Kieron Testart

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Thursday, June 6, 2024, I will move the following motion:

Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, that the Government of the Northwest Territories initiate a CrossBorder Crime Reduction Forum that would involve the Governments of the Northwest Territories, Canada, Yukon, Alberta, and British Columbia;

And furthermore, the focus of a crossborder forum will increase the response to violence and drug trafficking in rural and remote communities;

And furthermore, that the focus of the crossborder forum improve efforts to disrupt...

Thank you. And I don't want to speak to the languages and culture key activity. I wanted to speak to a senior management position within which fits, I believe, into corporate management. But I can move on if you wish, Mr. Chair. But I would say to that response, I think everyone understands at least in this Chamber understands the importance of language and culture. And I just I don't know if a new ADM is going to do the things the Minister's talking about. I think if we want to expend more financial resources on language and culture programs and do something big and bold that way, or...

Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

How many agency nurse contracts have been utilized since 2021 by individual nurse;

How many agency nurse contracts have been utilized since 2021 by contracting agency;

How many agency nurse contracts have been utilized to support community health centres and Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority operations outside of hospitals in Yellowknife, Inuvik, and Hay River since 2021; and

How many individual agency nurse contracts are represented by the $4.4 million expenditure on agency nurses in fiscal year...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And for the record, that was not a trick question. I was sincerely trying to because I can't see another solution to this that's not that won't take a significant amount of time, and we need some short to mediumterm solutions to the organized crime element of this problem while we continue to invest in those longterm foundational changes in resources that our most vulnerable citizens need.

When it comes to the provision of those integrated services, how are the police going to be used or policing services going to be used to complement that, specifically around the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that's good news. Youth are definitely the gateway to how these companies make their money, how these addictions continue to plague communities. As I said, this year's theme for No Tobacco Day is youth step out and step Step In and Speak Out, with a hash tag, tobacco exposed. How is the department working or does the department promote No Tobacco Day, and are they participating in these events to spread awareness of how the industry is taking advantage of youth through social media? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the so I've spoken about that I think that this is a worthwhile investment, and I think it speaks to a broader issue of inter of crossborder drug trafficking that's coming into the territories. As the question's been raised and someone answered, but does in the Premier's discussions with both with the RCMP and with his department, like, what is what trends are they seeing around drug trafficking and increased rates of criminality and, in particular, violence and homicide in the last since the pandemic? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, two out of five people will be diagnosed with cancer, and 30 percent of all cancers are lung, and 80 percent of those are caused by smoking. Obviously, this is a good reason to quit smoking. And I'd like to know what services are provided in the Northwest Territories by the Department of Health and Social Services to help Northerners do exactly that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Nothing further. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is there  I appreciate where the Minister's coming from, and there's always going to be a push and pull between the  or the demand for services versus what the government can realistically provide. But when we have our auditors telling us that take a look at how we're spending health dollars because it's unsustainable and it's, you know, causing the government  the government's public accounts to teeter on a knife's edge, that's a problem that we need to solve.

So is the Minister willing to look at different models of governance for the authorities that would allow more...

So in 20 the actuals from 20222023, the Commission had $3.9 million, and the clinics at 2.7, and now that suddenly inverted, now you see the kind of the opposite proportion, you see the clinics at $3.5 million and the Commission at $2.8 million. So I guess what does that change represent? Is it just a reprofiling of resources or are we moving more like, more to the panel itself rather than inhouse staff? I can provide more detail if that's still unclear. But that's the change I'm trying to understand. Thank you.