Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

I want to ask the Minister what specific public awareness initiatives are currently being delivered to help Northerners understand the risks, symptoms, and prevention strategies related to diabetes? Thank you.

Providing pathway to employment for NWT residents, I just wanted to ask the Minister because I know I mentioned Dechinta University because they've been around longer than some of the -- I mean, Aurora College have been here longer but longer than the polytechnic, the new one, and then -- I don't want to miss the opportunity here. You know, the Indigenous language interpreters and the ALCIP program that you mentioned, the aboriginal language instructor program, those are useful programs. Because I know that many of the students that graduated from that program over five years ago, they're...

Okay. According to your -- I mean, it's relevant but to your business plan, labour market programs, providing pathway to employment for NWT residents. So I just wanted to ask the Minister, we have the Aurora College, it's on here, but it doesn't outline. So I just wanted to ask the Minister if the early learning and child care program will be offered -- I see the scholarships, but will the program be offered within the next fiscal year? Thank you.

Okay. Implementation of Indigenous language action plan, that's in the business plan. I just want to ask the Minister -- I mean, well, I am kind of quite surprised Dechinta University has been around for quite some time and they're not flourishing, you know. And I think it would have been good because lately we've been talking about language, the Indigenous language, and I went to the opening of the language symposium in Behchoko and they talked about the importance of our language, preserving and speaking it, and a lot of them are saying that it needs to start from the house, from your -- you...

Okay, Mr. Speaker, thank you. So if that is the case, then why diabetes and other chronic disease are on the rise if they are working, doing something about it though, in small communities. So I want to ask the Minister how much funding is being allocated directly to diabetes-specific awareness and prevention efforts, and how does the department determine the level of investment needed given that approximately 20 percent of NWT residents are affected? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a serious health crisis is quietly emerging in the Northwest Territories. Diabetes has become widespread across our communities, reaching levels that are now epidemic. The most recent data shows that approximately 9,400 residents are living with diabetes or pre-diabetes, an astonishing figure when placed against our population of 45,500 people. Approximately one in five NWT residents, or roughly 20 percent, of our population is affected.

Mr. Speaker, these numbers aren't merely statistical concerns. They represent families, friends, and community members...

Okay, thank you. Yeah, with the mine closing, that's where, you know -- like I've said before, when the mine close, it's going to impact my community, my regions, more because we have a lot of our young people, a lot of our people working at the mine. So now is an opportunity. It's a good opportunity. It's a good time to start engaging, you know, like, having, post-secondary, post-secondary institution in Tlicho regions. Because not everybody would want to leave, you know, the comfort of their home community where they don't want to leave their -- their family, their culture, their language...

So it's being offered by the Aurora College. And so because it is a pilot project, that's why I am asking if it's going to be offered within the next -- in the fall time, will they be accepting new applications?

Thank you. I know that -- well, times have changed from the 18th and many years passed, so the stats, it's not the same from that time to now. So yes, it would be nice to revisit. Because I know this has been talked about, part of the revitalizations. And I know that because of the residential school, a lot of our students -- a lot of our older generations, they don't speak the language, and that has been a problem for many years. It's been identified. So not just now, but when we go out to the communities, a lot of people have been saying the interpreters/translators program, and we've said...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe these main estimates represent one of the most consequential budgets in recent years. The GNWT spending limit has increased from $1.8 billion to $3.1 billion. These are significant decisions that will shape the future of our territory and require thoughtful reflection and careful justification.

Mr. Speaker, our programs, investments, and policies must empower people, especially young people, to build lives with dignity, purpose, and stability here in the Northwest Territories. In our small communities, we need our youth. We know our youth are...