Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We in the NWT have a tremendous amount of needs, as I heard from my colleague there, Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh, highlight the benefits of from the Jordan's Principle program and possible jeopardy. My questions are for the Premier on advocation.
My first question, could the Premier explain why the senior envoy to the Government of Canada role was created and what it is intended to achieve? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Sahtu. Mr. Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I appreciate the Member's question.
So there's been a lot of focus on the North over the past year and a half, a focus like we've never seen before I would say. There's also a new government in Ottawa. And so there's momentum right now. There's attention on the North. There's a desire to make investments in Canada, build up the strength of Canada, and take advantage of our natural resources. So there's momentum, and we need to keep that momentum going. We need to capitalize on that momentum. We need to keep the NWT at the front of people's minds in Ottawa. I think about the Council of Leaders' trip that Cabinet took with Indigenous governments from across the territory. It was a great event. We went down there, and then we left.
We made waves while we were there. Everyone knew we were coming. We had a number of Ministers show up. But then we left, and then we didn't have that constant presence. And, yes, we're up here, we're making phone calls, we're sending emails. But we need to take advantage of this moment and stay at the front of people's minds. Part of our job is educating Ottawa about the North. So having someone there who can actually, you know, speak to the different offices about what's going on in the North, keeping them up to date, and then sending back intel, that's going to be important. And so that's the rationale behind this office. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thanks to the Premier for that reply. Yes, I can understand the Indigenous government participation. Over 60 percent, Mr. Speaker, of our territory is underneath a modern treaty society.
My second question is Indigenous government support is critical to our advocacy and engagement efforts in Ottawa. Could the Premier describe the approach to include governments in the federal engagement and how the envoy position will support these efforts? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that that -- well, I know that that trip to Ottawa with the Council of Leaders really highlighted the importance of having Indigenous voices at the table in Ottawa. We're a small territory. Authorities are disbursed among a number of different bodies and governments and boards. And we're not going to advance unless we work together to advance, and so it is absolutely critical to have Indigenous governments support their advocacy efforts in Ottawa. We all sink or swim together. If an Indigenous government is able to go to Ottawa, get support for something, bring money into the territory, that's a benefit for the territory. And when we were down there with Council of Leaders, there were some Indigenous governments and we helped them set up meetings with federal officials, both elected and employees of the federal government, and have meetings. And in some instances, those chiefs had never had meetings with federal representatives before in Ottawa. They never -- maybe didn't know how to navigate the system, didn't have the contacts, for whatever reason, but we saw the value in that and we want to ensure that we continue to support those efforts.
So there's been a lot of positive feedback from Indigenous governments about the envoy position, and we received formal and informal requests for support in Ottawa. So I think that this is going to be good not just for the Government of the Northwest Territories but for Indigenous governments as well, and I look forward to working with them and supporting their efforts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Final supplementary. Member from the Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thanks to the Premier for that reply. Yes, I have talked to our Indigenous governments in my area. I appreciate that we are including Indigenous governments in this important work, Mr. Speaker. I know this envoy position is relatively new, but could the Premier advise the House of any results from this new position? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, yes, the position is new, and we're in a transition period in Ottawa where we had a federal election, now we have a new government who are, you know, trying to find out where their offices are. And so right now, we are educating ourselves, strategizing, but, yes, there have been successes. So the Endacho Healing Society, which is led by Roy and Gina Erasmus -- you probably know them from the Dene Wellness Warriors -- they recently announced that they received $7 million from the Government of Canada, and my office was supporting them through that and that money is to support the development of a trauma healing lodge. You know, it speaks directly to our mandate or the priorities of this Assembly. And I will read from an article that was published in NNSL written by Roy Erasmus, quote: I want to acknowledge the support from the GNWT during our application and more specifically the recently announced senior envoy to the Government of Canada. His support, advice, and political advocacy for our project was essential, and we appreciate the Premier's commitment to providing this type of connector to Ottawa. And that's the type of feedback we're receiving from around the territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
