Frieda Martselos

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, strong leadership with such a need within the whole Northwest Territories for the underprivileged that do not have housing is a mandate of ours, and I want to make sure that the person that is allocated to these positions are completely neutral and without judgement and navigate the system. Strong leadership within leadership with elected officials is extremely important and must give direction. And I want to know if the Minister agrees with me? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to end this session on a positive note. First, I want to wish all the Indigenous leaders across the NWT a safe and wonderful summer. As a former chief, I want to wish my former colleagues well and hope they, along with their constituents, all have great summer assemblies this year. In addition, Mr. Speaker, I want to wish all my colleagues here in this House, including you, Mr. Speaker, a good and restful summer. I'd also like to thank the staff of the Legislative Assembly for always helping to ensure we're on track and following all...

Mr. Speaker, could the Minister tell us if he or Cabinet is content with the fact that the NWT is one of the only jurisdictions in the country who continues to actively use former residential school and Indian Day School buildings for students today? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, during the last session the Minister stated that, based on current capital needs assessments, JBT School is expected to be replaced in 2035 which would make the school 77 years old until it's finally replaced. But the Minister also said it could potentially take a lot longer. At this rate, the school will only be replaced once it becomes a hundred years old.

Can the Minister tell us if there is anything that can be done to speed up the timeline for the JBT School to be replaced? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize Al Karasiuk, the PWK High School principal for many years in Fort Smith, and who's a resident of Fort Smith and plans on staying in Fort Smith. And he's also a great friend of mine and has done many great things for the community, all across the community, and I'll always remember how he looks after the students and guided them down the right path. And he's an incredible guy, and I'm glad that he's here today with us. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to ask a couple of questions because I mean, each one of us in the room has been touched by addiction in our lives, whether it be someone close to you, someone in the family, and it's always someone you love. And for clarity, we're putting I just want to make sure that, you know, there's situations where things happen and people have to go back to we're putting a lot of onus on Indigenous governments for their I'd rather I just wonder how that's going to work because I'm just wondering, you know, where's the anonymity that is going to is supposed to be...

Mr. Speaker, the community of Fort Smith petitioned and fiercely lobbied our government to replace JBT School. Would that speed up the timeline for our government to consider replacing this school? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of ECE has previously stated that the last time a technical status evaluation was done on JBT Elementary School was in 2005. Can the Minister tell us when the next technical status evaluation is expected to be done for the JBT School in Fort Smith? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I say it numerous times throughout this Assembly that Fort Smith is home to some of the oldest school infrastructure in the territory, and it is also home to some of the last remaining former residential school and indian day school buildings that are still in active use in the country. The buildings I'm referring to are PWK High School and JBT Elementary School.

Mr. Speaker, JBT School is 65 years old and was originally a federal Indian Day School until the building was purchased by the Government of the Northwest Territories and was converted into an...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to make a comment because just some of the comments that are being made is - you know, flowthrough money from the federal government just comes to the government, it's flowed through. Many times, even when I was chief of Salt River First Nation, monies that came to - that we got from Salt River First Nation flowed through the Government of the Northwest Territories, okay. It has nothing to do with the Government of the Northwest Territories. That's the way the federal government gets the money out the door to go to the First Nation or to the community or -...