R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I've committed to work with the Minister of MACA, have a conversation with him, talk to EIA about what is possible, and so I will ensure that I do that. If it moves beyond that, I'm happy to work with the SPCA as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said earlier, I definitely value the work of the SPCA. Not everything that happens in the territory is government-supported, nor should it be. There are some things where the community, where people have to step up. I'm happy to make a donation. I'll commit to making a $500 donation to the SPCA here. I encourage other Members to do it. There are some things that we as citizens of the territory need to come together and support. There's other things only government can really support. So while I'd like to be able to stand up here and say every NGO gets money because...

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Justice, I have a return to oral questions asked by the Member for Monfwi on May 21st, 2025, regarding the Legal Aid Commission of the Northwest Territories.

The Member asked about the current capacities of the Legal Aid Commission, noting a vacancy for the North Slave region on the Justice website. This vacancy was filled by the appointment of Jennifer Frankie-Smith commencing July 25, 2024, but the department did not update the Justice website to reflect this. The website is now current and correct, and the department thanks the Member for bringing...

Mr. Speaker, as we come together for the fall sitting of the 20th Legislative Assembly, I want to welcome all Members back to the House and thank the people of the Northwest Territories for their strength, generosity, and optimism about the future of our territory, even in the face of challenges.

The work we do in this House reflects the people we serve. Northerners face adversity with determination and meet change with creativity. Whether it is returning home after evacuations, adapting to new realities in our communities and economy, or finding new ways to support one another, the spirit of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There were 35 recommendations in that report. 35. If you look at 34 of them, they say "agree". There is one where the department looked at internally the capacity and made the determination that this is what is appropriate for our northern context. I mean, we could farm out all decisions to contractors and to third parties and academics and experts from other places, but at some point, we have to govern and make decisions based on the learned experiences that we have as a government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the question is did we -- the question as I understand it is did the government do a cost analysis of creating a new emergency management department. And so earlier the Minister of MACA stated that the decision was made based on the capabilities that are currently in house. And so, you know, that's the information that I heard earlier today, and I believe that the Minister has committed to going back to the department, looking at the cost of doing something like this. So I think that that question has been answered today already and that further conversations will...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I think I explained earlier what we're talking about when we talk about critical services. However, I do take the Member's points. You know, from time to time you hear about the impact of stray dogs in communities. It comes and goes. Sometimes it's worse than others. But what I'll do is I will have a conversation with the Minister of MACA, I'll have a conversation with the department, and see what type of work is happening in this area and what types of supports are possible, if any. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I very much appreciate the work of the SPCA. I've had pets most of my life and, you know, when there's an emergency, I know that the trauma of being separated from your pet. So the work that they have done over the years is -- you know, is very important. What we are doing as a government is looking at the services that we provide, the services that we would have to provide if other service providers didn't do them. And so what we're focusing on now as we strengthen our relationship with the NGOs is those types of services, the services that if that NGO was to stop...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the honourable Member for Kam Lake, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, will be absent from the House today as she is travelling back from the forum of Ministers responsible for Immigration in Toronto, Ontario;

The honourable Member for Thebacha, the Minister of Justice, will be absent for today and tomorrow to virtually attend the federal-provincial-territorial Ministers responsible for Justice and Public Safety meeting;

As well, the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, the Minister of Health and Social...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So in 2023, we had a contractor to go out and engage the public and talk about how they feel that we communicate with them. And there were issues obviously. Even with things like the website -- in normal times, most searches for government information starts on the website, and so we got a lot of feedback on that. And so we're going through a process of updating that website, and that means looking at all the content that's on there, tens of thousands of pieces of information, reviewing all of those. Writing them in plain language as opposed to using jargon, writing for...