Good afternoon. Colleagues, I am prepared to deliver my ruling on the Point of Order raised by the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh on February 10, 2026. I have reviewed the unedited Hansard for the exchange in question, and I do not agree that this constitutes a Point of Order.
I would first like to recognize that the Member felt personally impugned or that their relationship with an Indigenous leader had been called into question. However, there has been no unparliamentary language, no clear allegations against another Member, and no charges of false or hidden motives.
I recognize that there is a debatable basis for a Point of Order regarding the imputation of motives or suggestion that the Member's questions are misaligned with Indigenous leaders. However, given the absence of key explicit and direct wording, alongside the Premier's explanation of his intent in his response to the Point of Order, I do not see a formal Point of Order.
I appreciate that the Premier was prepared to apologize before I even made a ruling. I also appreciate that the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh is speaking for his residents. I do wish to stress to Members to avoid such personal implications and encourage both sides to focus on substantive questions of treaty obligations and medical travel policies. I would also like to take this time to remind Members not to suggest another Member is acting based on a personal motive or to ascribe promises or commitments they did not themselves state in this House.
Moving forward, I need to emphasize that debate in this area should be focused on policy, treaty obligations, and government actions regarding medical travel, not on personal motives or characteristics of Members.
In addition, Members know that the Speaker may allow debate on a Point of Order. However, I felt that hearing from the Member and the Premier, along my review of the transcript, was sufficient in my ability to make a ruling on this Point of Order.
Mr. Speaker, barren-ground caribou are a vital part of the culture, traditions, and livelihoods of Indigenous peoples across the Northwest Territories. They are also an important indicator for the health of our northern ecosystems.
The conservation and recovery of barren-ground caribou herds is a shared responsibility and commitment. The Government of the Northwest Territories continues to work closely with Indigenous governments, Indigenous organizations, renewable resources boards, and other co-management partners to monitor herd condition, share information, and take targeted actions when needed.
The new population estimates for several herds have highlighted conservation concerns we are currently facing in the territory. The Bathurst, Bluenose East, and Porcupine herds all recorded significant population declines in 2025 despite collaborative efforts to address climate change, habitat disturbance, and other contributing pressures.
Mr. Speaker, despite these challenges, the GNWT is working with our Indigenous partners and communities to support recovery using both science-based management and Indigenous knowledge. Decisions about caribou management are strongest when they are informed by the people who have relied upon and stewarded these herds for generations.
Over the past year, the Department of Environment and Climate Change and our co-management partners continue a range of research work and monitoring efforts. We support collaborative herd-specific management processes and continued discussions on harvest management and habitat protection.
In 2025, ECC hosted a series of respected harvester meetings with representatives from Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations whose members have traditionally harvested along the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter road. The department also provided ongoing support to Indigenous-led monitoring programs along the winter road led by the Tlicho government, the Yellowknife Dene First Nation, and the North Slave Metis Alliance. The GNWT is committed to working in partnership to support the long-term sustainability of barren-ground caribou. As the Minister of ECC, I am personally committed to ensure the long-term sustainability of caribou populations to make sure they are here for future generations.
Mr. Speaker, to be clear, I want the caribou to be there for my grandchildren and their grandchildren after them. Through collaboration, shared responsibility, and continued investment in monitoring and conservation, we can help ensure these herds remain part of the North forever. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Roy Sugloo Arena at the Midnight Sun Complex in Inuvik will be loud and proud tonight. The 37th Annual Inuvialuit Regional Corporation Native Hockey Tournament, also known as the IRC Cup, starts today with 12 teams competing in over three divisions.
I would like to thank the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and its affiliated sponsors for sponsoring the event. It brings players and fans from throughout the Inuvialuit settlement region, the Beaufort Delta, the Mackenzie Delta, and beyond. I would like to thank the organizer for this event for their tireless efforts, as well as the amazing staff at the MSC, the Midnight Sun Complex, ensuring the facilities are in top shape for the athletes and fans alike.
