R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So at minimum, they have first aid training. I'm not familiar with other types of medical training they might receive. But they're not paramedics, and I know they're often called on when anything happens. It doesn't matter what, the police are often your first call. So I want to make sure that they are not paramedics. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have those numbers on hand so, unfortunately, I'm not able to provide that to the Member at this exact moment. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I recognize the impact that this will have on the community. I did travel to Fort Smith. I met with the leadership council, and I toured some of the facilities they have in the community. Some of those are GNWT facilities that they would like to operate out of. And the reason that, you know, we took those tours is I wanted to get the lay of the land of Fort Smith, see what resources that we had that could be provided to the community to assist in any sort of endeavour that they might want to embark on. The Department of Infrastructure has shared information with the...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 12, Business Day Statute Law Amendment Act, be read for the second time.

The proposed Business Day Statute Law Amendment Act corrects an error when changes were made to the Interpretation Act in 2017 which has resulted in some government offices technically being required to be open on Sundays. This Act will amend the Business Corporations Act, Consumer Protection Act, Judicature Act, and the Mechanics Lien Act, to deal with this problem and to ensure Sundays are not interpreted as business days. Thank you, Mr...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that's more of a city of Yellowknife issue. They might have those numbers. So again, unfortunately, I don't have that but I will be looking into this further and seeing what sort of stats I can dig up. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the leadership council has some specific requests, I'm happy to hear those. We're happy to help however we can. If it's assistance looking for, you know, federal programs that could help operate a facility run by the leadership council or by an Indigenous government, we can assist with that. If there's information about the existing facilities in the community that they may be able to use, we're happy to assist with that. So I look forward to hearing directly from them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So earlier this year, this Assembly considered the main estimates which is the budget document for the Government of the Northwest Territories. One of the items in there was the Fort Smith Correctional Centre, the men's unit, and there were deliberations in this House and ultimately that budget was passed. And so the work that went in to the lead up to that is that we had a look at all of the programs and services we deliver across the Department of Justice, looked at what was legally required to be done, what programs and services were legally required to deliver, what...

Mr. Speaker, the cost of delivering health and social services is increasing faster than our resources can handle, at a time when our government is also facing additional costs related to climate change and inflationary pressures. This is why the delivery of sustainable health and social services is an important part of this government's mandate and the priorities of the 20th Legislative Assembly.

Through the mandate letter I provided to the Minister of Health and Social Services, we are addressing several initiatives that aim to deliver a more sustainable health and social services system. The...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to present to the House Bill 12, Business Day Statute Law Amendment Act, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.