Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I share this dream. Mr. Speaker, and I believe a lot of people in this territory share this dream. Mr. Speaker, I want to first emphasize we will be complying very much as proponents with the guidance of the board, the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Board. They are the arbiters right now of making sure we go through an environmental process that provides mitigation steps as necessary for the road project right now to Norman Wells. We will continue to work with them on phase 2, which is that section that gets us all the rest of the way up to Inuvik. But we started those conversations. We want to work to ensure that we are making best use of available information. There was data gathered back in 2013. There's more work happening right now on a winter road routing as I understand from some of the Indigenous governments in the region. We can marshal all of that, and we can accelerate this project so that we are not waiting another 30 years or even another 10 years. If we can start construction on the southern portion in possibly as early as 2028-2029, then we can certainly be, I think, accelerating the northern portion similarly as well. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister responsible for Strategic Infrastructure, Energy, and Supply Chains. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services.
So the equitable access report that HSS released in November 2025, which the Minister's staff referred to as our roadmap for primary care moving forward, identified as one of its seven overarching goals, strong and lasting workforce, yet out of the list of 17 actions in the report none relate to stabilizing the health care workforce or recruitment and retention.
So my first question for the Minister: Is it possible to achieve culturally safe care with the current level and ever increasing portion of our health care workforce made up of temporary workers? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a culturally safe healthcare system does not only rely on culturally safe training. Workforce instability affects continuity in care of patients, and hiring people alone doesn't guarantee cultural safe care. Cultural safety must be built in to the whole system so everybody provider can deliver it, even temporary staff. Our new primary and community care framework puts cultural safety and anti-racism at the centre of the framework and a culturally safe system that will attract staff who share those values which will boost morale, which will reduce burnout, which will improve long-term retention, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So if that equitable access report published last year is seen to be the primary care roadmap, why doesn't it include any specific actions related to health care workforce stabilization, recruitment, or retention? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the roadmap was released -- and this is the -- as it is, it's a roadmap for the framework. And so we wanted to release the direction that we're going prior to -- as the work is going on with the framework. So this report was meant to show work done to build the new primary care framework, and it doesn't list every action. The new framework, which will include the strategies to improve staff well-being, recruitment, retention, long-term workforce, key components include valuing Indigenous roles and Indigenous leadership on care teams, increasing Indigenous representation in the health care workforce, and this is essential for stabilizing the workforce supporting local Indigenous use and delivering culturally safe care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Has the Indigenous patient advocate office, or the Office of Client Experience, been gathering any data on what percentage of complaints regarding patients being treated disrespectfully or insensitively by practitioners involve temporary staff who have been brought in to plug holes within the healthcare system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do receive these complaints but don't track the complaints specifically about which staff are -- through the office, like if it's temporary or permanent. They do record general complaints related to discrimination, but they don't identify, as I mentioned, whether they're temporary or permanent staff. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the Premier, who I am going to direct my questions to, is going to say we're marshaling all resources and doing everything we can, but when we see Gahcho Kue do their announcement, we've seen that people accelerate the mining industry is shrinking and certainly the economy is on its rails, Mr. Speaker. I am asking the Premier what can he do to help fast track the relationships and the approval process we have with Indigenous governments and not give the old saying, we're doing what we can, we're doing this stuff now, because we need to see true results that are not clear and transparent to Northerners; we're truly doing everything we can. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Mr. Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I believe the question is what are we doing to fast track these projects by working with Indigenous governments. And so to that I will say that we have put a lot of time and energy into improving the relationships with Indigenous governments. And as I travel around the territory, that's what I hear from many Indigenous governments, that we have improved those relationships, we've done that work, we've built that trust. And by doing so, we're able to combine forces and work together on different projects. Of course, we have the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor. We signed an MOU with the Yellowknives Dene and the Tlicho. We have good relationships with all of the Indigenous groups up and down the Mackenzie Valley when we're talking about the Mackenzie Valley Highway. We are -- we've increased the funding to help Indigenous governments participate in the regulatory process and to engage with exploration companies.
