Good morning, colleagues. We have a personal explanation from the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Mr. Speaker, I want to provide a personal explanation to this House today about the matter of the termination of the associate deputy minister of post-secondary education renewal.
Media reporting yesterday gave the impression that I was not consulted by the Premier on the decision to terminate the employment of the former associate DM. I want to state clearly that this was not the case.
The fact is over the last number of months I have had a number of discussions with the Premier's office regarding the management of Aurora College and the Aurora College transformation team. Two weeks ago, I approached the Premier and expressed my belief that a change needed to happen, and it needed to happen sooner than later.
While I was not personally involved in the negotiations that took place following that discussion, nor was I aware of the final details of the arrangements, I was certainly aware of the ultimate outcome and support the Premier in her decision.
I want to assure Members that Cabinet believes firmly in being accountable to the public for its decisions, but there is a fine line between being accountable and ensuring that we respect the dignity and privacy of our public servants.
We will make every effort to communicate openly about what is happening in departments, but we have to be sure that we do not say anything uncomplimentary or unprofessional in public.
As a result, we cannot and should not be discussing individual public servants in the Legislative Assembly or in the media, and I will not be commenting further on this matter in public. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Item 2, Ministers' statements. Honourable Premier.
Mr. Speaker, later today, I will be tabling the Mandate of the GNWT 2019-2023. The mandate will guide our actions as a government and serve to hold Cabinet accountable as we work to advance the priorities of the 19th Legislative Assembly.
The Northwest Territories faces unprecedented challenges. We have been elected in a time of global economic uncertainty, increasingly complex social issues, and multifaceted impacts of climate change.
In the face of these challenges, I truly believe that the only way our Assembly can fulfill its promise to the residents of the Northwest Territories is to work together in the true spirit of consensus government. I speak on behalf of all Cabinet Members when I say we are committed to a government that is open, collaborative, and cooperative.
The mandate is built from the priorities we set together as newly elected Members of the 19th Legislative Assembly in October 2019. It is strengthened by the input and advice we received from the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight.
I wish to thank standing committee for their willingness to work with us. Our shared commitment to cooperation and collaboration as Members of the 19th Legislative Assembly gives me confidence in what we can achieve over the next four years.
Mr. Speaker, I trust that all Members of this Assembly will see their insights, ideas, and suggestions reflected in this mandate. I trust that residents will see a set of clear and measurable actions needed to make progress within the life of this Assembly and to hold this Cabinet to account as we work towards achieving our priorities. I look forward to working together in advancing the priorities of the 19th Legislative Assembly through the implementation of the mandate.
Our mandate provides a path forward, yet it is not written in stone. We will encounter the unexpected, and we must be able to adjust course as needed.
Mr. Speaker, I spoke of challenging times and the need to work together to actualize our priorities. Working together cannot be done in the isolation of this House. We need to take the time to listen to those impacted by our services and to people working on the front lines of some of our most challenging issues. We all need to work together: Cabinet, Regular Members, Indigenous and community governments, and the federal government. We must remain mindful of each community's unique challenges and opportunities. We are committed to meaningful, positive change in the way this government does business.
Very soon, this Assembly will debate the budget and what that means to advancing our priorities. We must bear our overall fiscal situation in mind as we make decisions in the weeks ahead, and we must exercise caution to only commit to actions we have the means to achieve.
Mr. Speaker, there will always be more that we can do, but we know our needs outweigh our resources. This Cabinet welcomes the insight of Regular Members and looks forward to discussing how we can best apply our limited resources to achieve our priorities, but now more than ever we need to be realistic in our expectations, creative in our approaches, and focus on making the most of what we have.
The 19th Legislative Assembly brings together leadership from across the Northwest Territories, from backgrounds as diverse as our landscape and peoples. We have been called a historic government in terms of our gender balance. We have begun to foster effective dialogue between Cabinet and Regular Members, in the spirit of consensus government. We have expressed our desire and willingness to make the changes our people want to see, especially in the area of Indigenous relations, social outcomes, and economic outlook.
The 2019-2023 Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories sets the direction for how we can seize opportunities to make this a pivotal term in the governance of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Premier. Ministers' statements. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Report of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada was tabled on the Audit of Early Childhood and the Kindergarten to Grade 12 education system in the Northwest Territories. The report focused on five areas: inclusive schooling; Indigenous language and culture-based education; equitable access to quality education; programming, staff qualifications, and training in licensed early childhood programs; and how these areas worked to support student outcomes.
