Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, might I start a new set of questions? Is that good?

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, in June I identified that safety plans don't always happen at health centres and hospitals when somebody presents with a suicide attempt. And so how does Health and Social Services now ensure that every suicide attempt receives a safety plan when they are at the hospital or the healthcare centre? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I guess I kind of respectfully disagree because if that was the case then we wouldn't have funds like the Suicide Prevention Fund who ask communities to decide what they want to do, and we do pass over the money. Youth in the territory really or around the world is considered 29 and under. And there's some pretty inspiring and empowered people under the age of 29. And I had the opportunity to sit and listen to quite a few of them who have a lot of ideas of how to help one another and how to provide that peer support. So as part of this...

Thank you, Madam Speaker, and I appreciate the Member's response. How will youth be involved in this conversation and this review that's taking place? We heard that there's been conversations with the school bodies themselves, but these don't often include youth representatives and include youth voices. So how are youth going to be empowered to partake in this conversation? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, is this committee solely to talk about issues, or will there be opportunity for youth to drive change within their communities? So will this committee also come potentially with the power to change policy, the power to change or provide recommendations to school boards, to communities, and will it come with funding? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues, not only for their support today but for their honest and candid conversations that we had in committee. Every single person in this room, I would say, knows somebody that they have lost or who is struggling right now. And so I want to thank the Members for sharing so candidly together because those are very difficult conversations not only to have but to have with your work colleagues. And so I thank the Members for that very, very much.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to challenge...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my first set of questions, if we get through a couple, are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

On October 20th, the department issued a communique identifying renewed plans for the youth advisory committee. I'm wondering if the Minister can tell the House how the department plans to use this committee to provide agency to NWT youth? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker,

WHEREAS there has been an alarming number of suicides in the Northwest Territories in 2022;

AND WHEREAS Tabled Document 64919(2), the Office of the Chief Coroner 20212022 Early Release of Suicide Data Report, raised concerns about the 18 suicides so far in 2022;

AND WHEREAS the Office of the Chief Coroner did not wait until the end of the calendar year to provide data on suicide in the territory in order to elicit a territorial government response now;

AND WHEREAS the majority of those deaths by suicide is impacting youth and young adults in...

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, in a perfect world we would have 30 Indigenous students in the nursing program, or 30 Indigenous and northern students in the nursing program at Aurora College. So the budget ideally would allow us to max out the 30. So the budget really, in theory, is already there. So all I'm asking for is that we ensure that the Aurora College nursing program bursaries are fully subscribed every year to ensure that we have the biggest capacity of nurses, because as soon as we can say hey, we'll educate you in exchange for service, we have a guaranteed eight...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my questions are again for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

I questioned the Minister during this sitting in regards to bursaries for students who want to partake in the Aurora College nursing program, and I was happy to learn and to hear that Indigenous students and northern students are both open to access bursary programs for the Aurora College nursing program. So I'm wondering, though, if the Minister will allow southern students to access northern nursing bursaries to fill the remaining spots in the Aurora College nursing program to...