Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up on the questions raised by my good colleague from Range Lake, same subject, same Minister, Mr. Speaker.
I've been around politics a long time. I'm not going to say I'm the oldest in the sense of this process. Many people have excellent experience around politics in this room and including the territory. But one thing I've noticed about leadership is about how you define yourself. And sometimes I see people make declarations and that causes other people to stand up and see how they can respond to it. So in other words, I'm getting at is what would go wrong if the Minister said we want those 150 positions back and we're moving on it, and the federal government's job is to accommodate our request? Could the Minister show the leadership and declare we are taking those 150 back? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, after the program was changed by the federal government in January, we were immediately advocating for that. The federal minister travelled here to the Northwest Territories last summer and heard firsthand the experiences of local businesses in the territory and the labour demands in the Northwest Territories. So they're very well aware of what it is that we need. We, again, laid out why we need these allocations. We laid out why we need them returned. I will continue to do so. But I cannot give out allocations that I do not have. We administer a federal government's program here in the Northwest Territories. I do not have an allocation. I do not have a permanent resident allocation to give somebody if the federal government has not given it to us. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, a couple things there were a little on the confusing side, and that's how I'll describe it. First of all, it's the old government, not the current government. Second of all, it's the allotment change, not the program. Mr. Speaker, the refugee deal wasn't taken. So, Mr. Speaker, on this meeting that she claims to have, why doesn't she extend an olive branch to the Members, you know, who are very interested in this, and we go down as a delegation and say we're going to take the 150 back, and we're going to ask you, Minister, Mrs. Federal Government, whatever you want to call it, meet us halfway, and get us there. Thank you. Why can't the Minister do that?
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our Cabinet, many members will be travelling down to Ottawa to meet with federal Ministers, and we intend to travel with representatives of Indigenous governments of this territory. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
So, Mr. Speaker, just to clarify the record, I'm hearing that Members don't matter. I'm hearing that only one matters are Indigenous governments and the Cabinet. This issue particularly matters to a lot of Northerners, not just in Yellowknife. I got phone calls from Hay River. I know my colleague got phone calls from Inuvik. All these places in the North. It's a northern problem. Mr. Speaker, what is the problem -- what is -- the Minister doesn't like the statement, that's the problem. I wish she'd have that fire in Ottawa, Mr. Speaker.
Member from Hay River North.
Point of order. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I could try and quickly find this but from what I understand, Members are allowed to ask their question and two supplementary questions. The soliloquy, the monologue, can be at the beginning of the first question but the next two are just supplementary. And I believe the Member's had about three Member's statements in this round of questions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Hay River North. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Mr. Speaker, his point of order was intended to interrupt me. You are the judge, Mr. Speaker, on that process, and there is no defined finite rule on it. There is a framework of conversation around it, and hence it was just to interrupt the flow. He's told me this himself. Thank you.
Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
Another?
Member from Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the Member imputed motive, imputed motive twice in that statement, saying that the reason that I called the point of order was not to bring order to the House but to -- just to interrupt him. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Hay River North. Guys, ladies and gentlemen, I'm just going to make it real simple: I've asked you to ask -- do your supplementary -- or your questions, supplementary. Have your little talk, and then your little preamble to begin with, and then your questions to follow through on. That's the same with the Ministers. I've asked you to focus on your answers and move forward.
So I would ask the Member from Yellowknife Centre to refrain from asking -- or telling a preamble before each question, please and thank you.
Member from Yellowknife -- sorry, I need a quick second on this one.
The second one, Member from Hay River North talked about motive to it. Basically Member from Yellowknife Centre, will you withdraw the comment, please.
I'm not here to hurt his feelings so I'll drop -- withdraw. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Yellowknife Centre, to your question.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I was proceeding to my point -- thank you -- I'm getting at is why doesn't the Member -- Minister engage Members as being part of the solution rather than this wall of we know everything and stay out of our way? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the information that I have that empowers me as Minister, and a role that I carry because of the trust of the majority of this House, was to do my job. Part of my job is travelling to Ottawa. Part of my job is also talking to stakeholders. Stakeholders in this case have been very open about what it is they're looking for. That formed the letter. That is what I am now taking to Ottawa.
It is also worth saying, Mr. Speaker, that the Constitution gives the federal government exclusive jurisdiction over immigration. They have allowed us as provincial and territorial governments to administer parts of that program for them, but I cannot change the Constitution because a Member wants me to. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
