Coming up with a bargaining mandate is a more complicated matter than one I am going to begin to commit to here on the floor, but I am confident that all of my Cabinet colleagues are hearing this exchange. Sometimes that's exactly the benefit of being in this House, so that we can all hear those exchanges and hear the issues that are raised.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The collective agreement does have a difference in it as compared to what is in the employment standards provisions, but it actually does also say that more than three days of leave can be approved by the employer and that the approval cannot be unreasonably denied. Certainly, we could take the step of at least reminding all of the GNWT that, indeed, one would not want to deny leave in circumstances when there is a case of domestic violence leave. If they have been given the three days and are requesting further, I would expect that, in many, many cases, it would be...

There is an interdepartmental working group that's not really, I realize, the most accessible place for Members of the Assembly or members of the public to access Cabinet on a specific issue. I'm just concerned with the idea that it's going to happen within the life of the current sitting. That's only another month away. I'm happy to make that a target, but I'm hesitant to go so far as to make it a commitment. When I make a commitment, as I think I've said before, I take that fairly seriously. I'll make it a target. At the very least, I will report back on what progress is made in terms of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be frank about it. There is not one single department responsible for domestic violence, nor is there a Minister responsible for domestic violence. What there is, fortunately, is a recognition by this Cabinet of that gap, and a recognition of the need to fix that gap. What I would offer instead is to commit to the Member that I will take it upon myself to ensure that there is an answer to that question in the life of the Assembly, sooner rather than later. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There was the workforce development framework released last year under the last Assembly that was the result in part of a jurisdictional scan, looking at best practices. That is still being worked into the process that we have currently. It is hoped that this will continue to evolve into a best practice of corporate-wide resources for all the territory and for all the different regions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, succession planning is still a priority. Indeed, it is ever only more of a priority. There are quite a large number of GNWT employees who are going to be retiring over the next five to 10 years. In short, I am definitely in agreement, and I am pleased that the Member has raised this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

While I have spoken here many times about the value that I place on partnerships with the federal government, I will also say very plainly that I do not think we always need to wait for others to do work that is relevant to our own residents. I can't give a defined date, but I am happy to also point out, as I had missed earlier, that the interdepartmental working group that I have mentioned has actually commissioned research through the Aurora Research Institute about best practices to address domestic violence and intimate partner violence here in the Northwest Territories. What I would like...

I understand that the Member has some concerns, perhaps arising from specific incidents. I am not sure. If that is the case, I want Members in this House to bring specific concerns to me. I have had specific concerns brought forward. We've actioned them. We take them back to the department. We run investigations. You make enquiries. Individuals who don't receive positions have appeal rights in some cases. I would encourage those who have access to such appeal rights to exercise them. Appeals are done by independent individuals, not Members of the GNWT. Indeed, very often workplace...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am very confident in the skills and abilities and dedication of the staff in the human resources department. These individuals work hard. They are working hard to be developing a representative workforce. That doesn't mean that that work happens over a day, and it doesn't mean that we have a representative workforce right now. Not to take away for a moment from the hard work that happens within that department. I do have every confidence that they are working toward that goal. That goal, however, as was already noted, has been noted more than once in this House, is...

The Department of Human Resources is constantly working to ensure that it is doing the best it can to be a representative workforce. To that end, as I've said before in this House in the last month, there are a variety of programs. They are continuously making efforts to be responsive as new ideas arise to be innovative. For instance, developing the building capacity in Indigenous governments program that is being worked on right now is one where it's helping to build capacity in communities with secondments between the GNWT and Indigenous governments.

There's a constant effort to find new and...