Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, many folks are panicked because of the goal posts of our nominee program are changing drastically in the last nine months. Available spots, associated timelines, have changed as well.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister please explain what her department is telling people who do not meet the increased length of work history requirement with their employer or that have an impending work visa expiry? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, certainly the department is incredibly compassionate to where people are at right now. The department has been fielding a tremendous amount of phone calls and inquiries about this and has a tremendous amount of empathy for people. Certainly, the department is letting people know what the criteria is, why it has changed for the nominee program, and is also making sure that they're steering perspective applicants to federal sources of information on federal immigration programs trying to be as helpful as possible and also letting people know that over the course of this year we will be working with stakeholders, businesses, communities, to determine what the program will look like in 2026. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know they're getting a lot of calls. They're not returning all those calls. But I am worried that more people will find themselves in limbo waiting on work visa renewals and paperwork headaches that are associated with territorial services, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, can the Minister speak to what work she is conducting with her Cabinet colleagues and federal counterparts to ensure that folks who are classified as implied status are allowed to extend their health care coverage or driver's licenses, for example. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, the term implied status has now been changed to maintained status just so that everybody's using the same language. So foreign nationals on maintained status are eligible to extend their health care coverage and NWT driver's licenses, and they would need valid proof that they are on maintained status. Foreign nationals that are looking to extend their health care cards and their NWT driver's license are encouraged to reach out to NWT -- sorry, NTHSSA, as well as the Department of Infrastructure, to confirm the process and documents that they'll be required, but that process is already outlined within those departments. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We all know that our allotment went from 300 to 150 due to federal government decisions around cuts across Canada. So can the Minister speak to more detail with her conversations with her federal counterparts; specifically, how she's advocating for our unique northern context which also applies to the newcomers and businesses that need to grow their workforce. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think that when you're in these positions, regardless of what side of the House you sit on, you take these jobs very seriously. You've been given the trust of the people that you serve and also Northerners right across the territory. And so taking every opportunity to tell people about the Northwest Territories and explain to them what our context is is something that I do on a daily basis in this role.
Specifically with immigration, I started my day today by meeting with MP McLeod. We talked about the nominee program and talked about how we are going to, you know, further align and have further conversations with the federal government. I have written letters. I have placed phone calls. I -- and that's at political level. The department is doing the same at the officials’ level and having bilateral and multilateral engagements and conversations as well. I know that the business community also met with Minister Miller this summer, and I had the opportunity to take Minister Miller out and even have conversations in the middle of Great Slave Lake about this stuff. So certainly doing the work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from the Deh Cho.
