R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I won't say much about this; I've spoken extensively about the wildfires, and the Member for Hay River South has spoken about the accommodations being provided as well as other supports. So what the government will do is take this motion, use the 120 days to consider it, and provide a response. And we will be abstaining. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize my former colleague and current grand chief of the Tlicho, Mr. Jackson Lafferty. It was an honour serving with him as his deputy Speaker, and as the only Lafferty I'm allowed to recognize today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Mandate Letters for the Executive Council of the 20th Legislative Assembly; and, GNWT Search and Rescue System Review Final Report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week I attended the Western Premiers' Conference in Whitehorse, along with the Premiers of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nunavut, and Yukon. The conference is a forum to discuss issues that are of interest or concern to all seven western provinces and territories.

This year, we started our informal discussions with Deputy Chief Darla Jean Lindstrom, of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation. She had a very simple message for Premiers: If we work together, we are stronger together. She also spoke of the importance of working together with Indigenous...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Bill 7, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act 2024, be read for the second time. This bill corrects inconsistencies and errors in the statutes of the Northwest Territories. This bill also helps to deal with other matters of a minor, noncontroversial, and uncomplicated nature in the statutes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members may recall that I have already spoken on this topic, and I've stated that this is the direction that I would like to see things move. The RCMP, as has been stated, should be dealing with crimes, not with mental health issues, but they have become the default service provider in that area. And so while I know there might be hopes of 24/7 support in every community around the territory, I don't want anyone to get their hopes up that we're going to have around-the-clock services like that any time soon with, you know, three shifts in every community, 99 social...

Yes, Mr. Speaker. So this did come up in the last Assembly, as the Member mentioned. I was at that time the Minister of Justice as well. And when the topic of rent control came up when there was a motion in the House, we heard from industry, and we heard their concerns, and we heard about the uncertainty that something like rent control brings to investment. And so one of the things that I want to do in this government is bring more certainty to our policies, processes, laws and regulations, to help attract investment. And so what we need to do to lower the cost of rent is to address the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, yes, this is something that is in our business plan. The review will be done within the next 12 months. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There's plenty of things I would like to do. This is one area where I would like to see something happen as well. What that is, I'm not quite sure yet. This does take resources. But that being said, I've already had discussions with the Minister of MACA on potential future steps on what we can do. Again, that being said I can't make any promises. We are going through the budget process right now. We are really looking to get our financial house in order so that we can pursue activities like this, which falls in line with our public safety mandate. But that's work that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Absolutely.