Kate Reid

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier this fall, a married couple reached out to my office. They told me that they had been facing systemic discrimination within the health system as queer folks for nine years. Over multiple attempts, they had taken steps to seek help from NTHSSA to correct this issue, but after a while they felt ignored or ghosted when they sought follow-up.

The issue at hand was one of misgendering. Both partners in this couple are cisgender women. One of them happens to not present in a stereotypically feminine way. To put it plainly, someone had previously looked at this woman...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's very well and good; I'm a little bit disappointed it's only voluntary for situations such as this. So can the Minister commit to further education for staff on the presentation and identification of genders specifically in administrative health services? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I've moved provinces? Thanks, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Can the Minister please explain why the couple's self-advocacy to change the designation on their file from M to F was not successful? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I think the Minister has anticipated what I wanted to say next. So in the Homelessness Strategy, the goal of establishing functional zero of homelessness says that in less than two years that there will be goals set for each community to reduce homelessness. That was a year ago. That gives us one more year on the timetable. So what is the GNWT seeing right now that they want to take steps in the next three years left of this Assembly to help us reach functional zero? Thanks, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. In terms of the encampment and its residents, I want to note that NGOs really stepped up to the plate with possible solutions. So aside from this camp that the deputy Premier just spoke of, what, if any, rental options have been pursued with NGOs in absence of any secured federal dollars to date? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the 51st Street encampment could have happened anywhere in Yellowknife. It just happens to be in my riding. The encampment started out as a group of folks not being welcomed at various locations prior to staying in this empty lot. To its credit, the GNWT quickly worked to find a location that they own near the downtown core. The solution is far from ideal least of all because the site will soon be an active construction site. I want to take this time to thank the residents of the neighbourhood for being extremely patient and compassionate and providing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I caught the words people-centered approach in that response, and that's really good to hear. I'll probably have more to speak about that in the days to come. But as the deputy Premier knows, the folks who are in the encampment do need wraparound services. And that is something that we are limited in our actions right now.

What preliminary actions, then, does EIA see as crucial to address the core need for effective transitional housing in Yellowknife, our regional centres, and small communities? Thanks, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Deputy Premier elaborate on the plan for the temporary on-the-land healing camp that EIA staff spoke of with the CBC earlier this week? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So we're nearing the restart of this program in January for a new batch of, I guess, up to 500 now, hopefully, but 300 definitely, which brings fears for my constituents about a bottleneck. Can the minister explain how ECE is preparing for applications in 2025 and whether the applicants who are affected by the pause will be prioritized? Thank you.

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. After that exchange, I have a lot of questions for the Minister of Finance myself, but I'll keep it to the Minister of ECE for now.

So like many issues in the North, the federal one-size-fits-all approach isn't working for the territory, and recent federal limits on temporary foreign workers are concerning to my constituents. Has the Minister formally asked the federal government to increase the quota of nominees? Thank you.