And so there's been a lot of work. There's been a lot of trust built. And it's paying dividends. I would also have to mention, of course, that the NWT Council of Leaders travels together down to Ottawa, Indigenous leaders and the GNWT Cabinet, with a common message. So the work that we've done with Indigenous governments has been very important. It's one of the highlights of my time here in this term. It's one of the things I will look back on with a sense of pride. And so I can tell the Member that we are working hard on that aspect of ensuring that we have everything in place that we need to advance the economy and bring new projects online. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, it's difficult to feed your kids with trust, and it's hard to heat your home on hope, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, real tangible items would be to accelerate the MRAs. Mr. Speaker, real tangible ideas would be to accelerate maybe a junior investment program. Mr. Speaker, those are the types of acceleration processes I am asking for. Is there ways to accelerate that type of action to get better results or I should say any results. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I won't speak about things in front of committee, but the budget contains things to do just that. We're also working on -- we have an MOU with CanNor to help speed up things. We're working -- I am working with my counterpart in the federal government to look at a more detailed MOU to really tackle a lot of these issues that have held things up. We are looking at how we can engage the federal government more so that they can provide direction to the boards in certain areas and provide better support to the boards where we see things held up. One example I always mention is that if the boards want some legal advice, they need to apply to CIRNAC and there needs -- there's an approval process that takes a while, and it could be a couple months later before they're able to get an answer to the legal question they had two months prior. All of these little things add up, and they add delays. And we're addressing those. We're also looking at ensuring that if there are processes that can be done concurrently, so the permitting process that the GNWT does, if it can be done -- the sections that can be done concurrently with the board process, we want to make sure that happens. We're working with Pine Point Mining right now to do that, and that's going to trim six months off their timeline for opening, which equates to tens of millions of dollars of benefit to the Northwest Territories.
So over the last two years, we have put our mind to this, and we've put in a lot of work, and we are now in a place where I feel confident saying that we have a lot of the tools in place and we are getting ready to implement a lot of the next set of tools. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Mr. Speaker, one of the biggest problems is timelines, response to timelines, and money and resources for Indigenous organizations to be able to respond to any of these timelines and response to timelines and hence to avoid the perception of not interested or causing delays.
Mr. Speaker, I've given the Premier several ideas. Here's some. I'd like to hear the Premier's thought about trying to effectively grab on these as actionable items.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And as I mentioned, a couple of the ideas that the Member gave are reflected in the budget. The idea that the Member just gave, I mentioned that in my first answer when we increased the funding to the interim resource management assistance program, and we're also encouraging the federal government to increase their contribution to that as well. So there are tangible actions that will result in increased efficiencies and projects coming online sooner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, dovetailing on my colleague's comments about the economy, crucial to the economy, especially a natural resource economy, is land tenure. I'd like to ask the Minister responsible for Environment and Climate Change how is his department moving expediently to ensure that there is comprehensive land tenure reform so there's certainty in the Northwest Territories for investment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, certainly land tenure in the Northwest Territories has been top of mind for myself and my department as we work together with our Indigenous partners, Indigenous governments, and Indigenous organizations, and the many boards that oversee land tenure in the Northwest Territories. This conversation is very much a collaborative effort, and we are looking for ways to advance and streamline the process to ensure that where possible, we can align items to ensure that we are moving as quick as we possibly can. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate collaboration, but we need urgency as well. So, Mr. Speaker, is the Minister willing to bring forward changes to timelines? Will he cut timelines? Will he reduce the amount of time it takes to review these files? Working in collaboration for sure, but setting a new service standard so we can get quicker turnaround on land tenure decisions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, similar to an earlier response, there are items in the budget -- the proposed budget that are currently being addressed that will help us to advance some of this work. We are also, as I said, you know, very much engaged with our Indigenous partners across the Northwest Territories, and we have made investments over time to ensure that we are helping them to enhance their capacity so that we can ensure that the process moves as timely as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not getting some clear answers so I will have to come back to this. But, Mr. Speaker, one of the partners the Minister left out is municipalities. Will the Minister transfer land requests from municipalities, particularly the city of Yellowknife but also Inuvik, Hay River -- will he transfer those lands that they've requested for by, let's say, end of Q2 this year? We need this land now. We need to bring the investment forward. It's time for these decisions to be made; will he make those decisions? