Caroline Cochrane

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also want to recognize one of our Pages in the House today, Ms. Brenna Willis, who is a student with Range Lake North, and we are really glad to have her helping us as Page. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following four documents. Pursuant to section 32(2) of the Financial Administration Act, a document entitled "Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation 2018-19 Annual Report"; pursuant to section 106(3) of the Workers Compensation Act, documents entitled "Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission Annual Report 2018 – Northwest Territories and Nunavut" and "Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission Northwest Territories and Nunavut 2020 Corporate Plan and 2018-2022 Strategic Plan"; and, pursuant to section 125(2) of the Workers...

This is kind of a recap of the question that was asked of me yesterday, so I will kind of recap the answer. Twenty-two priorities were developed by all Members of this House. We are in the process of working with Regular Members on how to identify the mandates to get us to reach the actions to be reached, the priorities that we have identified as our priorities, not every single issue. Again, like I said, I am open to feedback. If Members want to send me their input, walk in my door, I am available. I am in Yellowknife. My phone number is available. Give me a call. Talk to me about what you...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "Cabinet's Guiding Principles – 19th Legislative Assembly." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As stated in my opening statement, we are committed to working more closely with the Regular Members, so we will actually, as we develop this work, we will be consulting and working closely with the appropriate standing committee to define the actions as we move forward. This will not be done in isolation. It will be done together.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Normally, questions on this topic would go to the current Minister responsible for the Status of Women. However, in discussion with it, because I was the previous Minister responsible for the Status of Women, it is appropriate that it would come to me.

There were commitments made in the 18th Legislative Assembly on behalf of Cabinet. We had committed to being part of the national action plan that would be done by the federal government, of course waiting if they got elected again, which they have been. We did a high-level review of the report, and we identified not...

Any Member who is sitting in this House today who did not hear very clearly during the candidates' debate who were all vying to become either Premier or Ministers, it was very clearly heard that MLAs were not happy that they did not have a say. The public, I believe, was not happy that we did not work as closely as we had to. Again, that will be in my mandate letter of expectation from Ministers.

Not everything will be in a mandate letter; it is impossible to do that, but I personally will be holding Ministers and departments to account when they do not provide standing committees and Regular...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The provision of the mandate letters that were provided to me as a Minister in the 18th Legislative Assembly helped to reinforce the priorities and the mandate commitments that were made by all Assembly Members during the 18th Assembly. They kept me focused on the needs, but they did not limit me. I must make that clear. They did not limit me in what my powers were. They gave me a guideline. They said, "You must do these," but I also appreciate that I had the freedom to move the departments as I felt was appropriate, based on the needs of people.

I am sorry that I didn't address that part of the question, but it gives you this supplementary question. I would love to be able to give a timeline, but I feel that would be disrespectful of the process, because we are also engaging with the national action plan as well. I think that, in all honesty, they kind of have to go hand-in-hand to make this comprehensive.

My statement stands as it is, though. We will begin this process early in the new year. I will allow my departments to take a Christmas holiday. As soon as that's done, we are reinstating the work, and we will engage with standing...

During the end of the last Assembly, we did develop an interdepartmental working group to address this issue. It was put on hold through the election because we had to be respectful of the incoming Legislative Assembly. Very happily, I am now the Premier of this 19th Legislative Assembly, so we will definitely be picking up the work. We will be reinstating the interdepartmental working group to look at every recommendation in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report that was filed. Like I said before, we are committed to working with the federal government and across...