Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So one to two years, that's, what, 2026? So could the Minister commit to having -- phasing out agency nurses by 2026? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. How many of those could be redeployed to operate a wellness facility? Thank you.

Okay, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I was going to ask the Minister if she cares about obstetrics. Clearly, she does, so I appreciate that. So when's this going to kick in, right? Like, because it's -- it sounds like a plan. It sounds like we have the resources coming together. So when can we expect this new model to take over and the agency nurses to be relieved of their contracts? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It just -- and I appreciate that, and it was my sense. But it just seems like if we're trying to -- if we're closing this facility because it's under -- they're both underutilized and is going to save money that is going to help us achieve fiscal sustainability, creating an untested wellness centre that would require new staffing, new resources, new special areas of specialty that we don't have -- we don't have efficiencies around, so it would be piloting a lot of these things, it seems like we'd be replacing a less than optimal facility with an even more expensive...

So the -- like, the labour market supplement was brought in around -- like, many provinces and territories were bringing in those kind of bonuses during COVID when health care professionals were leaving their profession or going towards private agency jobs that are much more lucrative, and the supplement existed outside of the collective bargaining process through an agreement with the union. So can the Minister explain why that -- why we're waiting for collective bargaining to decide whether or not to bring that back? Because my understanding is it's not a -- it's not related to that. It's in...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Wednesday, June 5th, 2024, I will move the following motion:

Now therefore I move, seconded by the Member for Frame Lake, that the Government of the Northwest Territories complete the block land transfer of land to communities within municipal and community boundaries without delay;

And further, that the Government of the Northwest Territories remove requirements from communities that are impeding this transfer, such as the requirement for surveying, community zoning and by-law development for land that is under Government of the Northwest Territories authority...

Thank you. Thank you for the response from the Premier as well. Is there any correlated data between the strength of the economy and the increased rates of crime? And by that, I mean we've seen a dip in economic activity since the pandemic and also an increase in crime. So is there a correlation between kind of a softening economy and the increased rates of crime, addictions, and cross-border drug trafficking? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the costs to -- for nicotine replacement therapies can be -- and products like nicotine gum patches -- I used the patch. It was very effective. I've used them all, though. What financial supports do they have? Because certainly some of these products might not even be available in a small community. So what financial supports and how are we getting these products to individuals outside of regional centres? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is kind of more of an opinion-based question, but I think it's relevant. But, like, is the Premier of the opinion that, like the -- not the root -- the root cause is obviously public health issues, obviously drugs and addictions that we've been struggling with for some time. But we're seeing this additional level of organized crime who are bringing more drugs into the communities, who are exploiting things like public housing, right, by capturing public housing clients and using their public housing units to deal drugs in small communities. So how would he tackle...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think the Minister answered most of my questions, so she's ahead of the curve. But I think you've spoken about this in the past, Mr. Speaker, but the Butt Head campaign was a very popular program and toured around the Northwest Territories, and I think kids really liked it as well. Why have we stopped promoting -- or using the Butt Head campaign -- antismoking campaign? Thank you.