Please be seated. I'd like to thank Bertha Catholique for the opening blessing. Member from Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to move to item 4, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Hay River North. Member from Hay River North is seeking unanimous consent to go to point 4 on the orders of the day. Seeing no nays --
Nay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to provide an update on emergency preparedness in the Northwest Territories. The growing frequency and severity of climate-driven emergencies require a coordinated approach to emergency response. Our government continues to strengthen territorial readiness by improving interdepartmental coordination, community training, and response capabilities. These efforts reflect our responsibility to provide residents across the regions with a responsive, organized system rooted in northern realities.
A central component of this work is the Be Ready public awareness campaign. Its message is clear: Emergency preparedness is everybody's responsibility.
Residents, community governments, the Government of the Northwest Territories, the federal government, and our partners, all have an important role to play.
The campaign gives residents practical information and tools to help them understand local hazards, prepare emergency kits, make household plans, and stay informed during emergencies.
Communities are stronger when residents are better prepared. When communities are stronger, our territorial response is stronger as well. I encourage all Members of this Legislative Assembly to ask their constituents to take steps to be prepared.
Mr. Speaker, the Be Ready campaign promotes collaboration across all levels of government and with key partners. Community governments are encouraged to lead local preparedness initiatives, conduct exercises, and maintain community emergency plans that reflect local realities.
The GNWT provides training, coordination, and tactical supports, while the federal government supplies funding and national resources. Strategic partners like NGOs, industry, and volunteers are critical to public education, evacuation supports, and recovery operations.
Preparedness also means ensuring residents understand what to do during expected emergencies. To support this, the GNWT has developed a new evacuation preparedness brochure that provides clear information on how evacuations are coordinated, the services available, and what residents should do when leaving their community. It covers essential items to bring, identifies supplies for families and elders and considerations for pets, and how registration and re-entry processes work. The brochure is designed to reduce uncertainty, improve public confidence, and help residents make informed decisions during a stressful situation.
Mr. Speaker, a significant component of our broader preparedness strategy is our focus on wildland urban interface protection, which has become increasingly important as wildfire behaviour intensifies across the North.
On May 21, 2026, the GNWT, in partnership with the NWT Fire Chiefs Association, launched a new wildland urban interface program to strengthen wildfire response to better protect our communities. This program addresses a key gap identified in the 2023 wildfire operations review. It improves coordination between wildland and structural firefighting during community wildfire threats. It establishes a territory-wide system for mutual aid, supported by comprehensive guidelines and a targeted training strategy to ensure the right expertise is applied for the right tasks.
By building specialized capacity in our communities and reducing reliance on private or out of territory resources, this program improves safety and strengthens effectiveness and increases local readiness.
Communities including Hay River, Fort Simpson, Inuvik, and Fort Smith have already received additional tools, training, and supports, demonstrating the value of sustained investment in the wildland urban interface. We plan to build on that progress across the territory through ongoing improvements and annual review.
Emergency preparedness is more than about wildfire response. It means planning year-round for floods, infrastructure disruptions, evacuations, and public health emergencies. The GNWT is continuing to strengthen training programs for local emergency management teams, modernize public alerting systems to ensure people receive timely and accurate information, and enhance coordination so resources can be deployed quickly as needed. This work is shaped by lessons learned from our recent emergencies and by clear expectation of Northerners that gave their government to be prepared, organized, and accountable.
Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge the dedication of community emergency volunteers, wildfire crews, municipal staff, and Indigenous government partners. Their commitment is vital to our territory's safety and resilience. Our government will continue to provide tools, training, and coordination required to protect the residents and communities. We remain committed to strengthening emergency preparedness across the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Ministers' statements. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Mr. Speaker, we are more prepared for wildfires this year than we have been heading into any other previous season, and that is good news for everyone. We have new initiatives moving forward. We are building facilities that we need, and we are getting more communities and local people trained and equipped. We have increasingly focused on prevention and mitigation, operational readiness, and strong coordination with communities, Indigenous governments, local fire departments, and other partners.
Mr. Speaker, wildfire management staff at the Department of Environment and Climate Change complete extensive off-season planning and training to ensure our workforce is skilled, qualified, and ready to respond to wildfires across the territory.
Our capacity is now greater and has been strengthened through expanded mentorship opportunities and cross-training, like supporting experienced staff to take on the crucial role of duty officer. This year, seven new duty officers are being trained through this program, which will encourage succession planning and help to ensure strong and sustainable leadership for our wildfire response teams.
