Frieda Martselos

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today's the final day of the 19th Assembly. I know that some of the staff here have felt that this Assembly would never end. But, finally, we made it to the finish line in one piece.

Mr. Speaker, I know this Assembly has been long and eventful. Four years not only for everyone in this building but also for the people of the NWT. But as with life, there are always highs and lows and ups and downs. We all make good memories as well as bad ones but, regardless, the important thing is that we learn from our mistakes and our experiences and we keep pushing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to acknowledge Chief Edward Sangris. He will always be the chief of the Yellowknives to me. I also sat with him on the Akaitcho Territory which was when he was grand chief. We had lots of discussions. And, you know, the way the government is today compared to when it was at that time and I never had a lot to do with Government of the Northwest Territories at that time. It was mostly federal. And but what we had to do with government at that time was not as nice as it is today, so. And I'd also want to thank his wife Beatrice. She prayed for me a lot and kept me...

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister confirm whether the government's work that has gone into repealing and replacing the Affirmative Action Policy will be lost after the end of this Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for my statement today I want to revisit a topic that I have spoken about many times during the 19th Assembly, and that subject is the Affirmative Action Policy.

Mr. Speaker, I know That the Minister of finance just tabled a What We Heard report last week regarding the government's review of the Affirmative Action Policy. I understand that the report concluded that the Government of the Northwest Territories should repeal affirmative action and replace it with a new policy that prioritizes the hiring of Indigenous people connected to the NWT first; and, then...

I want to thank the chair for recognizing me. I just want to make a couple comments.

Fort Smith is a regional centre, and we have no dentists or no dental anything there right now. The dentist that used to come has stopped coming since I think way before Christmas of last year. That's a large community and, you know, we have a lot going on there, and I'm very concerned about the dental services that we need in that community and have, you know, the absence of the oral health that is required and, you know and we have to also look at the whole issue of ways of life and people people who do or...

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if the future Affirmative Action Policy will also include an appeal board, an appeal board process for applicants to consider if they wish. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the finance minister confirm if the government intends to repeal and replace the Affirmative Action Policy before the start of the 20th Assembly, including any actions that may occur during the election period? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to make a comment, and I want to thank the Minister of Finance and the Cabinet for making sure that the fire centre is going to be constructed for the community and for the Northwest Territories. After this fire season, I think it's extremely important that we save all the data, and we support the people that work in that centre. We have some really incredible staff in that centre, and they work for the whole Northwest Territories and helped with the first with the first responders with especially with making sure that our communities were safe this summer...

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us what she thinks the next government or next Minister should do on this file when it comes to any potential changes to the Affirmative Action Policy? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I support the bill because I think the majority of the people of the Northwest Territories are of Indigenous. I just I want to talk about a couple things.

The IGC is with three governments. Okay, I mean, with the federal and territorial government and the government that signs on. And it's not necessarily that I want to make this very clear because I think clarity is very important.

When you sign on, that means you have a say in land and resources now that we're actually doing some of the work with especially with the process convention. You have to realize the...