R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There's no easy fix to this situation. There's some people in the public service who are, you know, emotionally scarred from this. And I hear the stories from across the public service of the work that was done, you know, heroic efforts. You might not have been on the front lines; you might have been in an office; you might have been in a hotel room with three kids and two dogs. It doesn't mean your efforts weren't heroic. So I completely recognize that, and I appreciate the work done by the public service during an unprecedented time. It's clear that we were not...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member spoke about the collective trauma that we all experienced. And I agree, that is something that as a territory we have to come to grips with. The other day I was thinking that, boy, this is the best time of year. It was, you know, early May, it was spring, and I just felt like a punch in the gut because the last few years, you know, they haven't been great. It's been a really tough time. And I acknowledge that. And, you know, to the Member's question about the evacuation, I want to note there was evacuations. There were 12 communities evacuated a total of 14...

-- point of order, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, we have a number of those programs. I'm not -- I won't say I'm an expert on past programs from previous decades, so I don't want to speak too much into that. But we are advocating to the federal government when it comes to housing. We're happy to see money go to Indigenous governments.

I'll also mention that the GNWT provides a lot of social housing in the territory, and we also meet our own funds. So we are doing that as well to advocate for a renewed agreement with the federal government where we'll see increased funding to support social housing at the same...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not sure exactly what the Member is speaking of in technical terms. He's looking for my support for events in another jurisdiction. So I'm quite -- I'm unclear on the parameters that he's talking about, what would I be committing to support. I'm focus on the Northwest Territories. I'm the Premier of the Northwest Territories. We have strong relationships with Indigenous governments. We are moving to a future where the territory will be covered by settled land claims and self-governing Indigenous nations, and we are continuously working towards that end. Thank you...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our position hasn't changed on the issues the Member is speaking about. If there are medical services that are no longer available in one jurisdiction, we will work with another jurisdiction to ensure that residents receive those medical services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And it is political advice that is being given by the senior envoy to the Government of Canada. We don't have any czars in the government that I'm aware of, no positions at least named "czar." So I work with the senior envoy to, you know, pick his brain on, you know, what he's seen in the past, get information about past decisions made in Ottawa, some of that insight that you might not get, you know, through the media or through a briefing note. And so the type of advice that he gives is quality. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Oral Question asked by the Member for Yellowknife Centre on March 12th, 2025, regarding the Senior Envoy to the Government of Canada position.

As part of an organizational shift within the Premier's Office, the Senior Envoy position was created to strengthen the Government of the Northwest Territories' federal engagement efforts. This role is designed to foster strong relationships with federal political offices in Ottawa while leveraging the renewed national interest in Canada's North. The Senior Envoy serves as a dedicated resource, ensuring that the GNWT's...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We can always work with Indigenous governments to knock on doors in Ottawa, but there's more than just the Prime Minister in Ottawa, and there's more than just the Premier in the Cabinet, so I'd have to defer that question to the Minister of housing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is why it's so important to settle land claims and implement self-government agreements, so that Indigenous governments can begin providing, you know, appropriate social housing, if that's what they wish to do. In the meantime, the Government of the Northwest Territories provides social housing, and so we need to ensure that we have an agreement with the federal government that is supporting our ability to provide that social housing. And like I said before, at the same time, we'll support Indigenous governments in their aspirations around housing as well, and we...