R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And we are going through that process right now, and that is the land claim and selfgovernment negotiations. I think that is what we need to conclude to ensure that there is a welldefined relationship between the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Government of Canada, and the governments in Treaty 8 territory. And so in terms of the Akaitcho treaty that we hope to finalize in the not too distant future, that would be the place to identify those relationships, and that is why it is important that we get that AIP concluded, to reference the Member's questions...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And land and resource legislation is the development of that is governed under the devolution agreement, and we work with the Intergovernmental Council to advance that legislation. I've also committed in my previous role as the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment to codevelop the Education Act, which is one of the biggest undertakings legislative undertakings that we can do. And there's a desire to do more as well. And so I'm happy to have those conversations.

As I've said before, we are moving towards a future where Indigenous governments selfgovernments of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Council of Leaders, Members of the Council of Leaders did come together, and that was in response to a visit from two federal Ministers. And so it was a it wasn't a general Council of Leaders meeting. It was focused on health care and we were actually all, as Members of that table, conveying our concerns and issues to the federal government. And so I think that the issues that were raised there are familiar to all of us in this House issues of medical travel, issues of access to services, and things like that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The position has not yet been filled so we are still looking into this and considering all of our options as we develop the mandate for the 20th Assembly and we look at the budget for the upcoming sitting. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was, I think, a few years ago was the last time there was a real indepth discussion among the group about this item. So I can bring it to the group and say that this has been raised by an MLA and see what their thoughts are on having the discussion but I can't again, I can't make any promises. We don't set the agenda. We don't make decisions. But whenever I hear concerns from MLAs, I do bring them forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I definitely think it's possible. We are not the only party to these negotiations though so there is a lot that's out of our hands. I mean, the federal government is you know, they have an evolving approach to negotiations as well so they might introduce a new way of doing business that could add more time to the process. So there's a lot of unknowns, but I am confident that we're headed in the right direction and we're moving at a good pace. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can't make any commitments I don't want to make any commitments on behalf of the Minister of health. But I think that's a good suggestion. It is a very labour intensive program to offer. As Members know, it's not easy. It's not easy on the facilitators either. And so we also have to take into consideration that the people who are delivering this training, you know, there's an impact on them as well. So there's a number of things that we need to consider. I agree that it's something that I wish we could offer it across government, and there have been constant...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm happy to look into that as well. I appreciate that when we are developing programs and policies, we need to have a certain mindset. I've seen you know, my time as an MLA, I've seen policies and programs that you could tell were missing a certain lens at the very beginning, whether it was an economic lens, an environmental lens, or a cultural safety lens. So I'm happy to go back and see exactly what the process is, what is considered, and how we may be able to improve that process. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're looking at all of our options. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're in the same place we were when the Member asked a couple weeks ago. Thank you.