Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the Minister's comments, and I think it's important that on this side of the House, we continue to talk about the things we would like to see more money go into because those are the things that are important to the people we serve.

That being said, I know that education is top of mind for many Northerners, if not most Northerners. And I'm wondering if the Minister would be willing to revisit the education funding formula in advance of the modernization of the Education Act in order to address things like inflation and increased needs for...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So then if schools are coming back to their MLAs and saying that they've seen significant differences in enrolments, would those schools not then qualify for that and so can we not make that commitment that schools will see stability in their funding so that they're not expected to educate students without the funding for those students? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Another thing that the Minister alluded to were funds for education. And one of the things that I'm finding with different constituents that I serve is that funds for education aren't clearly accessible depending on what department that you work in. Some people work in departments where it is part of their mandate to provide that training because it helps with the job that they're currently in, whereas other GNWT employees may have found themselves in a position where they want to go into nursing; they want to be part of the solution and they want to serve the...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate that, and I look forward to seeing that plan when it's shared with Regular Members. I think it's one that not only Members but a lot of people from one end of the territory to the other are looking forward to seeing.

Currently, Stanton is very reliant on agency nurses, and I know that this is common right across Canada, and I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to whether or not this plan incorporates agency nurses as a key component and longterm plan for continuing to maintaining staffing levels at Stanton or what the future of agency...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for that. I think that there are residents who will be very happy to hear that.

My last question for the Minister is in regards to cost. Cost of COVID has been quite extreme everywhere, not just in the Northwest Territories. And I think when we first began this, we were counting down the days until we could wipe COVID costs clear off the books, but the reality of it is that there still will be a cost to managing and dealing with COVID because people are still expected to do the work that goes with that. And so I'm wondering if the...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering if in this work health is reevaluating how and who provides services. Examples of this would be maybe someone with a nursing degree is doing a role that doesn't require a nursing degree. Potentially other provinces and states are currently looking at expanding athome testing kits to include not only HIV but STIs as well. And so is that type of work being done as part of this? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, as the territory speaks of transitioning from pandemic to endemic, it’s important that we as Northerners understand what this means. There will be timelines for eased restrictions and the eventual dismantling of the COVID Secretariat. But, Mr. Speaker, I want to understand what it means for the GNWT healthcare system and services to residents. Although an endemic is supposed to mean some stability of transmission, hospitalizations and death, the virus will continue to circulate, and can still be widespread and deadly.

Here in the North we are already familiar with endemic diseases...

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to report that Bill 38, the Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I was furiously writing as the Minister was speaking, and I have about 25 more questions but I'll start with one.

Mr. Speaker, do graduates of Aurora College currently have a guarantee with the GNWT that following graduation of a nursing program that they can secure employment with the Government of the Northwest Territories? I know that right now it is hopefully a given but is that a guarantee that is afforded to students who complete the program. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask a few more questions of the Minister of Health and Social Services, please.

In my Member's statement today, I did speak about the burnout and the exodus of healthcare workers. And we're not only seeing that in the territory, but you're seeing it nationwide and you're seeing it globally as well. People are tired. And I think people's expectations are also changing as well for what they want out of life. The good news is that the Northwest Territories has great things to offer, including some good work life balance and some great...