R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know we're not supposed to discuss opinions in this House, but I'll indulge the Member. Yes, obviously, we needed to improve trust of government in emergency situations. I think that is, you know, one of the primary lessons that we've learned from this last series of evacuations that we had. The work to do that has already begun. It began at the beginning of this government.

When I drove out of Hay River, there was no one there to close the highway because people didn't understand what their roles were. And no fault of their own. But we weren't organized enough as a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I'd say probably one. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's an honour today to do what I've actually seen one of the visitors in the gallery do before. As Premier, it's an honour to recognize former Premier Caroline Cochrane who is joining us today along with Shalene Woodward, both of whom I served with and worked with in the last Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I'll be supporting this motion, and I'll say right now that when it comes to these types of motions about the rules of the House, there's no Cabinet position so all Cabinet Ministers are going to vote how they feel. You know, I won't presuppose the outcome of -- you know, if this motion passes, I won't presuppose the outcome of the committee report. I won't presuppose that it will recommend that all -- that we allow complaints to the Integrity Commissioner for everything said on Facebook that offends someone. I mean, if that's what the report says, then obviously I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I know the Member referred to these people who are stealing power and holding people hostage. I get if you are living next to an encampment and there's late night partying, that would be very disruptive and if that goes on continuously, that, you know -- that would aggravate anyone and rightly so, and I understand that. But the fact is that these are people who need a place to stay. I can't imagine that this was their, you know, destination in life, being in an encampment, in an alley, but that's the situation. So we are working with them, having conversations...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So we certainly engaged with the business community. For that level of detail, I'm going to have to get back to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for raising this. We are working -- and trying to work more closely with the NGOs in Yellowknife who are providing critical services. As we move towards integrating more services across government, NGOs are very valuable partners, invaluable partners even. We want to ensure that they are properly supported, that we are hearing from them, that we're working together, and that we're sharing information. And so what we are planning to do is ensure that we have enough shelter space, first of all. We want to ensure that there is enough space for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, of course, we are going to be providing a response, and this is wading into the Minister of MACA's territory, so I don't want to get too ahead of things. But the long-term work begins now. And so a lot of that long-term work - the planning, the relationships - that's already begun. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the envoy to Ottawa works in the Northwest Territories and works in Ottawa. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't know what the salary of the Prime Minister of Canada is. Thank you.