Caroline Cochrane

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also want to do some clarifications here. The intent of this bill is not around collective bargaining and it is not Cabinet directed or Cabinet did any presentations so I can't speak for the previous Cabinet, but I can speak for this one. At no time has Cabinet talked to the Regular Members in trying to say that this should be the sky is falling and that this needs to happen. This is an initiative by the Legislative Assembly, and I do support this initiative. The supply chain issues since COVID hit have been horrible for all of us. Our cost of living has gone up...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: The Plain Language Summary for Bill 72: Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There's a couple of things that I am trying to get done within this homelessness strategy. One is to have some costing. Of course, some things, Mr. Speaker some things I'm hoping to have a logic model because I've heard that from Members right across this Assembly about measurable outcomes, etcetera. And we had no measurable outcomes or even baseline data for homelessness at this point, Mr. Speaker. We don't even know how many people are homeless. So data collection is a part of the homelessness strategy that we'd be looking at. Some costing initially. But this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This strategy to address homelessness is a pretty important document, in my personal opinion, based on my professional experience before coming into the ledge and my personal interest in politics as well. When it was first brought to me and said we need to change the strategy, one of the first things I looked at when looking at it is the stakeholder engagement which, Mr. Speaker, I felt was a little bit lacking. So we have provided a “draft” draft that we are seeking feedback from MLAs to see if we're on the right track. We will be doing engagement with the sheltering...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to advise Members that the Honourable R.J. Simpson will be absent from the House for the remainder of the week to attend the federal/provincial/territorial immigration ministers meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for the Sahtu, that Bill 72, Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act, be read for the second time.

This bill creates a cause of action for the Government of the Northwest Territories in its own right against manufacturers and wholesalers of opioid products, and their consultants, for the recovery of the cost of health care benefits caused or contributed to by an opioidrelated wrong. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, I do think that it does need to be looked at not just from a housing perspective. A lot of times people think that homelessness is just a lack of housing. That's not that's, again, a fallacy, Mr. Speaker. In my personal opinion, homelessness comes from many factors. It may be situational, bad relationship today. It could be mental health and addictions. It could be other factors that some people prefer to live in different ways. And so it's important that we not reinvent the wheel. And that's why I'm looking for the stakeholder engagement which is critical. That...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm just going to be honest here, Mr. Speaker. In my 20 plus years of being a social worker and working directly with homeless people, I cannot make a commitment that says we will end homelessness. I think that's a fallacy, Mr. Speaker. So our goal is to end longterm chronic homelessness. There are situations every single day, and this is based on 20 years of working with people, that today you might not be homelessness; tomorrow you might lose your job; you might have a bad relationship; you might end up homeless. So, Mr. Speaker, the goal is not to end homelessness...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd also like to recognize former Minister Glen Abernathy. He was the Minister of Health and Social Services for many years and although we miss him in the Assembly, I have a feeling that he was very happy that he didn't have to go through the pandemic with us. But thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Caroline Wawzonek will be absent from the House today and tomorrow to attend the Prospector and Developers Association of Canada's convention in Toronto, Ontario. Also, Mr. Speaker, I will be absent for a portion of today's proceedings to participate in a meeting with honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence of Canada. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.