Jay Macdonald

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the department has been collaborating with the Indigenous governments. There were bilateral meetings in June of 2023 regarding the Indigenous leaseholders' cabins, and since that time there's been additional engagements to have conversations around working toward a longterm approach of how we can deal with this issue. The Indigenous governments have identified over 700 structures that belong to Indigenous people and cabins, and we are currently, as a department, working with the Indigenous governments to ensure that we can verify collaboratively with them that we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. The department is committed to pausing collection actions for Indigenous leaseholders with lease fees that are in arrears.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, Member, for the question. I certainly will speak with my staff and ensure that we provide you with the opportunity to have that conversation. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the 2023 wildfire season was unlike anything we have ever seen in the Northwest Territories. More than four million hectares of forest burned over a sixmonth period, with fires reported all the way from the Beaufort Delta to the South Slave. Record temperatures, drought, and very high winds resulted in extreme fire behaviour that many of our most experienced firefighters have never experienced. At times, firefighting simply was not possible due to the lifethreatening dangers crews would face.

On a personal note, I have often reflected on my experiences from past fire seasons. The...

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart as I acknowledge the recent catastrophic plane crash that occurred January 23rd in Fort Smith, which claimed the lives of six people. This tragic event has deeply impacted my community and the entire Northwest Territories. I am indebted to all the first responders and frontline staff who tirelessly assisted in the search and rescue operation, ultimately rescuing a sole survivor. Their unwavering dedication is a touching representation of how Northerners come together to support one another in the face of such devastating events. The levels of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to thank the constituents of Thebacha. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to each one of you for your trust and support in electing me to be your representative in the 20th Assembly. This journey has been made possible through the dedication and the hard work of my incredible election team whose commitment has been unwavering.

To my esteemed colleagues of the 20th Assembly, your trust and support mean the world to me. I am honoured and humbled to serve alongside each dedicated individual in this Assembly.

To my beloved family - my wife Karen...

Thank you, Madam Chair. As the Minister mentioned earlier, I think, when responding to a previous question, the GNWT has determined that it needed to reclassify this funding. So previously it would have been categorized as funds or funding carried or programming carried on behalf of others, in this case the federal government. That's now been shifted into operations. So that's why these positions are showing up now in a different way where they wouldn't have been as visible before because it would have been federal funding. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. ECE has also applied to and received funding from the federal Department of Employment and Social Development Canada for what's called Skills 4 Success Funding Program. And this funding has been in turn transferred to Aurora College and in another instance to the literacy council for programs such as what the Member mentioned. So in the case of Aurora College, it's really to develop curriculum and the mechanisms to be able to support apprenticeships. So that's exactly what that is intended to do. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And the Minister's numbers are correct. Those are funding contributions from ECE. Their primary funder is Employment and Social Development Canada so that's where they tend to get most of their revenue. But they may be able to fund other partnerships with individual education bodies across the territory as that's their direct link into schools. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And the Minister's absolutely correct. The Canadawide agreements that were negotiated by all 13 provinces and territories late in 2021 all focus on creating roughly equivalent a national early learning and child care system which is modeled off of the Quebec model. That system is generally focused on licensed facilities and, at least the initial focus of effort over the initial five years of that agreement, is to roll out that system. Thank you, Madam Chair.