The FireSmart program has been up and running for years, and each season we add a little more and more communities. This program, like many other pieces, is a tool in the prevention and response toolkit that has local fire departments taking on the FireSmart work after they have been trained by us. The more communities we have in the NWT taking part, the stronger and more prepared we are.
Another example of this kind of collaboration is the newly announced NWT Wildland Urban Interface program, or WUI, which provides a standardized framework for training, deployment, and integration of structural and wildland fire services when wildfires threaten communities. This program is one of the ways we are ensuring our communities are ready for emergencies. It is also a direct response and fulfillment of a 2023 after-action review recommendation.
Mr. Speaker, our 2026 preparations have also included additional investments in equipment to help protect communities, including the purchase of two new structural protection units, and funding for units for two municipalities.
Our establishment of the wildland urban interface coordinating group has led to the development of new program guidelines, a framework for operating safely within a wildfire impacted community, training materials, and an experience tracking system.
The GNWT worked hand-in-hand with the NWT Fire Chiefs Association to ensure this program is practical and responsive to community needs. We saw success last year with WUI-trained local fire departments stepping up and helping protect communities. With more departments this year, a framework and additional WUI training, they stand ready to respond again if needed.
Mr. Speaker, responding to fires in 2026 is not our only focus. We are making investments now to strengthen our readiness in the future. I am proud to say that earlier this spring, we marked an important milestone by achieving one of our longer term goals: The groundbreaking for the new Territorial Wildfire Centre in Fort Smith. This long-anticipated centre reflects our commitment to delivering high-quality public service, essential as climate change changes longer and more challenging wildfire seasons. With expanded warehousing, modern duty room operations, and increased space for personnel, this facility will significantly improve how we coordinate wildfire response across regions, manage and deploy critical equipment, and support the people on the front lines who protect our communities.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the employees that work at the forest management division of environment and climate change. They work year-round to recover and ready themselves for the upcoming fire season. Over the next few months, they will work tirelessly for long hours, often under extreme stress, to manage wildfires and do everything in their power to protect our homes and the places we love.
Preventing wildfires and protecting our communities is a shared responsibility, and we all need to do our part. We all have a role to play in keeping our communities safe and lessening the burden on others.
I ask residents to please do not be the person who causes a wildfire. As people enjoy our beautiful NWT summers, I encourage everyone to be cautious when spending time on the land. Please make sure your campfire is entirely extinguished before you leave. A single spark can start a wildfire. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Ministers' statements. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to move item 4, recognition of visitors in the gallery, up in the orders of the day, please.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to my colleagues. We have a bunch of grade 6 students here from Hay River who after this session or after this part here, they'll be driving back to Hay River for a long five-hour road trip back to Hay River, so I want to get them on the road here.
I want to welcome to the House here,
Xavier Belarive
Abriel George
Ace Addison
Molly Lafferty
Daenerys Degnault
Braxton Reimer
Presley Beck
Noelle Ruggles
Noah Campbell
Alexa Nason
Sierra Lange
Lincoln Fraze
Tanner Braun
Nox Paulus
Zach Walsh
Kelty Frocks
Regan Webb, and
Christine Dressel
Thank you, Member from Hay River South. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd also like to welcome the grade 6 Princess Alexandra class. It's always great to see them. We had a great conversation beforehand, and it was the highlight of my day for sure. Probably the highlight of the week. And, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to continue the list of recognitions. We have,
Addison Morrissey
Hunter King
Anna King
Lennox Millett
Carolyn Monkman
Emery Lafleur
Mika Duvall
Aurora Tambour
Danielle LeBlanc-Benson
Olivia Pinton
June Francis
And chaperones Stephanie Haas, Cherise Bouchard, Jason Freys, Mariah Hoyles, Steve Campbell, Nida Monkman, and Mrs. Bell.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Hay River North. Recognition of the visitors in the gallery. From the Member from the Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize our last day for the two pages from the Colville Lake school, Elijah Tutcho and Jayda Snow. Enjoy your last day before you head home. Mahsi.
Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize some staff from the Office of the Auditor General who are joining our session today: Joanne Schwartz, principal; Nadine Cognier, director; Emilien Duval, director of liaison; and, François Guilleau, principal communications. And they're also joined by Sarah McDermott who is counsel at the Office of the Auditor General. Thank you for all the work you do on behalf of the people of the Northwest Territories and supporting the work of MLAs in this Assembly. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Kam Lake.
Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to welcome Tino Mwani who is a page with us today. Tino is doing a great job, along with her page colleagues in the House helping us out. And I'd also like to thank my colleague who let me know that my own child apparently is above us, but I can't see him. So welcome to the gallery, Dalan Bowden. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Kam Lake. Recognition of visitors in the gallery.
