R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And this is actually something that's within the Department of Finance, and the Minister of Finance has answered this question many times before. So I would like to defer to her. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, every year the grade 6 class from Princess Alexandra School in Hay River travels to Yellowknife, and they visit the ledge. For the last four years they weren't able to do that, but this year, Mr. Speaker, they came back. And so I want to recognize Ms. Hoss' grade 6 class from Princess Alexandra who joined us today. We have Maliki Beaulieu, Skylar Cayen, Katanna McArthur, Noel Peters, Jager Walsh, Blakely Beck, Abigail Belanger, Kennedy Bolt, Shelby Cofwell, Shane Delorey, Nash Fraser, Olivia Frais, Sawyer Hurst, Charlotte Hinesruggles, Michele Longwey, AnnaLee Bunkin, Braden...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a Return to Oral Question asked by the Member for Yellowknife Centre on February 20th, 2024, regarding Consultation with Members of the Legislative Assembly on Policies and Strategies.

The Member asked about the government's internal employee survey requesting input to suggest where the government can save money. When we released the fiscal sustainability strategy on February 12th, 2024, we noted that all Government of the Northwest Territories' employees would be given the opportunity to provide input. That same day, we opened an online survey so employees could...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following five documents: Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories 2023 to 2027 Draft Inquiry Establishment Order (2023 Wildfire Season Preparedness and Response); Response to Petition 1-20(1): A Ceasefire and End to Canadian Support for the Plausible Genocide in Gaza; Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Motion 23-20(1): Call to Uphold Human Rights in Gaza; and, Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 152-20(1) Public Safety. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, later today I will table the mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories 2023 to 2027. This mandate will be our guide as we work to advance the priorities of the 20th Legislative Assembly.

The Northwest Territories has always been a land of opportunity. Since time immemorial, it has sustained thriving and resilient Indigenous peoples, and it has welcomed and provided opportunities to new community members who have made the NWT their home. This land and its people have made significant contributions to Canada's cultural, economic, and environmental prosperity, and we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So while I have made clear that I do stay out of international politics, of course we have residents in the Northwest Territories who are from abroad, and they are now Northerners and we want to make Northerners feel welcomed. So the things that we can do are things that the Member is doing herself, acknowledging when people are experiencing hardship, recognizing their concerns, providing support to them, when it's necessary condemning antiPalestinian racism, antiSemitism, listening. Mr. Speaker, the Member noted that I did have a meeting with her and her constituent...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That sounds like an invitation to the Member's constituency meeting, and so I'm happy to accept. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I've spoken extensively about some of these tools. One of the main ones is the Civil Forfeiture Act. So right now if someone is suspected of committing a crime and they have some money on their person that is seized but they are not convicted of a crime, that money goes back to them even though, you know, everyone and his dog knows that it came from selling drugs. The Civil Forfeiture Act would allow the government to make an application to the court to retain those funds, and it would be done on a balance of probabilities as opposed to beyond a reasonable doubt. So...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And the Government of the Northwest Territories certainly wasn't caught off guard. It was well known that this funding was time limited, but this is not a Government of the Northwest Territories program. And so what this does is it highlights the need for closer collaboration with the NGOs and, you know, to my earlier point, for information sharing between the government and NGOs so that these types of situations don't sneak up on anybody. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I don't want to preempt any mandate discussions that we need to have as a Cabinet, as a Caucus, but nonprofit organizations, nongovernmental organizations, are going to be essential and they are essential right now, but to the future operation of the territory they will be essential. They have significant expertise, significant ability, and flexibility to do a lot of the work that we need to get done, and so as we develop that mandate they will be at the forefront of my mind. Thank you.