Kate Reid

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I won't steal the Member from YK Centre's questions at all. It's about something different under this section.

So I want to thank the department and the Minister for flagging in their risk and mitigation activities of the business plan on page 211 that the department must regularly adjust legislation, programs, and services with the associated cost implications to ensure that alignment with federal initiatives, etcetera, etcetera.

I guess my question would be around the legislation division. So, you know, let alone the number of LPs in just simply the Department of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you to the department and the Minister for that. On the flip side of that, if you read the mandate, if you read the business plan, it sounds very much that the Minister and his department are seeking to increase the tools that would possibly allow for the courts to better pursue folks who are, for lack of better words, you know, ripping at our smaller communities and, indeed, the community of Yellowknife with the drug trade. So on the flip side of that, I'm very excited that, you know, folks are getting better options to them than just putting them in jail, but...

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you to the Minister for that. I guess I'd just return the volley and say, you know, there are two student midwives who are here as summer students in the health work in town right now at this moment, and I guess I put back to the Minister, you know, where are you going to recruit from? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Happy Pride Season. Today is Inuvik Pride parade and barbeque, as well as an epic performance from the iconic Iceis Rain. This Sunday, Yellowknife has its very own Pride parade and barbeque, and I have extended the invitation to all MLAs to join me in sharing in the celebration.

Mr. Speaker, Pride started as a protest, and those roots run deep. Learning Queer history is also how we learn how much further we have to go. Here in Yellowknife, we have had celebrations on and off since the late 1990s through different Pride organizations.

Mr. Speaker, 2023 was the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Could the Minister elaborate a little bit further on why midwifery in Fort Smith and Hay River is considered adequate in her mind to base expansion to midwifery in the territory? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And, really, more a comment than a question well, actually, I'll put a question in there just for kicks. That's good to hear. But fundamentally I think it would give some comfort and understanding on this side of the House of how you wish to strategize generally. If there is not a document to be tabled, perhaps a briefing could be arranged with AOC. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is more of, again, a business plan question. On page 22 no, that's not true. That's not the entire 89 of the business plan, it speaks to EIA's federal engagement approach. I'm curious what work intergovernmental affairs has done thus far on the federal engagement approach for the 20th Assembly and what timelines we're looking at to see that here in this House? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So in EIA's business plan under departmental highlights page 87, there is a piece around the communications functional review. So the description of this review is almost identical to the last one done in 2014, which was known as the likely report. And I'm going to argue here today that, you know, the reason that communications doesn't get better is no one really wants to fully implement the recommendations that are in that report, and departments want to continue to do what they are doing, namely, preferring to keep control of their message. And so we continue to ask, we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that clarity.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister confirm although I did hear her say a little bit about this in an earlier answer, so I'll reframe my question on the fly. Can the Minister confirm how local nurses are being able to be or will be able to be trained in labour and delivery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in a very real way, people are our health care system, and how the dedicated professionals who make up the system are compensated and treated is a major factor in the NWT's health care crisis. I stand with nurses and all workers to have fair and sustainable wages and benefits. To have a resourceful, sustainable, and thriving community, we need to be healthy, and we desperately need health care workers to be proud to work in the NWT health care system that treats them with respect and values their contributions. Nurses, and all our health care workers, are...