Caroline Cochrane

There are a couple of issues. I will provide the MLAs an update, but I can't commit to it being this evening. Two issues, Mr. Speaker: one is that my staff are still trying to arrange that emergency meeting. I'm not sure if the Premiers are just finding out because of this meeting here. The other thing, Mr. Speaker, I'm going through some family stuff, serious family stuff at this point, so I will not commit. I need to have a day off after I have this meeting to deal with my family issues, and I will deal with you tomorrow. Serious family issues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I am just actually finding out myself what's going on with it. The Chief Public Health Officers have been working closely together. It is the Premiers who have to have those discussions. We only meet once a week, and sometimes, that doesn't work with the Chief Public Health Officers' meetings. We had negotiations or talks at the table to see if there was interest. There was interest in all three. Since we had that first discussion, though, Mr. Speaker, there was a new revelation that Yukon -- as we were talking about three territories, all three territories had locked down borders, and...

Mr. Speaker, I know that renewing our government's relationship with Indigenous governments is important to all Members. That is why the 19th Legislative Assembly has established settling and implementing treaty, land, resources, and self-government agreements as one of its priorities. We have also made it a priority to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.

On June 5th each year, we commemorate Inuvialuit Day to celebrate the signing of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement in 1984. In many ways, this agreement led the way for the future negotiation of land...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding is that ENR will be looking at the monies that they give for the harvesting program, the harvesting assistance program, to see what they can do to support it, but there is also other funding that has come in. Indigenous governments were given money through the federal government for COVID-19. Health and Social Services gave money for the At Home on the Land initiative to Indigenous governments. There may be some flexibility within other programs, as well, so there are various streams of monies that are coming for the Indigenous governments. Thank you...

I will have to meet with the Member after. I don't remember the commitment that I would ask for public surveys for every priority. I will have to look at Hansard and meet with the Member to understand what the meaning was behind that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am not going to take credit and say that, because there are nine women elected, we are doing that, but we are doing that right now. It was the right thing to do, whether it be women or men. In this House, it is the right thing to do.

Again, that is within the Minister of Justice's department, so I'll defer the question to her. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Some communities are working in partnership a little bit differently than other communities. Some communities are working with their Indigenous governments on their checkpoints. Indigenous governments did get money. They got money from the federal government for COVID-19 with flexibility on being able to use it. We want to help our municipal governments. It's not a matter of if we want to help them or not. We do want to help them. We are waiting for the $10 billion ask to see what that happens with. We're still collecting the debts from our municipal governments, as well. We're looking at...

Absolutely. Like I said, our job, especially with Indigenous affairs, is to help the Indigenous governments. However, I do need to clarify that the Indigenous governments, and I am respectful of them, have asked me to not interfere with their federal funding, that they wanted it directly. I have advocated and lobbied the federal government that that money should go directly to the Indigenous governments, so it's a fine line. I am careful of how I lobby. I will lobby for additional money, but I will not ask where, how much, or to whom because I think we are crossing a line at that point. Thank...

As spoken, we are in the process, ENR is in the process, of reviewing the harvester assistance program to see how we can make that more flexible, but the key thing is that the Indigenous governments did receive federal money. I do not know, Mr. Speaker, how much that was, respectfully. It was given directly to the Indigenous governments. However, my understanding from the department is that the federal government is looking at perhaps supporting more money to the Indigenous governments for COVID-19.