It's up to the Spooker. Mr. Spooker, I too wish to say hello to and acknowledge my cousin from the Deh Cho, Michael Nadli. I was a former Member with -- or he was a former Member with me, or we were Members at the same time, however you want to put it. I know he's very passionate about the Deh Cho process, and I'm convinced that if anyone can help bring that process home to a completion, it will be him. Thank you very much for his hard work and care. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, [Translation] I'd like to say thank you to the Tlicho interpreters Jonas Lafferty and Mary Lou Sunberg and all the rest of the -- we know that it's a hard job, hard work. I'm very thankful to them. And also the people that are working alongside with me, hopefully that we'll have a safe journey home to our loved ones. Masi.
[Translation Ends]
Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Yellowknife South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize another resident of Yellowknife South, a politically involved sports mom like myself, Nicole Csar. Thank you.
Recognition of visitors in the gallery.
If we have missed anyone in the gallery today, we welcome you to your chambers. Like I said numerous times, you've given us the ability to represent -- us 19 to represent the people of the Northwest Territories for the four years, and I thank you very much for that honour. I hope you are enjoying the proceedings. It is always nice to see people in the gallery.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this government has committed to continuing to strengthen our relationship with Indigenous governments and work in partnership towards shared future based on system of cooperative governance. My question is to the Premier. How does the Premier reconcile that with a reported lack of progress at the Deh Cho negotiation table? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Mr. Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There has been enhanced cooperation around the territory with Indigenous governments. I can attest to that. Indigenous governments can attest to that. Maybe not every single person in the territory is on the same page and has the same opinion, but I hear it all the time that we are collaborating, cooperating in a different way, and it's much appreciated. That being said, there's collaborating in general, and then there's the negotiating table, and those are two different things. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given the Deh Cho negotiation process has spanned over two decades, what specific steps will the GNWT take to accelerate progress and rebuild trust with the Deh Cho First Nation? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So recently the Deh Cho First Nation and the Minister of Crown and Indigenous Relations committed to working towards an agreement in principle early next year, and I've said that the GNWT is not going to be the party that slows that down, so I'm committing to working alongside all of the other groups in the negotiations to ensure that we are doing our part to move these negotiations along as quickly as possible. Thank you.
Final supplementary. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Premier commit to personally engaging in the Deh Cho process, negotiations to ensure that the GNWT responds meaningfully to the proposals that have been tabled? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will engage in the process as the Minister as is appropriate. I don't want to say that I am going to sit at the negotiating table. I'm not arrogant enough to think that I can just do, you know, Mr. Nadli's job without a lot of background information, a lot of training, and a lot of time spent digging deep into the file. We have people who do that work, and it's my role to ensure that at the high level I'm providing the direction needed to get things done. And I am going to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of ECE. I'm really happy to hear that our NWT nominee program will be opening up again to another intake. We have about two months before the end of the year, so can the Minister please tell me how ECE is preparing to deal with the inevitable rush for applications? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, luckily through conversations, both at the political level and officials' level, we had a tiny bit of pre-warning that some increases would be coming. We didn't know exactly what those numbers would be, but that little bit of time allowed us to work diligently behind the scenes to ensure that we were getting ready, ensuring systems were in place, ensuring staffing was in place. Staff will need to work overtime in order to get these applications processed and have committed to doing their darndest after a very busy year in order to help us process as many of those applications as possible, and so I'm very thankful to the hard work of staff in that department. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, yes, thank you to ECE staff as well.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain -- we had folks apply in February and July of this year; they didn't make the cut for a space in the NTNP. So how many applicants in this intake will that cover? Will we go back to those original folks, or will they have to reapply again? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, all eligible applicants from both February and July 2025 intakes were accepted and are currently being processed. Anybody who was not an eligible applicant was immediately notified that their application was ineligible, so they will need to reapply for the third intake of 2025. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from the Yellowknife Centre -- or sorry, Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, thank you for that from the Minister. And if we do not fill the full allotment of spaces that we have retained back to the 300 level, will we lose spaces in the 2026 allotment? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this was also a concern of mine. I was able to clarify with the federal government that they acknowledge that it will be a challenge to fill all the spots in the remainder of the calendar year. And while they have indicated to us there is no opportunity for carryover of spots into 2026, our inability to process some applications on the back end is not going to have an impact on the allotment that we get for our program in 2026. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the June 2024 budget commitments, health and social services committed to expand midwifery services to two more communities without birthing services. Mr. Speaker, what progress has been made on the establishment of midwifery services in Behchoko?
