Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I definitely appreciate that. Over the course of gathering information from multiple different departments, it took my CA and I about a month to put together all of the information and the resources that the Minister referred to that are available through the government, and that's not very useful or realistic for someone who is suffering from domestic violence. My next and final question for the Minister is: is there a plan for this Assembly to create a domestic violence action plan? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. The first line item on this page is Cabinet communications and protocol, and we fielded questions earlier from the Member for Yellowknife North in regard to communication. On a previous page, there was a line item for corporate communications, which outlined about $1,500,000, and then the section we were just in, under regional operations, it stated that one of the responsibilities of regional operations was also to provide an open line of communication between the regions. I’m just wondering: within these three different line items, how do they work together...

Wednesday is my new favourite day of the week. I am wondering, Mr. Speaker: what legislative change has the department initiated under the Oral Health Action Plan to oral health professional role?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. We had a great conversation yesterday about the Dental Auxiliaries Act, and I just want to make sure that the wheels keep turning on that one. As part of the oral health strategy, has the department done any jurisdictional research or spoken with dentists and dental hygienists to determine the feasibility of allowing dental hygienists to be self-initiated? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, I identified an important change to the NWT Dental Auxiliaries Act that I would like to see the Minister of health make to improve access to and delivery of oral health services for residents of the NWT. As the Member for Kam Lake, I speak for my constituents. Every dollar spent by this government, whether in my constituency or across the NWT, impacts the cost of living for the people of Kam Lake. However, I also feel a responsibility to make decisions that are in the best interests of all residents of the Northwest Territories.

In 2020, the Department of...

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I really appreciate the Premier’s response. The last line item there is travel. Travel in 2018-2019 was at $82,000, and then, for main estimates this year, it’s at $420,000. Is that because it was leading into an election year? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question for the Minister of health is: has recruitment begun for the chief oral health officer position that was identified as part of the oral health strategy? Thank you.

I'm going to pretend she said "yes." I want to be part of the yes club today. I do have a yes question, though. Would the Minister be willing to commit to determining if we are willing to make this change as the Northwest Territories this year, so that we can potentially update the act in 2020?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is the Northwest Territories, and we do things a little differently up here. The way we live, work, and govern together is different than Southern Canada. It is a product of a different history.

The fusion of traditional knowledge and innovative technologies means the history of our people and the sustainability of our land are at the forefront of our decisions and that each decision balances where we are going and how far we’ve come.

The Northwest Territories is a land of remarkable beauty, with strong and resilient people. More than half of us are Indigenous and...

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. My next question is in regard to Aurora College. I am wondering if the Minister can tell us both the number of graduates from last year and the number of students? Thank you.