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are a number of files and different parcels of lands, whether it be in the city of Yellowknife or other communities within the Northwest Territories, that are currently at various stages within the process. Part of this process is ensuring that we are working closely with those municipalities as we have recently last year signed a new memorandum of understanding with the City of Yellowknife, and we are also working very closely with all of the parties involved to ensure that the process and we do proper consultation and move these forward in a timely manner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Oral questions. Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I spoke to the issue of the Motor Vehicles Act earlier. Can the Minister for Infrastructure commit to making the necessary changes to the MVA to give officers the ability to deem vehicles worthless for disposal. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the concerns brought forward by the Member and the department has been looking into this; however, it may seem straightforward just to make the changes, but there's necessarily -- there's some direction that we have to take in order to apply this legislation. We have to, you know, start working on necessary policy direction, the regulations, different program adjustments, and these all take time and resources. Although this process is scheduled to start, hopefully taking place this summer, we hear the concerns and it is on the radar. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister just help us better understand. It sounds like it's a fairly complex issue. My understanding is this is just a fairly small change although this isn't the first time that we've talked about a small change and how long it can take in this House. But can the Minister just help us better understand what issues they're trying to resolve here. This seems like a fairly simple one that's done in other jurisdictions. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's the issue of writing the legislation for this issue. It's not a matter of just putting in a couple lines and continuing on. We have to go through the process of the legislation. And, again, you know, we've set our priorities in the 20th Assembly for, you know, certain things, and the legislative proposals have been put in place on what we're concentrating on for our legislative priorities, and it also takes different departments, not just the Department of Infrastructure. We also have to involve the Department of Justice in writing some of this material. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Final supplementary. Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's fair enough, I suppose. But, I mean, this is a relatively minor change. It's something that's been dogging municipalities for a very long time. We've got abandoned vehicles all over the city that haven't been dealt with as a result. Can the Minister commit to getting this done within the term of the 20th Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, this is a concern not only in his riding. This is a concern throughout the territories, including my own riding. Although I can't commit to, you know, starting all this year and having completed it by the end of the 20th Assembly, like I said earlier it is on the radar, and writing instructions are being given this summer to get the work started. So like I said, hopefully, you know, we should be able to get some of this going here right away. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Oral questions. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Premier.
Indeed, we know that having a good working relationship is important for advancement. With that in mind, I want to ask the Premier how is this government planning to ensure that upcoming mining and infrastructure projects in the Tlicho region deliver long-term socio-economic benefits for communities beyond short-term employment? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Mr. Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, of course, the Tlicho have tens of thousands of square kilometers of contiguous land and there are opportunities for mines on that land, from what I understand. And so from that standpoint alone, there would be ongoing benefits and benefits directly to Tlicho residents.
In terms of infrastructure, we want to ensure that when there's new infrastructure, if there's maintenance, that that's done locally. For example, roads, we always like to ensure that the communities closest to the roads are the ones doing the maintenance on those. So there's long-term benefits there as well.
And the Tlicho are no strangers to capitalizing on economic opportunities. With the diamond mines, the Tlicho government has run many successful programs, and sent many students to post-secondary and supported a number of economic opportunities that way as well. So I would say that it's not on the government, GNWT, alone to ensure that. The Tlicho government is a strong, sophisticated government, and we will work in partnership, as we always do, with them to ensure that there are lasting benefits. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for the response. Mr. Speaker, given the imminent closure of the Diavik diamond mine and Gahcho Kue mine just recently announced -- so what step is this government taking to develop a comprehensive transition plan for affected Tlicho communities and other northern communities in the NWT? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so for quite some time we've known that the diamond sector is going through a transition and the market is not quite as robust or stable as it used to be, and so we have already, for a number of months now, had a partnership with the Tlicho government and the Yellowknives Dene to ensure that we are pooling resources, we're getting information out there, and we're supporting residents the best way that we can. So that work has already begun. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Final supplementary. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, How is this government working with both Indigenous government and federal partners to advance the proposed Arctic Economic and Security Corridor and secure funding for critical road and trades infrastructure? Thank you.