I'd like to welcome the Hay River grade 6 students as well. I had the pleasure of meeting them this morning on the tour. They asked some really, really good questions. And I appreciate the chaperones taking your time out and the teachers for bringing them here to our Assembly.
If we missed anybody else, I'd like to say thank you very much.
Oh, I should also say my favourite person, Dalan who is my partner's favourite person. If I don't recognize him, I will hear about it tonight on my phone call home, so.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am concerned about a notable issue in our regulatory system that is increasingly showing itself to be a concern, which is setting appropriate reclamation security to ensure mine sites are cleaned up if a site is abandoned.
There have been a few examples on the public record which indicate how big of a problem this may be. The Snap Lake mine, which closed a number of years ago, was secured for approximately $70 million, but in their annual reporting they indicate they had spent around $160 million cleaning up the site, more than double security estimates.
More recently, through the creditor protection process Burgundy diamond mines has entered, they have revealed by their own calculations the Ekati mine is undersecured by approximately $100 million. And I understand from speaking with experts in the field it's possible the gap could be much larger than this for a full cleanup of the site.
I believe resolving this issue is not as simple as just updating the security estimation tool. While that is a part of it, I think it is clear that costs can change over time or simply differ from a best estimate. When setting security, land and water boards and government also need to balance a number of considerations, including the fact that holding enormous amounts of money upfront in cash or trust is expensive and can be difficult for companies to sustain or come up with.
When considering assignments of licenses, the governments can be caught in the difficult quagmire of determining whether the best-case scenario is a site being owned by a smaller company with less financial capacity or that the site doesn't sell and potentially enters care and maintenance or closure, eliminating hundreds of jobs. That is the very situation that led us down the path to where we are with Ekati right now, Mr. Speaker.
I have investigated this issue and note that other jurisdictions are beginning to adopt different models to address mine security. Several jurisdictions in Australia maintain permanent funds that companies are required to contribute to and can be used to reclaim abandoned sites as needed. On top of this, companies are subject to annual risk assessments to determine whether additional security needs to be applied and held in cases where risks are identified. I am curious whether adopting a model like this, either hybridized with our current model in some way; or, instead of it, it could help resolve the shortfalls of upfront reclamation security we are currently seeing. To that end, I will have questions for the Minister at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member from Range Lake.
[Translation] I would like to recognize Buffalo Airway's 56 years of service in here, in the Northwest Territory, and the contribution to development and the vitality of our territory. Since its creation, the business plays a role in transporting merchandise and helps the community and maintains an essential link between our collectivity and the region, in the most difficult region to reach in our territory. Its constant presence day after day contributes to shape the reality of several communities. [Translation Ends].
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Buffalo Airways and 56 years of service here in the Northwest Territories. For more than half a century, Northerners have relied on Buffalo to deliver everything from freight to fuel, carrying passengers, parcels, and provisions to communities and remote operations across this vast territory. 56 years ago, few could have known Buffalo would grow from a small operator to an iconic institution. In those early days, both the company and the communities it served were still taking shape. But Joe McBryan knew one certainty - that aviation would always be essential here. And as Buffalo helped connect and build our territory, it grew into the company we know today.
That is how Buffalo Airways became a northern institution that reflects our ruggedness, resilience, and resolve to thrive in some of the most challenging conditions in the world. It also reflects a uniquely northern spirit of versatility. Where else do freight carriers also fight forest fires? This fact speaks to a deeper commitment, meeting the needs of communities no matter the challenge.
Yet when aviation enthusiasts around the world may delight when Joe or Mikey fires up the piston engines of a DC-3, these are not air show antiques; they are working tools in the hands of skilled pilots. Seeing WWII-era aircraft operating alongside modern jetliners at our airport are not a curiosity; they are part of everyday life. And for Buffalo, this is no hobby, Mr. Speaker, but a duty to service they have long committed to provide.
Colleagues, please join me in congratulating Buffalo Airways on their incredible contributions to the North. Their legacy is one of service, skill, and enduring commitment. Even as we speak, their pilots are in the air, their crews are on the ramp, and their engineers are keeping the fleet running, work that remains in constant motion as it always has and always will, hopefully, for generations to come. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Members' statements. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I wish to read my 2026 Youth Parliamentarian statement by Ms. Adriana Kabanga. It is a pleasure to read Youth Parliamentarian statements for my riding each year.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring forward the issue of climate change that has very much impacted many, if not all, the lives of the people in the NWT. The Government of Canada highlighted that the NWT is warming at an estimate of three times the global rate as of this year. Moreover, the next four-year period, 2026 to 2030, are foreseen to be profoundly hot and will absolutely alter our community, wildlife, ecosystem, and infrastructure for the worst.
