R.J. Simpson

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the honourable Member for Thebacha will be absent from the House for a portion of today's proceedings to attend to a personal matter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the devolution agreement, it commits the parties to further negotiations. And so one of those -- I didn't fully answer the Member's second question. I don't think I wanted to leave a little bit because I figured he would ask that. And so one of the commitments is to review the McKenzie Valley Resource Management Act, the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, which really guides our regulatory system in here. And so we are having discussions with the Intergovernmental Council. Those discussions are beginning on what that future might look like. That is really one...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Probably a better conversation to have directly with the Minister of housing, but I know that there's about, I think, 900 individuals and families on waiting lists for housing across the territory. And so housing is really focusing on addressing those issues, working on ensuring that houses that need to be replaced that are past the end of their useful life are replaced, and so that's where a lot of the focus is right now. Nonetheless, this is still a live issue, and we'll continue to make progress where we can. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So based on feedback from community governments, MACA is adjusting the community public infrastructure policy to better address staffing housing challenges, particularly those affecting recruitment. MACA policy restrictions on using the CPI funding for staff housing had been suspended, and communities that have submitted staff housing in their financial reports have not been denied. So that's a yes, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, fortunately, before there was a lot of this discussion about Arctic sovereignty or Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic, we were already working to advance projects that will enhance Canada's sovereignty, things like the Mackenzie Valley Highway, things like the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor, and that work remains ongoing. As well, we have at the departmental level my deputy minister is in very regular contact with folks over at DND. As well, there is regular contact with Joint Task Force North. You know, personally, I've met with Minister McGuinty, the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize President Marc Whitford of the North Slave Metis Alliance. He's been a great partner with the GNWT, and we are continuously strengthening our relationship, and I look forward to continuing that progress over the rest of this term. So welcome. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today we were joined by members of the WAR Circle, the We Always Remember Circle. And we have a couple members still left in the gallery I would like to recognize. Gerri Sharpe and Doreen Cleary who was actually one of the co-chairs of the WAR Circle. It's an honour to have them here with us today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Public Service Annual Report 2024/2025; and, Budget Dialogues 2025 - What We Heard. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to share the meaningful progress we are making on the Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action number 82, which calls upon provincial and territorial governments, in collaboration with survivors, to commission and install a publicly accessible, highly visible, residential schools monument in each capital city to honour survivors and all the children who were lost to their families and communities.

In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future, its summary final report. This landmark document and its...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have our federal engagement strategy that really focuses on some of the big-ticket items that we need from the federal government, whether it's transportation, infrastructure, or housing or firefighting equipment, but we also have the day-to-day business of working with the federal government, engaging with them, letting them know what our needs in the territory are. And through that process, we do have a lot of engagement. We explain to the federal government, you know, these are the areas where we need some support, these are areas that could change. And then as...