Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My next set of questions are for the Minister responsible for the public service, also the Minister of Finance.
So the NWT Medical Association has been advocating for interest-based negotiations as a way to ensure that the collective bargaining process can be focused on areas of common ground and the outcomes that everyone wants, which is ultimately a better healthcare system. In the winter sitting, I had asked the Finance Minister about the government's position on interest-based negotiations, and the response was that the government was -- would look into it. So is there any update from the Minister on any decision that the government has made whether or not to enter into interest-based negotiations with the NWT Medical Association? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, in fact, there is a bit of an update. We are later -- I guess not quite this month. Early in June, Department of Finance officials and staff from NWTMA will be together going and doing a workshop that helps investigate and helps learn about what interest-based negotiation might look like, so we can see where that process takes us. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So that is encouraging to know that the government has agreed to participate in the workshop. Is there a time by which the government will have to confirm or decide, indicating to the NWT Medical Association that it is willing to go forward and enter into these style of negotiations? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're not under a deadline, per se, Mr. Speaker. There will be a new round of bargaining that will commence when the collective agreement that we're under comes to its conclusion which is in 2026 so that, I suppose, is the deadline, but as far right now, the next step really is to go to this two-day workshop and to, you know, engage really collaboratively with both parties there to determine whether or not that's going to be the process we use. Lots of time between now and 2026 to put that into place if that's the path that we go down. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.
Nothing further.
Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