In October of 2025, two reviews were sent to the government soliciting an emergency management organization for the territory in response to the 2023 wildfires and the 2022 spring flooding. Despite two independent reviews being voiced, the government finds it to be not feasible or appropriate.
Mr. Speaker, tell me, what is so inappropriate about ensuring the safety and well-being of our people? We can look back just three years ago, in the summer of late August of 2023, our community was urged to leave our homes and everything we'd ever known, not knowing when we'd return. The evacuation had a colossal effect on our community's routine, mental health, work life, and personal lives. I am speaking today as a person who was impacted by the evacuation, both physically and mentally.
I believe that with an emergency management organization, it can provide permanent firebreaks encircling parts of our territory. These firebreaks can look like man-made lakes, gaps in vegetation, and construction around our borders. I also believe that it could create standardized emergency plans in preparation for multiple crises.
Smoke, fire, and floods may be inevitable, but a plan will prepare our community for safety. 2023's evacuation was poorly structured, long, and pricey for our community. We need to make sure that this won't happen again. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Members' statements. Member from Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today is about the importance of restorative justice options for those Indigenous people who have committed offences.
Restorative justice is an approach to addressing wrongdoing that focuses on repairing harm, promoting accountability, and rebuilding relationships rather than focusing solely on punishment. Restorative justice brings together all those affected by an offence.
Mr. Speaker, without access to restorative justice pathways, many Indigenous people are left with few alternatives other than incarceration and correctional facilities within and surrounding the Northwest Territories. Housing an inmate in these institutions costs an average of $600 per day per person, far exceeding the costs associated with community-based restorative justice programs.
Given the growing financial burden and ongoing concerns about the effectiveness of traditional correctional rehabilitation programs, restorative justice offers a more meaningful, culturally relevant, and cost-effective approach to accountability, healing, and rehabilitation.
Currently, individuals charged with offences requiring incarceration are removed from their communities and placed in one of Northwest Territories' correctional facilities. For many Indigenous individuals, incarceration away from their home communities has proven to be costly and often does little to address the underlying factors of contributing to their criminal behaviour.
Mr. Speaker, evidence shows that restorative justice is often more effective than traditional correctional approaches in promoting re-application, lowering re-offending, and supporting victim healing and closure. Its purpose is to foster accountability, healing, and safer, healthier communities through open discussion of a harm caused and collaborative approach to developing meaningful solutions. A key advantage to restorative justice is that programs are typically delivered within an individual's home community or through regional and on the land initiatives, helping them maintain cultural connections and community involvement through the healing process. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, restorative justice is often the preferred option for first-time and non-violent offenders, providing opportunities for healing, accountability, and rehabilitation within the community while correctional centres remain appropriate to managing high-risk and violent offenders. I will have questions for the Minister at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife North.
Mr. Speaker, would you believe that 12 percent of NWT children have received prevention or protection services from CFS?
Children in care are some of our most vulnerable community members, and the vast majority are Indigenous. We know that this is a result of a colonial legacy that is hard to break and must be broken. We know it is all of our responsibility to protect children in care but even when we're trying to protect them, somehow it's easy to forget that children are not just a thing, a case file, an administrative exercise, something to be put somewhere.
This past March, the auditor general issued its report on Yukon's family and children services, which highlighted many systemic problems that should be familiar to all of us as well. High staff vacancies and turnover, unmanageable workloads for social workers, many missed reviews and check-ins. But in any auditor general report, just like reports issued by our own child and family services, we don't hear the voices of children. We don't hear what it means for children when there's high staff turnover, when they don't know who their social worker even is, when no one is available to help them arrange visits with their aunties and their cousins.
In the Yukon, child and youth advocates' response to that audit, they said the experiences of children in care are often invisible to the public. These are sensitive, confidential matters, and young people involved with FCS, many of whom are quite young, rarely have opportunities to share their perspectives publicly.