The tabling of this report is timely, falling at the beginning of a new Legislative Assembly that has made it a priority to increase education outcomes to the same level as the rest of Canada. The recommendations from the Office of the Auditor General align with the areas where we have already begun to make changes or are planning to invest more resources and improve programming, and we have accepted their recommendations.
While we are making some headway and seeing promising results with programs like Northern Distance Learning, small communities remain in greater need of support.
One of our highest priorities over the life of this government is to ensure equitable education delivery in all communities across the territory. We will be increasing our efforts to address the achievement gap among small communities and larger centres, and between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, to ensure that our education system is on par with the rest of Canada.
Mr. Speaker, later today the department is holding a technical briefing on the five-year evaluation of the Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education Renewal and Innovation Framework. As with the Auditor General's report, this evaluation provides us important information on where select programs are working, where they need to improve, and whether they should be restructured to meet the needs of students.
We expect to table our management response in the coming weeks to incorporate the recommendations of the Auditor General and the findings of the Education Renewal and Innovation Evaluation. A renewed education renewal innovation action plan will follow later this year.
Mr. Speaker, we all know that education is a cornerstone for a healthy and successful life. However, we can only be successful through the work of many partners, and education is only one of the building blocks. We will continue to work across departments and with Indigenous governments, parents, students, and with our education and community partners to ensure we close the gaps to improve student outcomes and provide youth with our best efforts for the future they deserve. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Minister responsible for Youth.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today, I am pleased to rise and speak to Members about the celebration of the 2020 Hockey Day in Canada being hosted here in Yellowknife. The celebration was launched on February 5th and will continue to the 8th.
This event marks the ninth year of the festive celebration, celebrating hockey, one of Canada's national sports. Norman Wells, Detah, N'Dilo will also play host to visits associated with Hockey Day in Canada, as well as Deline, which is the birthplace of hockey in Canada.
The festivities will bring children's hockey and officiating clinics, various hockey games, school visits, NHL celebrities, and, of course, the Stanley Cup to Yellowknife.
Celebrities participated will be part of the festive, including television host Ron McLean, along with NHL alumni Lanny McDonald, Brian Trottier, Paul Coffey, Wendel Clark, Darcy Tucker, and former Women's National Team member Cassie Campbell-Pascal.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the City of Yellowknife for planning this event. Thank you to the sponsors, including Scotiabank, for your support of each of the great community event. Thank you to all of our guests for coming to the North. We hope you are enjoying our world-renowned northern hospitality.
I would also like to give special thanks to all of the volunteers who help make this event happen in all the different venues.
There have been a number of events that are a part of the celebrations, including:
The Music of Hockey with performance by local artists, hosted at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre this past Wednesday evening;
The banquet held last night, which featured Ron MacLean, and NHL Alumni Hot Stove discussions in the Stanley Cup;
An NHL Declaration of Principles Breakfast hosted by NHL Alumni Andrew Ference this morning; and
Later this evening, the Celebrity and Alumni Classic hockey game.
As mentioned earlier, there have also been various hockey and officiating clinics and school visits scheduled throughout the festivity.
Mr. Speaker, this is a wonderful community event, which not only honours the great sport of hockey, but also showcases the North, Northerners, and the incredible spirit of the community that we all share in this very special place. Thank you once again to all involved for making such a wonderful event happen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to use my Member's statement to take the time to give thanks and appreciation to my constituents of Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, last weekend, on February 1, 2020, I had an open house for my constituents in Fort Smith, and it was a very well attended event. My constituents really enjoyed having the opportunity to meet with their MLA and hear the updates I had to share with them for what I have been working on since getting elected.
Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to be the Member representing Fort Smith. Showcasing your community at this level is a tremendous opportunity for all Members of this 19th Assembly. I also would to thank the staff who serve the Members of this Assembly for their hard work and ability to keep us informed always. I want to wish everybody a great weekend, and I look forward to continued dialogue on matters that concern the community of Fort Smith and the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, it is high school graduation rates in our territory. I wouldn't want to be in the Education Minister's shoes because of yesterday's tabled Auditor General's most recent report on performance audit on Early Childhood to Grade 12 Education across out territory.
