Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment if she could give this House an update where the polytech is on the work plan of the department and the college and when can we see some type of movement forward on this particular initiative that's important to the growth of training and education in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. You're a steady hand on the till when it comes to the rules.

Mr. Speaker, former Premier McLeod, or I called him other things, Mr. Speaker, I really mean that endearingly. He had a vision. And you know what? The reason I say this is because the Minister is in power to make decisions. I appreciate she wants to consult but what's wrong with convening a three-person panel as an example? Because they could talk about the power of a North of 60 mineral tax credit. They could talk about the power of the mineral tender system. They could talk about different things about...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll start off by saying, first I'll acknowledge a former colleague and friend -- not former friend, but former colleague of the Legislative Assembly. Punctuation matters as they say.

So, Mr. Speaker, let me start again, just to make sure we're clear. Former colleague of this House and a friend, I'll say, who used to be the Member for Range Lake, as you've already acknowledged, Mr. Daryl Dolynny. He's also been an entrepreneur in the city, but he's currently the CEO and president of Avens. I appreciate him being here today. By his side, he also has some...

That's okay, sometimes you can't tell us apart, Mr. Speaker. We do it to ourselves.

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order regarding Bill 26 which received second reading in the House on May 29th, 2025, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations on that date.

Mr. Speaker, our rules lay out the procedures for the committee to review bills in chapter 8.3, and I do not believe they have been followed in this case. Rule 8.3(1) specifies that, quote, bills referred to a standing committee, special committee, shall not be proceeded until the Assembly receives the report of...

Yeah, no, no, I'll withdraw that last thing I insinuated. I'm not sure of the exact wording, but I think we all understand that I must have said something of some minor content, and I'm willing to -- I'm really just trying to say I don't know exactly the wording, but I do understand the intent the Member had raised and I respect that calling our -- and I'm not going to parry that with another point of order, just so we can move on. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll begin with saying that I hear the Member or, in this case, the chair of the committee. The problem with using the Bill 3 example is it was done in error, and it -- but more importantly is even the extended examples as you provided which I can see it as a real example, but the problem is in both cases, they were treated with unanimity, so everyone was in agreement, and sometimes that's the best way to look at something. But there wasn't unanimity in this particular case.

Mr. Speaker, the other thing is that whether reciting one example or two examples...

Thank you, sir. And what important representation it is, may I point out.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to talk about how important this motion is to Avens but, in fairness, the motion is also important to all territorial partners that help ensure Northerners were well cared for during the 2023 evacuation. Let us not forget the important role that NGOs play in service to our northern people, our government, and any institution that they collaborate with. They are key partners to our northern success.

What an experience, Mr. Speaker. Like no others, you know very well yourself more than 50 percent of the...

It can happen to anyone, Mr. Speaker. And even twice a day. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to read a motion.

WHEREAS Avens is a care community for elders and seniors based in Yellowknife that provides long-term care services for residents under contract with the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA);

AND WHEREAS in August 2023, when the city of Yellowknife was under evacuation order, Avens was forced to evacuate 57 vulnerable residents, including some from long-term care facilities in Hay River and Fort Smith who were selected by the Government of the Northwest Territories...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wouldn't call that esoteric but there was some interesting -- I didn't follow any of that language other than there's a timeline, we're meeting the timeline, and the timeline's on time. I mean, you know, what public information can be delivered in this House today as to where or what we can expect? In other words, have they met all their qualifications to now transition formally into a polytech? Are they doing a public announcement in the next six months or three months that they will be talking about the next phase such as how do they fully transition...

Mr. Speaker, I'm referring to something outside government, and how I'll frame it this way very quickly is a person in the industry said they're not doing this, and they're a well-known person in the industry. They talk about the disconnect between the NWT geological society -- or survey, sorry, and industry on hand. They used to have regular meetings, Mr. Speaker. It's that kind of relationship outside of government.

So, Mr. Speaker, would the Minister be willing to sit down and talk about that and find a way to bring back an independent panel to be able to make recommendations because our...