Now, to ensure that children are meaningfully included in decisions that affect their lives, the Yukon advocate recommended that mandatory processes be set up to ensure children and youth are heard or represented in all key decisions, including care planning, placement changes, and case reviews. Social workers and children themselves need to understand what children's rights actually are, and then you need an independent children's advocate to take what they're learning from working with hundreds of children one on one and share that with the public and with policymakers so those experiences become visible. Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So here in the NWT, we don't yet have an independent child and youth advocate, and we desperately need someone to take on that role. We need to stop seeing children in care as a thing that we just need to better administrate, and better support children in taking back some control over their own lives. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, many seniors in the Northwest Territories are facing growing financial pressure because of the cost of living has risen dramatically. While government subsidy programs have not kept pace with the realities, essential expenses such as food, housing, fuel, transportation, and utilities continue to increase, especially in northern communities where costs are already among the highest in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, at the same time the income thresholds used to determine eligibility for senior support programs remain outdated and unrealistic. Seniors who have worked their entire lives and received modest or moderate pension incomes are often excluded from assistance because they technically earn too much to qualify; however, in practical terms, their income is still not enough to meet the high cost of living in the North. This creates a serious gap where many seniors are left without support despite struggling to afford basic necessities. No senior should be penalized for having a modest pension or forced into financial hardship because government programs have failed to keep pace with the economic realities.
Mr. Speaker, we need a review of these subsidy programs and eligibility thresholds to ensure they reflect the actual cost of living in the Northwest Territories today. Seniors deserve policies that recognize their contributions, protect their dignity, and allow them to live safely and affordably in their own communities.
When reviewing these policies, cultural and family realities in the Northwest Territories must also be recognized. Many seniors are not only supporting themselves; they are also caring for and providing for extended family members. In many households, grandparents are raising younger children and take responsibility for ensuring they have nutritious food, proper clothing, school supplies, transportation, and opportunities to participate in sports, recreation, and community activities.
Mr. Speaker, these responsibilities are deeply rooted in northern and Indigenous cultural values of family care, intergenerational support, and community well-being. Current policies often fail to recognize these realities and instead assess seniors based only on income without considering the number of dependents they support or the broader role they play within their families and communities. Mr. Speaker, this creates a serious gap where many seniors are left without support despite carrying significant financial and caregiving responsibilities. We need a comprehensive review of these subsidy programs and eligibility thresholds to ensure they reflect the true cost of living and the lived realities of seniors in the Northwest Territories. Policies must be flexible, culturally informed, and responsive to the important role seniors play in maintaining strong families and healthy communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Members' statements. Member from Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, [Translation] to talk about is that the Chief Jimmy Bruneau, the residents -- the resident of Chief Jimmy Bruneau School, I'd just like to talk about the residential in 1971 to 2000. From 1971 the school opened, and 2006 it had closed. Ever since -- so the residential school has not been used. At that time, the students that were in the residential school did not see their parents for 10 months, so I'd like to talk on that behalf. [Translation Ends].
Mr. Speaker, the experience of former Chief Jimmy Bruneau School students have been overlooked for too long. Students who attended Chief Jimmy Bruneau School and lived in the residence from 1971 to 2006 should be recognized as residential school survivors. The school may have operated under an Indigenous school board, but students were still taught under a colonial curriculum and by teachers brought in from down south. The racism, violence, displacement, and vulnerability were real, and they followed many young people for life.
Mr. Speaker, parents sent their children to Chief Jimmy Bruneau School because they wanted them to have a chance at a better life. They trusted that while their children were away they would be cared for and protected. Instead, their children were left vulnerable and forced to fend for themselves in an unsafe residence. Sons were exposed to violence, drugs, and alcohol before they were old enough to understand the damage it would cause. Daughters were taken advantage of and some became pregnant while they were still children themselves.
Mr. Speaker, these parents sent their children to school with hope for a better future. They had no idea that many would come home and never be the same. Some, I can tell you some never came home at all.
The GNWT funded the school these children were sent to. These were children born and raised in the NWT. They were Indigenous to this land. They are the very people that government says it is here to protect. They should not have to keep fighting to prove that their residential school experience matters.
Mr. Speaker, former Chief Jimmy Bruneau students deserve recognition, compensation, and support. This government must stop dismissing this as a technical issue and start treating it as a matter of justice. I will have questions for the Premier. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Members' statements. Member from the Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the marine transportation services. The Sahtu is totally reliant on essential, affordable access for resupply. Number one, the winter road access season. Number two, the river barging services.
Mr. Speaker, as we know, the Sahtu has experienced many challenges in recent years, climate change interruptions over the previous years, summers, and even the high cost of airlifting fuel into the community and total cancellation of barging season altogether. Mr. Speaker, these cancellations are impacting our government's ability also in providing project materials, services, and preparation for this summer sailing season. Water levels are critical in supporting this affordable sailing season. Preparations are underway, or must be. Mr. Speaker, later I will have questions to the Minister of Infrastructure on notices and preparations and action taken for this sailing season. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member from the Sahtu. Members' statements. Member from Deh Cho.
