Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, once again, the director is part of the system. There needs to be independent oversight and an independent advocate as well. That's why MLAs have been calling for, to establish a child and youth advocate in the Northwest Territories. Will the Minister establish that? If she does, I can get rid of this motion I am going to give notice to later. But if she just says yes today, then we can all move forward and get a much-needed advocacy and support for children in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said in my Member's statement, yesterday a number of MLAs met with the Yukon's child and youth advocate, and I think it was eye-opening for a lot of us, but to see the important good work they do. One of the statistics that was shown to us was that 30 percent of the files dealt with at the Yukon child and youth advocate are from outside of territory. Many of those deal with Indigenous children in the Northwest Territories.

So I'd like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services, who is responsible in particular for children in care, which is the...

Mr. Speaker, yesterday evening I had the pleasure of meeting Annette King, Yukon's child and youth advocate, alongside several of my MLA colleagues, to discuss the vital work she and her peers champion for the rights of children across Canada. Ms. King's accomplishments, confronting and navigating challenges similar to those our communities here in the Northwest Territories face, are particularly impressive.

It was shocking, but sadly not surprising, to learn that 30 percent of the Yukon's child and youth advocates' work is dedicated to files from outside of their territory, many of which...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Improving the overall reliability of the medical travel system requires addressing delays, strengthening coordination, ensuring clear communication standards and reducing avoidable repeat travel. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

Can the Minister provide the average and maximum wait times for medical travel approvals over the past fiscal year, and explain what actions are being taken to reduce delays for patients who need to travel urgently?

What specific steps is the department taking to streamline coordination with non-insured health...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I haven't heard any critiques about it. People just want to know how it works. So will the Minister proactively provide more clear information about this whole new scheme to everyone who is currently engaged in the program or who is interested in being engaged in the program, whether -- well, let's just say it's the employer stream. So employers who use the program, will she direct the department to proactively engage with them and make sure they have everything they need? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it was with great delight that Northerners who rely on the Northwest Territories nominee program got the rules finally last week, but there's a new points’ criteria that's been attached to the employer-driven stream. Unfortunately, my office asked for more information but were told to look for the articles and documents. People want to see what this is all about. Will the Minister publish very clear guidance about how the points system will work for the NTNP program? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, of course Ministers are the final word. That's how governments work. I think everyone understands that. Mr. Speaker, the unit has spent two years inventorying problems that frontline staff have been complaining about for a decade. So why are we spending $2 million a year of federal money on an administrative process to build more plans, to build more studies, when we could be putting it into frontline services like an MRI machine or even security in the waiting room, in the emergency room, Mr. Speaker? That's what's important to Northerners, and until we...

Okay, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Premier about the healthcare system sustainability unit. The unit is diligently working away at inventorying medical costs to the healthcare system. We're now hearing a lot of the decisions that we're asking about on the floor as it relates to the healthcare system are dependent on data or reports that are going to be produced by this unit. So is the unit on track to meet its reporting timelines of a preliminary sustainability report by mid-year this fiscal? Thank you. Or, sorry, calender year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, that's good news, but that's not what's being communicated clearly because that's why we're getting complaints. So can the Minister explain why this happened? Why was individual-level non-anonymized data collection suggested to providers instead of typical aggregated, anonymized statistical reporting as we see in federal programs? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nunakput, that Committee Report 35-20(1), Standing Committee on Public Accounts Report on the Review of the Auditor General's 2025 Audit of Protected and Conserved Areas in the Northwest Territories, be received by the Assembly and referred to Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.