R.J. Simpson

Yes, please.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And the Department of Justice has gone out to communities to consult on issues. For my policing priorities, I actually write to leadership across the territory and ask what I should include in those policing priorities. Ultimately I'll say the solution to this problem is a public health solution. As long as there's a demand for drugs, there's going to be drugs. There's no two ways about it. It's been borne out around the world and over the ages. So what we need is for -- what we need is healthy communities. That's really the ultimate solution. And so in my role as the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If every drug dealer who was arrested was never to be seen again, we'd be in a much better position I think. But the fact is that they often stick around. So just -- you know, there's three branches of government, the executive, legislative, and the courts. And so in the same way that I can't tell you, Mr. Speaker, what to do or any of the MLAs what to do, I can't tell the courts what to do. To add more complexity, the Criminal Code is actually a federal statute. So that's the federal government who makes that determination. So what we're dealing with here is a...

Mr. Speaker, as we approach the one-year mark of this government, I would like to reflect on the progress we have made in strengthening our partnerships with Indigenous governments and the Government of Canada. Our recent trip to Ottawa, as part of the Council of Leaders, is a testament to the collaborative spirit we have built with our partners, and I am pleased to provide Members of this Legislative Assembly with an update on that trip.

Earlier this month the Council of Leaders, made up of the GNWT and Indigenous governments from across the NWT, traveled to Ottawa to meet with federal...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Mandate Letters for the Executive Council of the 20th Legislative Assembly; and, GNWT Search and Rescue System Review Final Report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week I attended the Western Premiers' Conference in Whitehorse, along with the Premiers of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nunavut, and Yukon. The conference is a forum to discuss issues that are of interest or concern to all seven western provinces and territories.

This year, we started our informal discussions with Deputy Chief Darla Jean Lindstrom, of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation. She had a very simple message for Premiers: If we work together, we are stronger together. She also spoke of the importance of working together with Indigenous...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I won't say much about this; I've spoken extensively about the wildfires, and the Member for Hay River South has spoken about the accommodations being provided as well as other supports. So what the government will do is take this motion, use the 120 days to consider it, and provide a response. And we will be abstaining. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize my former colleague and current grand chief of the Tlicho, Mr. Jackson Lafferty. It was an honour serving with him as his deputy Speaker, and as the only Lafferty I'm allowed to recognize today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm happy to provide some more information to the Member in written form about how extensive we are looking at the review. As of today, I'm not quite sure where things are in the process but I can commit to provide that to her. And some of the things that I can -- that I know will be considered are the recommendations made by the rental officer in their annual report, and those will go back a number of years. So there's many recommendations already that the department will be looking at. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like every other initiative that we would like to bring forward, it has to compete with all of the other initiatives. And so we will weigh this against the other initiatives that the Members have requested, initiatives that other stakeholders have requested, and plan as appropriate. Thank you.