Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I just want to continue my questions with the nominee program for the Minister of ECE.
So legal aid in the NWT does not cover immigration law issues. Other jurisdictions offer these services to residents. Will the Minister commit to investigating this issue with the Minister of Justice and provide information on services that might be developed or, barring that, supports and pathways for newcomers who need them? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, I can definitely work with ECE officials in order to explore this further. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Banner day.
Mr. Speaker, the NWT lacks robust newcomer supports. Without appropriate services, newcomers are deterred from choosing to remain in the NWT. Providing those services is top of mind for organizations like CDETNO, FFT, and the Literacy Council. I know the Minister knows this, and she speaks with them. Can she confirm as to whether in her conversations with these support organizations, who have flagged key services for newcomers that lack adequate funding, whether these services will be addressed by her department or federal funding partners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So settlement services in the Northwest Territories are funded by the federal government. This was a key topic of conversation at our meeting in Toronto, and I will continue to pursue increases in settlement services for the territory. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'm sure more information will come out in due course. But just to confirm, the Minister said the allocation has been restored to 300. Does that mean that 103 spaces will be open for this remaining calendar year? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The quick answer is yes. And the added information to that is that we have until the end of the year to use those spaces, and so this is something that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment is going to have to work on in very short order.
I'd also just like to reflect on the work that staff have done in order to support this program for the year. They've been working, you know, on their heels all year and being very responsive and as responsive as possible with the amount of requests that have come in. So I just want to thank them for their incredible work on this. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
