Richard Edjericon

Okay, thank you. Welcome back, everybody. We're going to the next Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I talked about my constituents that have been medivaced here, a young mother was in an awkward position and leaving them more or less homeless because of the policies of government prohibited them getting help. We've been at this business since 1967, and I guess my question to the Minister is that is there a way that we could create a contingency account until proper due process is done in Ottawa to approve medical travel for patients here in the Northwest Territories? We should have an emergency fund. And we've been at it for 59 years, so...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we signed treaties to secure enduring promises of continual livelihood and survival. Those treaties define our ongoing relationship with the Crown, and then the Crown's presence in the North has grown from RCMP patrol to Canadian coast deliveries, a sprawling network of department of public institutions. Amongst the most crucial to our people are the services they ensure: access to health care.

Responsibility for administration of health services eventually transferred from Ottawa to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, with the responsibility of care, sacred...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am a little concerned that our Treaties number 8 and 11, signed in 1900 and 2000 -- or sorry, 1921, and we have rights on health. And, Mr. Speaker, my concern is that the policy on government now is overriding our treaties. And so when they turn down help for our constituents, who are treaty members, and we deny them because we're hiding behind policies, in terms of moving forward in collaboration and implementation of UNDRIP, what can we do different now as we develop new policies to work with treaty communities and without impacting their treaty rights...

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of health.

The Premier made opening comments on this health today, and he talked about access, respect, and reliability. And in the 19th Assembly, we signed UNDRIP, so we talked about that a little bit as well. But, Mr. Speaker, part of the priority of this government, access to health care, is one of the three top priorities of this government -- or sorry, four top priorities of this government. And the letter from the Premier, June 12th, 2024, in that mandate letter from the Premier to the Minister of health, it talks about -- I'll...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier in this session, I spoke about the importance of the Akaitcho process reaching an outcome that is equitable and respects my people's rights. Today, I want to highlight another First Nation, the Deh Cho, who are also actively engaged in concluding a land claim process that will recognize and uphold their rights and interests.

The Deh Cho First Nations have been engaged in negotiations with the territorial and federal government to secure an agreement in principle that reflects their rights, values, and vision for the future; however, the Deh Cho negotiation...

Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Okay, thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion.