Shauna Morgan

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following documents: First, a Proposal for a Private Member's Bill: An Act to Amend the Public Service Act. And secondly, the Nursing Collective Agreement and Association Function Survey done by the College and Association of Nurses for the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank to the Minister for setting out a clear goal for that, the amendment to that section. For clarity, is the government committing to establish a labour relations board or similar mechanism to certifying these certified bargaining agents during the life of this Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the Minister also said in her statement that these subsidies are not about supporting mines; they're about supporting people. So if that's the case, did the Minister consider investing the $15 million directly into retraining and supporting the workers or the Indigenous development corporations so they can be better prepared to transition once the mines do close, whether that's a year or a few years from now? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

So as part of the public briefing this morning, the government's presentation stated that in return for accepting this relief, the diamond mines agreed to several commitments including to use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain operations until their planned closure dates. So can the Minister explain whether the commitment to use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain operations represents any change whatsoever from the status quo or, rather, would we always expect businesses to use...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS nurses and healthcare workers deliver essential healthcare services to residents of the Northwest Territories, including in rural and remote communities that present challenging operating conditions;

AND WHEREAS the delivery of quality health care in the Northwest Territories depends on a stable, well-supported workforce of regulated healthcare professionals, including nurses and allied health workers;

AND WHEREAS healthcare workers are suffering from increased workloads and staffing shortages that contribute to low morale, burnout, and reduced staff retention...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize William Gagnon who is the executive director of the NWT Medical Association who is here with us today. And also thank two of our pages who are Yellowknife North constituents. We have Ace Wickens and Solomon Young, and they're both students at William Mac School. So thanks to all the pages as well for your help this week.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the commitment that the government will be spending $50 million on housing during each of the next three years is significant. We have been working towards this since the beginning of this Assembly. This wasn't something that we just came up with a few weeks ago. And we've been engaged in advocacy for housing both through our committees as Regular Members and in individual meetings with the Minister, that I know many of us have had, trying to figure out a practical path forward on this. So we're starting to see the fruits of those labours, and I am...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is the health authority tracking the number of expected retirements of doctors and nurses over the next three years in order to target its recruitment and workforce planning efforts appropriately? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Hopefully we still have some healthcare workers that have hung on and are continuing to watch because I would like to ask some questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services around healthcare workforce planning.

So we know that there are almost 50 percent vacancy rates for local family physicians and specialists in the territory, and the health authority has been saying that that might not be a problem because maybe we don't need that many doctors if patients are sometimes better off seeing another practitioner instead such as a nurse.

My question, first, when...

Mr. Speaker, I don't have anything more to add. I'll just ask for a recorded vote. Thank you.