Vince McKay

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. You know, a lot of it relates to capacity. You know, a lot of organizations that do ground search and rescue are volunteer organization supported and, similarly, that's what we do in the GNWT, we're supporting ground search and rescue volunteer organizations. Like, today, for an example, with our volunteer awards, we had an organization from Ulukhaktok that was being recognized for their work with search and rescue. So there are organizations out there that are set up and like other provinces, have ground search and rescue groups that are essentially on their own...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. A lot of these positions are, like, the deputy minister and stuff like that, so they're the positions that are related to servicing the regional centres. But I'll also ask the deputy minister to add to that, please.

Yes, thank you. There is plans to update that following the release of the after action review.

Yes, I do. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. No, I don't have any timing, and I can't give any timing. I think right now with the department, you know, we're prioritizing what we're doing, and with the anticipated release of the afteraction review, I think we kind of have to watch where we're setting ourselves or putting ourselves thin and staff, so there is no timeline right now. Thank you, Mr. Chair

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. We do feel comfortable that we have the right amount of staff right now. We also have standup staff available that we've recruited for in case of emergencies, and think that's still an active posting on the GNWT website there.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment to address the current situation in Norman Wells where a humanitarian state of emergency has been declared not once, but twice. This action is a direct response to the rising cost of fuel, groceries, and essential supplies which have surged due to the cancellation of the 2024 barge season.

I have spoken several times to the Norman Wells mayor, including this morning, about the challenges that the area is facing, and we share the concerns about the increase of costs to the residents and are taking concrete actions to address them. The...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think I hit the bonus question here. I'm happy to continue to work with the Member on this initiative. I mean, this is a -- this is something that has been brought up already and having gone through a couple little information sessions, it really opens your eyes at what's actually happening out there. So the department is working with -- sorry, the department has reviewed the information, and we're continuing to investigate it, if you will, so we're going to see what's next steps and where to take it. And I believe the department has -- is it Ms. Barber? I'm...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm going to ask Catherine to respond to that. Thanks.

I'll ask Gary to respond to this, the deputy minister, please.