This event, Mr. Speaker, brings together families, friends, athletes, and visitors to our community. It truly is an incredible event. I would like to wish all the teams the very best of success, and I know it will be another amazing tournament this year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Members' statements. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last night, the Member for Yellowknife Centre and I hosted a town hall on crime and public safety. Around 70 residents joined us, including parents, priests, public servants, business people, Indigenous leaders, activists, outreach workers, and people with lived experience on the streets of our capital. What we heard may not be surprising considering the recent state of our territory on crime but the deeply personal experience and insights shared were striking. In their own words, here are some of what we heard last night:
A citizen whose home was broken into said, I still stay up at night looking out of the window fearing for the safety of my family.
A Canadian Ranger said he was robbed and assaulted in uniform, the assailant telling him, I've always wanted to beat up a Ranger.
Dene people are raised to do the right thing. This is not Dene law; this is addiction.
The rules aren't strong enough.
The hospital ER is being used as a homeless shelter.
Fights are breaking out and families don't feel safe, but they can't leave or they won't be treated for their medical issues.
School-aged children drinking and smoking drugs in my backyard.
I spent four years living on the streets. I used to snort cocaine and shoot crack. We had respect back then, now these people have no shame, doing it all out in the open.
It's like we live in a third world country. Elders living in duct-tape homes.
There is no respect. I live a hundred feet from an encampment. It's going on the second year. I see girls going in as prostitutes. I see drugs going in. Why is the GNWT supporting this with generators and garbage pickup?
Our neighbourhood isn't safe anymore. I am afraid. I feel helpless. I don't feel safe walking downtown.
Mr. Speaker, several themes emerged over the course of the discussion:
Crime prevention programs designed for youth,
Accountability as a guiding principle for criminal justice reform,
Increased proactive community policing,
A need for stronger economic and social opportunity,
Regulation of private security companies and mandated cultural safety training; and,
More resources in small communities so not everyone has to come to Yellowknife for services.
I want to thank everyone who joined us last night and trusted us with their stories so we could share them here in this chamber. I also want to thank RCMP members, sheriffs, and peace officers who are working tirelessly to protect Northerners.
I am calling on the House to hear the voices of our people, honour their stories, and take decisive action to bring safety back to our streets, Mr. Speaker. And I will have questions for the Minister later today.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to start off with some interesting words: Confusion, anger, fear, frustration, hopelessness reinforced by the feelings of abandonment and vulnerability. Again, Mr. Speaker, the weight when someone tells me they feel vulnerable and abandoned by the process in the world we live in.
Mr. Speaker, many people know Yellowknife will never be the Old Yellowknife of old days but, Mr. Speaker, with my colleague from Range Lake, we wanted to hear the stories of up to 70 people. People showed up who are not regular people who come to these types of community events. They rose to the occasion. They didn't hide behind some veil of I am not telling you who I am. They're not trying to speak in funny voices so we don't know who they are. People saying I want you to know who I am, my story. I want you to hear the struggle of abandonment and fear.
Mr. Speaker, when seniors tell me at a community event like this what is my right to protect my home, what is reasonable force? If a senior, Mr. Speaker, is asking what reasonable force is when someone breaks in their home, that has got to be one of the loudest bells ringing I've ever heard in my job in my whole career. They're that afraid; they need help, Mr. Speaker.
The frustration of hearing a mom talking about being in Stanton Hospital and feeling threatened and wanted to leave. Her child did not feel safe.
Mr. Speaker, these are real stories that people had. They shouldn't feel unsafe.
When business owners are saying they've stopped calling the police because they don't show up fast enough for minor petty crime that happens day in and day out, it's not a criticism of the police because they quickly jump to we know they're dealing with heavy crime. And that's where they feel abandoned and vulnerable, that they're asking questions what do we do now?
Another senior told me do I now have to buy a security system I can't afford, do I have to buy a subscription? Where does it end, Mr. Speaker?
Although my time on the clock is ending, Mr. Speaker, this issue isn't ending. This is the beginning of how we're going to start asking how do we make our families and our friends feel safe in our community again because if that doesn't matter, I don't know what matters. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Members' statements. Member from Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I want to speak to an urgent and growing need in our small communities, the need for reliable after hours care for our elders, especially in places where no ambulance services are available.
Mr. Speaker, we know that many of our elders want to remain in their home communities as they age. This is not only a matter of comfort, it's a matter of dignity, culture, and connection. But too often elders who live alone or without close family support face unnecessary risk when a health concern arises outside of regular hours.
