Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Social Development is pleased to provide its Report on Bill 2, Missing Persons Act and commends it to the House.

Mr. Speaker, report on Bill 2, Missing Persons Act.

Thank you to the families of missing people that spoke courageously on their thoughts and experiences with the Standing Committee on Social Development. Committee's thoughts are with the family and friends who have experienced the disappearance of a loved one.

Committee acknowledges that subject material related to Bill 2 is very challenging for many families across the Northwest Territories...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Getting back people to work and off income support assistance.

Mr. Speaker, I care for and am concerned for the future generations. I am concerned that we are losing the resilience that our ancestors survived for generations on. Life is different now than 50 years ago.

Mr. Speaker, income support was created as a temporary solution, a band aid solution, to give people assistance for a short period of time. But, unfortunately, what it has become is a system that people get on and do not get off of the income assistance. For some young people, some young adults, it has...

Okay, thank you. I know that we're going to be talking about it, you know, as long as we're here because it is an important issue. So I just there's another issue that I had is that lately I know in small communities people are having you know, that need medical travel or that are travelling on medical travel to the south, we've been having issues where people are having a hard time trying to find a medical escort that require medical escort. And I know a lot of them are saying due to high cost of living, I can't leave my work long. Like, they will be granted some leave but not for two or...

Thank you. I know it is complex, but there are some that can be brought back to the North. And I only if you if the department's talking to some of the families, I'm sure. Because there are some that are there without no families. We know that. And the power of attorney, and they don't know who is the power of attorney. And I know that from talking to some of the people here who have loved ones over there, they said they only find out after the fact that their loved ones was in the hospital like, you know, and because they don't have anybody. There's no family anymore or not like, not that...

Okay, thank you. So it just goes to show that we really do have an addiction issue in the North, and especially with the drugs and alcohol. So it's just that there is the difference here is that there's reductions. I have an issue with that where, you know, why? Because we know that there is a major issue. You know, and why there's a reduction within the budget. I know that just like what my colleague said from Mackenzie Delta, in small communities, and in here too, we know of someone who is suffering with addictions. We even have family members who are suffering, you know, with addiction...

Thank you. Yeah, that's it.

Thank you. Thank you for that. And I'm sure our leaders are listening, so I guess, you know, I am glad that, you know, that you said -- well, that this government is working really hard to maintain a good working relationship with the Indigenous, which is good. So I know that something -- this kind of program, it's good for other regions as well. So hopefully we will keep it in mind for the next fiscal year, you know, because due to the resources we have.

So this program for -- the transition program that's going to Yellowknife and going to Inuvik, is that going to be operated -- the service...

I see in here community clinics and health centre, there's a decrease. So what programs and services are affected by this decrease?

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. With the court services, I see in here that for 2023 and then with the main estimate and then there was some increase in 20 -- later on revised estimate. But within this fiscal year, 2024-2025, it still stayed the same. And then there's a large reduction in the Office of the Children's Law, which is an important -- you know, it's -- this office is very important for many of our children that are in care or for -- you know, they provide good services. I just wanted to ask where is the increase made within the court services?

Mr. Speaker, can I have unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Okay, there are some of us MLAs that have four to six communities we represent, just like you, Nahendeh. We all came here wanting to make change. I hope that we as AN Assembly can move forward together in a positive way. We don't always need to be at each other's throat or tear each other down or arguing just for the sake of arguing. Both sides of the House must come together in a good way and work as a team for the people we were elected to represent. Thank you.