R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So Nunavut has seen a large injection of federal dollars towards social housing. The Member just referenced a contribution to the Government of Yukon. So that's two of the three territories. One more territory left. And so yes, I fully expect that we're going to see some housing money, and I hope to be standing next to the Minister of housing when she makes that announcement. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am lucky to have a strong team around me, so it's the Minister of health who has those discussions at the Council of Leaders and the bilateral meetings. That being said, what the Member is talking about is a constant topic of discussion. I've said before that I think trauma is the biggest issue that our territory faces. What's the point of having economic opportunities if people aren't in a place where they can go take advantage of them. So I fully agree with it from that sense.

At the Council of Leaders, there is a health and social services working group at the...

Mr. Speaker, as we begin this sitting of the 20th Legislative Assembly, we are entering a period of opportunity unlike anything we have never seen before in the territory. The rest of Canada and countries around the world are looking North for defence, secure supply chains, critical minerals, Arctic research, strategic infrastructure, and reliable partnerships. Increasingly, they are looking to the Northwest Territories.

Our responsibility as a government is to ensure those opportunities create lasting benefits for Northerners. That means stronger communities, better infrastructure, good jobs...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table to the following two documents: Additional Information for Return to Oral Question 1071-20(1), Cost of Living; and, Additional Information for Follow-up to Oral Question 1150-20(1), Review of Intergovernmental Agreement on Land and Resources Management 7-Year Review. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And yes, I do combine those two the same way that the Member is saying, without having a healthy population who could take advantage of opportunities what's the point of having opportunities. And so when I meet with the Prime Minister, I raise that very issue. I talk about the trauma in the territory, the great potential that we have in the territory, and our need to ensure residents can take advantage of that potential. So this is something we discuss at the Western Premiers conference as well. So in a lot of my federal engagement, my engagement with other...

Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Oral Question 1071-20(1) asked by the Member for Yellowknife Centre on February 24, 2026, regarding the Cost of Living.

The Government of the Northwest Territories takes a comprehensive approach to address cost-of-living challenges while maintaining fiscal stability. Our approach combines immediate financial relief measures with strategic infrastructure investments and intergovernmental advocacy which allows us to address both acute cost pressures and underlying structural factors, while recognizing the diverse needs of different regions and communities across...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The only practical benefit I can see is being in alignment with Alberta as a jurisdiction where we have lots of medical travel and we do lots of trade with. Other than that, I don't see any benefit. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for the question. In 2022, the Government of the Northwest Territories put out a survey about ending time change. I think it's probably the most popular survey we've ever put out. There was about 3,000 responses in two days. 87 percent of the people who responded are in favour of ending seasonal time change. The reason that we haven't done it yet is because we are so closely tied to Alberta that we want to ensure that we can maintain the same time as them because we have lots of medical appointments, we do lots of business with Alberta, there's flights...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to thank the interpreters for being here with us into the wee hours of the night every single day and getting our message out to the people of the Northwest Territories. And I also wanted to remind everyone in the gallery to slow down. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following documents: United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples Action Plan committee report -- Action Plan Report March 2026. Thank you.