In many of our communities, nurses are not permitted to leave health centres and without ambulance services or on-call support, elders may be left with nowhere to turn in moments of distress. This is a gap we can and must address. One practical and community-driven solution is to enable local home care workers to provide limited after hours support when needed. These workers already have the trust of the community, they know the elders, understand local realities, and are trained to provide safe and compassionate care. Allowing home care workers to respond during after hours emergencies within a clear and supported framework would provide a vital safety net for our most vulnerable residents.
Mr. Speaker, this is not about replacing emergency services. It is about ensuring that no elder is left alone without help simply because they live in a small community. It is about creating a safe environment for aging in place, reducing unnecessary medivacs, and supporting the very people who built our communities. Our elders deserve to feel safe in their own homes, day or night.
I urge this government to work with our communities to develop an after hours home care support model that reflects our northern realities and honours our elders with the care they deserve. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to remark on how deeply thankful I am for the diverse 2SLGBTQ+ community of the Northwest Territories. In recent years, and notably again this week, misguided hatred towards the trans community festers on social media. As Bad Bunny reminded us all at his Super Bowl performance last weekend, the only thing more powerful than hate is love. So today I rise once again to state unequivocally my love for the 2SLGBTQ+ community and specifically my trans and nonbinary friends and neighbours.
I also want to thank this House for passing the second reading of Bill 40, An Act to Amend the Vital Statistics Act. This bill also amends the Change of Name Act to provide discretion to the registrar general and vital statistics to disallow deadnaming in the gazette, an issue I have raised in this House to support that community. Thank you, colleagues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Members' statements. Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the city of Yellowknife continues to face a significant shortage of available land for development, a challenge that has become increasingly visible in recent years. Municipal leaders and residents alike have voiced concern that the city currently has little residential land available for sale and existing developed parcels are insufficient to meet the community's housing and growth needs. The city is actively working to develop the few available parcels it currently holds, but these are not nearly enough to meet expected demand. The difficulty they are facing is that bringing new land to market is a lengthy and complex process, one that is not fully within municipal control. The underlying issue is that the NWT communities own very little land within their municipal boundaries leaving the municipalities dependent on the Government of the Northwest Territories for land transfers before new parcels can be planned, serviced, and released.
Given these circumstances, there is a clear and pressing need for more efficient coordination between municipal and territorial systems, particularly within the land administration processes overseen by the Department of Environment and Climate Change.
Public reporting indicates that delays in administrative complexity in territorial land processes contribute to difficulties in making new land available. Improving the responsiveness and efficiency of these processes would help address multiple community priorities such as housing availability, economic stability and diversification, and long-term planning initiatives. These documented realities underscore the importance of strengthening intergovernmental coordination and modernizing land administration workflows. Streamlining application requirements, reducing processing times, and enhancing collaboration between the city and the Department of Environment and Climate Change would help to ensure that our communities have access to the land they need to grow.
I appreciate the Minister's attention to this issue and the addition of new positions in the budget to respond to this need; however, I think there's work to be done on streamlining and improving the timelines of our processes as well. This work is part of our mandate implementation on building the foundation for a strong economy. It's a priority in the department's business plan so, really, we're just working on how best to implement the priority. I know our government wants to ensure that we are reducing barriers to local development as much as possible. I will have questions for the Minister later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the South Slave region has become a hot spot for crime and dangerous drugs coming up from Alberta, make their way into my four Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh communities. While recent increases in drug busts shows that policing investment in tools are working, there is still more that must be done.
As we continue to fight drug crimes, the government must also focus on repairing the harm done to families affected by it, especially the children who are often present in the home when drugs are trafficked.
All these drug dealers look for homes in our communities to set up shop. They trap the most vulnerable. Once the drug user is deeply in their debt, the dealers keep them isolated, terrified, and trapped in the cycle of fear and control. These are homes that the whole community knows as turning into drug dens yet they often have children in them, many of whom are already known to the health and social services. For the safety of those children, the Minister needs to ensure her department is working closely with the justice department because I continue to hear that there's no CFS checks that are happening in these homes. If staff are too afraid to enter, that should be a major red flag demanding immediate action.
