who were all vying to become either Premier or Ministers, it was very clearly heard that MLAs were not happy that they did not have a say. The public, I believe, was not happy that we did not work as closely as we had to. Again, that will be in my mandate letter of expectation from Ministers.

Not everything will be in a mandate letter; it is impossible to do that, but I personally will be holding Ministers and departments to account when they do not provide standing committees and Regular...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The provision of the mandate letters that were provided to me as a Minister in the 18th Legislative Assembly helped to reinforce the priorities and the mandate commitments that were made by all Assembly Members during the 18th Assembly. They kept me focused on the needs, but they did not limit me. I must make that clear. They did not limit me in what my powers were. They gave me a guideline. They said, "You must do these," but I also appreciate that I had the freedom to move the departments as I felt was appropriate, based on the needs of people.

I am sorry that I didn't address that part of the question, but it gives you this supplementary question. I would love to be able to give a timeline, but I feel that would be disrespectful of the process, because we are also engaging with the national action plan as well. I think that, in all honesty, they kind of have to go hand-in-hand to make this comprehensive.

My statement stands as it is, though. We will begin this process early in the new year. I will allow my departments to take a Christmas holiday. As soon as that's done, we are reinstating the work, and we will engage with standing...