Regular Members had the opportunity to meet with the Auditor General staff to hear about the findings, things that shocked me, Mr. Speaker. ECE is using an outdated method to calculate graduation rates. The audit found that ECE reported a graduation rates that are 72 percent in 2017. Using a more accurate method, the Auditor calculated the actual rate was 44 percent, Mr. Speaker. We are graduating less than half our kids, and ECE is telling us they are closer to three-quarters. Now, that is a cause for a red alert across our territory; not only that, in my riding of Nunakput, Mr. Speaker.
To make matters worse, the audit found students in smaller communities had lower graduation rates, fewer kids than Yellowknife. The overall graduation rate is 44 percent, and what does that say about our graduation system for our kids in Nunakput, in our smaller communities, and other ridings?
The audit was pretty critical of the practice of social passing, which is something I have been against for a long time. In the past, I have brought this up seven times in Member's statements, and it has to stop. That percentage of students repeating grades from dropping out "increased dramatically" from students from grade 10, the year in which social passing is no longer an option. When we keep moving our kids through the system, even though they are not keeping up academically with their peers, we are treating them as no better than cattle through a slaughterhouse, Mr. Speaker. We are setting them up for failure.
We have to stop social passing. The policy of this government has to stop. We have to take responsibility for making sure that our kids are learning and understanding the curriculum before they are moving on to the next grade. Period.
Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Government Operations is holding a public hearing and audit on this report and will be making recommendations to this government on how ECE should be implementing changes across the audit on their deficiencies. I am putting this Minister on notice and the Members to expect to see detailed implementation with a plan, timelines that are provided to Regular Members to have input into fixing this mess that our education system is in. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to highlight a couple of areas from the Auditor General Report on Education in the Northwest Territories.
Under the section of planning, supporting the delivery of education, where it says the department did not take sufficient action on key elements of education delivery, the slow process on Indigenous language and culture-based education: in my community, the schools have had language classes, and they have language teacher. These teachers are amazing, but we are losing our language. We are losing Inuvialuktun. We are losing Gwich'in in our communities, in our region. We have few elders left and a few adults who can speak fluently. Who will continue to teach this when they are gone?
The students are not using their language beyond the classes. This is not enforced on them.
I will have to say, Mr. Speaker, our school in Inuvik has done many improvements in providing culture-based education, and I want to commend them on that. They do moose hunting. They do trapping. They do geese hunting. They do a lot of ice fishing. They go from kindergarten to whatever high school grade that wants to go with them.
Mr. Speaker, we have to do something before the remainder of our language speakers are gone.
I am going to move into the section of improved support for inclusive schooling, like my colleague. Leaders, families, education boards, DEAs have being saying for years this is not working in our students. The idea seems great, but without adequate funding, adequate trained staff, and money for continuous training, this has failed our children, and we see it in grade 10, where there are 40 percent who have to repeat and another 15 percent drop out. Mr. Speaker, this is unacceptable.
I will move into the section in monitoring the delivery of education where they did not adequately monitor the education system with data collection analysis. This goes to my colleague. Now that it is public, we know that our graduation rates are worse than previously stated, and especially in our Indigenous students, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Members' statements. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] When we talk about addiction, there are a lot of different issues surrounding that. A lot of community members are on a healing path, and sometimes they go through difficult issues with dealing with their wellness.
Mr. Speaker, we know that there is a 28-day program, and that does not mark the end of the journey for such people. It's just the beginning. They are also having issues with an after-care program. Once they return, they do not have that support system in the community. We have a lot of elders who can help the community. Maybe we need to take a look at this issue. [Translation ends]. [English translation not available].
Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. In my statement yesterday, I spoke about the ongoing problems with the new Stanton Territorial Hospital building. I got a first-hand look at some of the issues while I was a patient in the emergency ward for a day in mid-December; frozen doors, alarms ringing, and a multitude of locked doors. At the same time, a constituent of mine was a patient upstairs for almost two weeks. He said that it seemed to him that a new problem would emerge every day. Problems included frozen doors, plugged toilets, alarms ringing, and freezing cold patient rooms. He was covered in blankets and saw staff walking around wearing long underwear and draped in blankets themselves. It seems no one could get or stay warm in this brand new, $350-million building. My constituent came to the conclusion that the boiler was too small for the size of the hospital and the demands of northern cold. I don't think the heat regulation issue has been resolved because I continue to hear of patients complaining they are cold.