I have heard stories of children being picked up at jails by their grandparents after drug busts of the families being put into taxis and sent to already overcrowded homes of extended relatives. It is up to this government to help break that cycle of poverty and trauma. The Minister responsible goes beyond simply relocating children after RCMP involvement, and she must be proactive when it is clear that children are living and surrounded by drugs and crime. We need more investment not only in fighting crime but also supporting the victims. I will have questions for the Minister of health later on today. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the construction of the new Stanton Territorial Hospital was one of the largest public infrastructure investments in the history of the Northwest Territories. Yet despite this, it lacks a key piece of medical technology - a magnetic resonance imaging machine, or MRI.
MRI technology is essential for early detection and accurate diagnosis. It allows physicians to identify cancers, strokes, neurological disorders, and internal injuries at early stages when treatment is more effective and positive outcomes are stronger.
Mr. Speaker, early diagnosis can mean the difference between a manageable condition and a life altering one. It can also reduce long-term health costs by preventing complications that arise from delayed care. Mr. Speaker, for residents across the Northwest Territories access to MRI services should not be considered a luxury. Timely access is a core part of modern health care and a standard service in hospitals across Canada.
For elders in smaller communities, these barriers are often more significant. Travel is physically demanding, especially for those managing chronic or serious illness. If we are committed to protecting our residents and strengthening care in the North, essential diagnostic services, including MRI, must be a service provided within our own health system.
Mr. Speaker, we spend millions each year on medical travel, sending residents south for services that could be provided here. We have invested in a new hospital. It should be fully equipped to meet the needs of our population.
Mr. Speaker, I have heard from constituents who say that when scans are performed in Alberta, local physicians sometimes receive written reports rather than full imaging access. If treatment is happening here, doctors should have full pictures. Mr. Speaker, it is time to bring MRI services to Stanton so our residents can access this important technology closer to home. I will have question for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife North.
Minister’s Statement 877-20(1):
Mr. Speaker, what if we had access to a proven energy source that was not only cheaper and cleaner but also supported local jobs and economies for the long term and helped protect us from wildfire disasters? It sounds too good to be true. But it's already here, and I am talking about using wood for heating. I know that sounds boring. Lots of folks already have wood or pellet stoves. The GNWT already has installed lots of biomass boilers. So what's more to talk about?
People want to move on to talk about fancy new technologies and energy innovations, but the danger is we ignore the need to strengthen the human capacity, skills, and logistics to sustain even our existing biomass heating facilities. We're also missing opportunities to fully tap into the economic potential of a made-in-the-north wood-chipping industry.
Now, I am not saying that GNWT itself should be the main driver of biomass energy. Projects need to be community-driven. There needs to be local commitment and local people trained to maintain and operate these systems, with several backup maintainers ready to step in if someone goes on vacation or gets sick or leaves the community.
Arctic Energy Alliance is a key partner in ensuring that there are really small armies of trained biomass operators, and they could use funding to run even more courses as they have long waiting lists. And within the GNWT's Department of Infrastructure, we could use a more centralized and coordinated team of support staff.
Now, communities such as Teslin in the Yukon are already seeing the economic benefits from a local wood-chipping industry. They report that with district heating systems powered by locally harvested chips, up to 95 percent of the expense stays within the local economy whereas only 10 percent of the money would stay with oil or diesel heating.
Led by ECC and MACA, our communities have already been doing a lot of FireSmarting, but we haven't yet made the link to plan to use that wood waste as fuel. Likewise, we've been siloing efforts at sustainable forest management, thinking mainly of preservation when we could actually be creating healthier forests and prevent some fires by doing more active thinning and using that wood as heating fuel. Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's time to start reinvesting the substantial savings we've already seen from biomass energy in continuing to expand its potential both for economic development and fire prevention. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Members' statements.
Colleagues, over the past year, you have heard some of the challenges the Fort Simpson District Education Authority has been going through. I can tell you, I have spoke with and advocated along side of them to help improved the education system in the community. These seven elected representatives of the community are parents, aunts and uncles of the students in the school system. Today I would like to recognize and celebrate them - a team that stands strong in its believe, dedication, and resolve to create lasting change in education for the community of Fort Simpson.
In every community, education is the bridge between the present and the future. It is where our young people find their voice, our culture finds its continuity, and our community finds renewed strength. The Fort Simpson Education Authority has remarkable determination in meeting the challenges within our education system not to avoiding but by facing them head-on with courage and collaboration.