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Sorry. Can you repeat the question, Mr. Speaker.
Member from Frame Lake, can you please (audio) --
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to reiterate the question -- and I didn't specify I was asking it of the Minister of Health and Social Services. But, Mr. Speaker, in their June 2024 budget commitments, Health and Social Services committed to expand midwifery services to two more communities without birthing services. My first question is what progress has been made on the establishment on midwifery services in Behchoko? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sorry, Mr. Speaker. The midwifery leaders at the department and the health authority have explored what it would take to expand service to Behchoko and a second community within the existing fiscal resources. These discussions led to a thoughtful and holistic proposal of the future expansion of midwifery services. However, the level of financial investment required, combined with the ongoing recruitment and retention challenges, makes the expansion beyond the current service not possible right at this time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm quite disappointed to hear that. I understand, Mr. Speaker, this was a budget commitment made in response to a committee and was committed to on the floor by the Finance Minister. It's difficult for me to understand them saying now it can't be done. Can the Minister elaborate on that and why are we reneging on the commitment? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as Tlicho government, as a self-governing Indigenous nation, has indicated through the Tlicho Community Service Agency that they are not ready to integrate formal midwifery services into their system at this time. We must respect their position and continue to work collaboratively to support the community health priorities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, certainly, I respect that response. But the commitment also did speak to expanding to communities outside of that region. So, you know, the point is that midwifery services are needed in many communities. There was an additional community on the list. Why is an additional community not being considered? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this time, the department's focus remains on sustaining and strengthening the existing midwifery programs in Fort Smith and Hay River, which are foundational to our midwifery care in the Northwest Territories. Expansion is not solely a matter of funding, but it also depends on the availability of qualified midwives, community readiness, and the ability to maintain high quality, culturally safe care. Recruitment and retention challenges continue to be a significant barrier, and efforts are underway to address these through targeted strategies, including the midwife recruitment campaign that was launched in December 2024. However, there hasn't been any -- the recruitment challenges still remain. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
[Translation] Mr. Chair, I have questions for the Minister of Education regarding French language education as a first language.
[Translation Ends].
I won't do them in French because I am a product of the immersion system, so I will spare the House that.
Our French, how we manage our commission scolaire is very different than our neighbouring territory, the Yukon. The Yukon government gives far more flexibility to the commission scolaire to make their own decisions within the policy set where our government has very restrictive -- restrictive models of controlling admissions and other aspects of French first language education in the Northwest Territories.
Will the Minister commit to adopting a model more similar to the Yukon's where there's more autonomy given to the commission scolaire so French language education is in the hands of French language -- or Francophone communities. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am also a product of the French immersion system and believe that representation certainly matters. And that said, Mr. Speaker, I am currently working on some regulation changes alongside the CSFTNO here in the Northwest Territories. Specifically, our regulations speak to the fact that currently French-first language schools are found in Yellowknife and Hay River, and so we are removing the designation of those two communities. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are provisions that allow that Francophone minority language communities to ask for education services to be provided if they demonstrate a need. Can the Minister explain what processes are in place to ensure that when rights holders are applying for their constitution, their Charter rights to education, that those are met regardless of capacity challenges from this government. But when a right is asserted, it needs to be honoured. So does the department have processes in place that when Francophone communities are asserting that, or language minorities are asserting that, they will be heard? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do have processes in place, and it's not just the Department of Education, Culture and Employment working alone. We also work quite closely with the Department of Justice to make sure that we're working together, that we're gathering information that we have available to us, and working through this process with French-first language communities. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And yet they keep getting sued, Mr. Speaker. So clearly something's not working. So will the Minister commit to a full evaluation of this system? And let's take one aspect of it, the 85 percent capacity threshold for enrolments, will she convert that to a capacity threshold on non-rights holders as they have in the Yukon so we can allow these schools to grow, to thrive, these students to thrive, and Francophones to have their rights respected in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, while absolutely we respect section 23 rights of Canadians and uphold those rights as a territory, we've also heard frequently in this House this week about the need to make sure that we're also balancing the needs of all kids in all schools across this territory. So one of my responsibilities is to ensure that that need is balanced across the territory and that we are able to maintain and invest in the assets that we do have. Thank you.
