Kate Reid

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And hopefully I can get to two sets of questions; we'll see how it goes, that would be great. My questions right now are for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

Will the Minister look into legislating nurse-to-patient ratios following the BC model? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to say that I appreciate my colleagues having feedback on this motion. Previously, it was nearly direct directly mirroring the language that you can find in the petition. As I've said earlier, I respect the Members for or sorry, as I've said earlier to my colleagues, I respect that Members taking a stand on this motion aligns with what they need to do personally. Several Members have made suggestions on changing the motion to being something that could also stand for and support and so several changes were made.

Mr. Speaker, to my mind this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS the Northwest Territories is made up of many residents with family members and other ties to Palestine, Israel, and the broader Middle East, and attacks on civilians, human rights violations, antisemitic violence, and violent dehumanization towards all Israelis and Palestinians have lasting consequences that reverberate around the world, including in Northwest Territories communities;

AND WHEREAS the Northwest Territories has committed itself to upholding international human rights as declared by the United Nations;

AND WHEREAS the International Court of Justice...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Premier for that. In what ways can the Premier commit to acting on upholding human rights in Gaza on behalf of the residents of the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize folks who are joining us today for the proceedings from the YK Group for Ceasefire. They are the reason for the petition that you saw earlier this week and the motion you will see later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this motion is, as folks before me have said, highly emotional, and I also believe it's a highly personal choice, and I respect every single Member in this House to take what decision they take to heart and I respect whatever choice that may be and what that looks like for them. I'm here in my role as a Member to represent my riding and also my own conscience.

I want to speak a little bit about why this motion is important to me and why I feel it's the right thing to do.

When I first met with a Palestinian member of our community in Yellowknife late last...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're all a little bit tired now. It's been a long session. Gets longer next year.

Mr. Speaker, this motion provides further action to Petition 120(1) that I brought forward this past Tuesday on behalf of the Yellowknife Citizens for Ceasefire. As I've mentioned previously, the petition includes 645 signatures from residents of the Northwest Territories. Residents who signed are from the following communities:

Yellowknife

Whati

Wekweeti

Lutselk'e

Inuvik

Hay River

Ulukhaktok

Behchoko

Tulita

Tsiigehtchic

Fort Smith

Fort Simpson, and

Fort McPherson.

This is a territorial issue, and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Premier for that. Just a comment really; I will follow up with the Minister of ECE on that program.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Premier's position is generally to stay out of international affairs, and that is his prerogative. However, as the territory grows, especially with newcomers from many diasporas abroad, what actions is the Premier comfortable in taking to make them feel welcomed and supported in times of hardship and if he feels that that is the responsibility of the federal government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week I brought forward a petition from 645 NWT residents calling upon this Assembly to direct the Premier to ask the Canadian government for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Mr. Speaker, I will also be calling a motion for the Assembly to direct the Premier to do just that later today.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Premier for his last commitment on this topic to me in this House. We did, indeed, meet with a member of the Palestinian here in Yellowknife, a resident who has family and ties to Gaza in Palestine.

Mr. Speaker, although I can't...