Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we cannot be fully prepared in accessing opportunities for all residents of the NWT without helping some residents heal. Can the Premier tell me what counselling options, on the land or otherwise, does he discuss as needed and urgent with his Indigenous government counterparts at the Council of Leaders and bilateral meetings. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave, Mr. Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am lucky to have a strong team around me, so it's the Minister of health who has those discussions at the Council of Leaders and the bilateral meetings. That being said, what the Member is talking about is a constant topic of discussion. I've said before that I think trauma is the biggest issue that our territory faces. What's the point of having economic opportunities if people aren't in a place where they can go take advantage of them. So I fully agree with it from that sense.
At the Council of Leaders, there is a health and social services working group at the officials level which works among all of the Indigenous governments who are involved as well as the Government of the Northwest Territories to look at those different options that would suit Indigenous governments, and that helps inform our advocacy efforts in Ottawa as well as our own policies.
In the last federal budget, there was an announcement of a northern and Arctic health assessment which the federal government is looking across the North at what services are provided, what can they do to enhance services, reduce the need for medical travel, make sure services are closer to home. And we convened a meeting of the Council of Leaders maybe a couple months ago maybe now and we had the federal officials in front of us, and feedback was provided by the Council of Leaders to them.
We always discuss the mental wellness and addiction recovery fund which is a very flexible fund that Indigenous governments and communities can access.
Jordan's Principle, that's always a topic of discussion. And, of course, when -- you know, at the Council of Leaders and bilaterals, we do joint federal engagement. So it's not just us going to Ottawa; it's much more powerful when it's us and our partners discussing these things. I will stop there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with that in mind, then, can the Premier explain if and how he advocates for investment and wellness -- investment into wellness and healing when speaking to tables where the major projects and investments from the military are on the table insofar as for us to have the full benefits for everyone in the territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And yes, I do combine those two the same way that the Member is saying, without having a healthy population who could take advantage of opportunities what's the point of having opportunities. And so when I meet with the Prime Minister, I raise that very issue. I talk about the trauma in the territory, the great potential that we have in the territory, and our need to ensure residents can take advantage of that potential. So this is something we discuss at the Western Premiers conference as well. So in a lot of my federal engagement, my engagement with other jurisdictions, this is also a topic of discussion, and I make a close connection between those two things, the infrastructure development and the mental wellness. Thank you.
Final supplementary. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hope those discussions can turn into actions in short order.
Mr. Speaker, last week, the Yukon Government and Canada announced up to $100 million in funding to the Yukon housing corporation who will then distribute $93 million to build up 500 new homes. I know the Premier spoke to 360 homes being developed in this Assembly. Can he elaborate if the NWT is anticipating to see any matching federal dollar announcements to start to address the continued crucial needs for our housing, especially for those who are under-housed and inadequately housed. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So Nunavut has seen a large injection of federal dollars towards social housing. The Member just referenced a contribution to the Government of Yukon. So that's two of the three territories. One more territory left. And so yes, I fully expect that we're going to see some housing money, and I hope to be standing next to the Minister of housing when she makes that announcement. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from the Sahtu.