Change is never easy. It takes vision, conviction, and unity to challenge old systems and to ask difficult questions and to make decisions that put students first. This authority has done exactly that, working tirelessly to strengthen learning environments, support staff, and ensure every student has the opportunity to reach their full potential. Their work is driven by a belief that every child no matter their circumstances deserves a quality education that reflects who they are, where they came from, and where they are going. By listening to students, teachers, families, and community members, the authority continues to shape an education system that is responsive, inclusive, and grounded in local values.
The efforts underway today are not about fixing what is broken; they are about building something better. They are about creating a system that honours cultural knowledge, celebrates student success, and empowers staff to grow and thrive.
On behalf of all who care about the future of our youth, I want to express sincere gratitude to the Members of the Fort Simpson Education Authority. Your resolve strengthens our community. Your leadership inspires trust. And your action remind us that progress is possible when we work together with open hearts and a shared purpose. May your commitment continue to guide the way forward for the students who are learning today, and for the generations who will follow in their footsteps.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this Assembly has made public safety a priority, and I am pleased to see that we have made progress in several areas in this but, of course, it doesn't matter if our constituent don't feel safe. So I am asking today will the Minister of Justice commit to leading a whole of government crime reduction strategy that is costed, time bound, and will increase community policing presence in all NWT communities, take proactive measures for northern youth to prevent crime and addictions, advocate for bail reform at the federal level to ensure violent and repeat offenders are taken off the streets, enhance in-territory addictions programs and create a resident addictions treatment centre, and provide dedicated formula funding to all communities for public safety and community policing. That would be the body of the strategy, but we need a whole-of-government approach here. It can't just be one department, and he needs to take leadership over it to ensure we have safe and secure communities. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a number of the items that the Member has risen are certainly on the agenda, and I am definitely committed to ensuring that as a government, I fulfill my mandate that's within my letter to enhance community safety across the Northwest Territories.
Making a commitment on the floor is not how this government does business. We have processes, we have procedures, we have committee. We get input from all Members to do this work, and that is a big piece of how we govern in consensus government, Mr. Speaker. So I think that that process needs to be brought before the entire House for a further discussion if that's a direction. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I have thoughts on how we govern but, Mr. Speaker, I mean, I could put this into a motion and then the government will respond to it. I don't think that's going to get us any farther.
Mr. Speaker, we started this conversation at a town hall. Would the Minister commit to hosting town halls across the Northwest Territories with his department, with the RCMP, and hear firsthand the stories people are going through. Because it's not pretty out there. He needs to hear these stories, not just from us, but from firsthand accounts of people telling these stories so he can understand the seriousness of the issues and how he could help. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I held co-meetings with the commander of the RCMP in communities where they have made that request of us, and I am certainly pleased. I will obviously not speak for the commander, but I am happy to make myself available if there's a request from a community to come and have a community meeting to discuss justice. I am very happy to do that and would be happy to reach out to see what the availability is of the commander of the RCMP to attend with me as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Justice. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like the Minister to commit to something more proactive than that. It's fine to wait for the communities to ask but he needs to get out there, he needs to show leadership. Will the Minister take a proactive approach and roll out community consultations on how we're doing as a government on public safety. Because how people are feeling about it -- it's not just about statistics, but it's about how people feel about safety in their communities. He needs to go out and hear those stories. Will he do it proactively? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that's the exact approach I've taken. I've visited many communities across the Northwest Territories. I've had meetings with leadership. Certainly crime, drugs, and the impacts on those communities have been top of mind in those discussions, and I continue to have those conversations at the leadership level. And when the community requests of me to come and meet with community members or attend a town hall or a community meeting, I am more than happy to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Justice. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't need a long preamble. I am requesting the Minister to host a town hall and community meeting. Will the Minister abide by that request? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I previously stated, I am happy to accept an invitation from a community to attend a community meeting and speak on behalf of my portfolio as the Minister of Justice, so welcome any invitation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I have a whole set of questions, but I am not going to get to them. I am going to keep repeating the same question. MLA Testart has asked twice. I've asked once. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to ask it a fourth time.
Mr. Minister of Justice, I am asking, MLA Testart's asking you, would you please organize a community town hall meeting so people can speak about their vulnerability and have ideas and options through your department in partnership with the RCMP so we can feel empowered and feel safe in our community again. Would you be willing to do that at our request? Thank you.