The problems at the new hospital are not only about the building. A letter from a group calling themselves NWT Nurses said they were working nonstop in the lead-up to the move in May and afterwards, putting their own health as well as the health of their patients at risk. An official in the Department of Health said in early June that the hospital had a 13-percent vacancy rate, equal to 37 nurses. In July, the Union of Northern Workers launched a campaign called "Worried But Working" to draw the public and management's attention to the nursing shortage and the workarounds required by the problems of the building itself. The union requested a steering committee be struck to find solutions.
Mr. Speaker, it has now been eight months since the new hospital opened. The former head of the hospital said it typically takes six months for a building like this hospital to stabilize its system, but six months is up, and many of the problems reported at the beginning continue. What about the nursing shortage? Have new hires alleviated the problem of nurse burn-out? It's time for the Minister of Health and Social Services to update the public on efforts to address the start-up issues at the new hospital. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I would like to touch on the topic that the Government of the Northwest Territories has been initiating climate change strategies to combat the effects of greenhouse gas emissions. Nowhere in any of the documents says that we will accept only 10 percent moving forward, and I assume with this climate change strategy we are going to go in 100 percent.
My concern is because I know in our communities for the past 10 years, we have been putting wood pellet boilers into our schools and our health centres on the new builds, so we have been going that route for quite some time. The only company in my community that does not adhere to any climate change strategies to combat greenhouse gas emissions is probably the power provider in my community, which is Northland Utilities, and they are not the only ones. There is NTPC that is in other communities that are burning only diesel generation plants, and, when you drive by them, you just see a puff of smoke coming out of their plants. They are not in any way trying to help the residents of the Northwest Territories lower their costs of power, especially for electrical power. We don't see that. We don't have a voice anywhere. There is no watchdog in our government to really tell these guys, "Hey, we want you to look at alternative initiatives."
Getting back to my statement, there was a document in 2014 that discussed or stated that they were planning on running the transmission line to Fort Providence. Since that time, as I was looking around, I didn't see any further discussion or statements or reports in this regard, so I assume it just went by the wayside; it was put aside. Especially that initiative at that time, there was no notices or letters or anything given to the Hamlet of Fort Providence that there was an initiative, and currently there isn't. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
We have a concern here. We've got a strategy out there. Nobody is really adhering to it, especially the power companies, and, like I said, the watchdog group is not there. We thought the Public Utilities Board would have been, but apparently they have other duties to regulate them, that they don't ask the power companies to come up with any type of a strategy. I think I am going to have questions for the Minister of Infrastructure at the appropriate time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What is important to me at this moment in time is the homeless situation for men in Hay River. We have a number of people living on the streets in this cold weather. With all the resources we have at our disposal, we allow it to happen. Why? Because these very people who we know, who we grew up with, and who are our friends do not routinely contact us as they are just trying to stay warm and stay alive. In this situation, we have to be proactive and take the first step in making contact and identifying immediate solutions before somebody freezes to death.
Mr. Speaker, can you imagine yourself walking around outside all day, trying to keep warm, with no place to stop and rest? I know I cannot. You can only understand it if you live it. Maybe we, with some of the bureaucracy, should go live on the street for a few days or a week so that we can get some small understanding of what some people have to go through day to day, month after month, year after year. This government needs a reality check when it comes to the homeless, and experiencing living on the street may just do that.
When we talk about addressing the homeless situation, that is usually what we do: just talk. There are all types of temporary solutions that would work. However, when this government gets involved, it morphs into an unattainable major project that goes nowhere due to lack of funding, liability issues, government red tape, and the "not in my backyard" argument. Government has to be involved in a supporting role to identify and commit the resources required to support workable solutions identified and put forth by the community, and those people who are homeless, as well.
In Hay River, we currently have a group of concerned people and institutions working together to provide a temporary and immediate solution for a men's warming shelter to cover off this winter. This is not an easy task when you need an acceptable location, building, power, water, fuel, permits, and the volunteers to make it happen.
I will be looking to the Minister of Housing and the Minister responsible for Homelessness to provide some immediate financial support to assist the Soaring Eagle Friendship Centre, who is willing to take this project on and turn it into something more permanent. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. In dealing with the huge legislative landslide at the end of the 18th Assembly, one of the most contentious issues was consultation with regard to regulations, especially regulations required to implement post-devolution legislation. There do not appear to be any standards or process for developing regulations that might include public consultation or even co-drafting with Indigenous governments.
Virtually all of the Indigenous governments involved in the co-drafting of the post-devolution resource management legislation requested in writing that they be involved in the development of regulations. This was largely based on the manner in which those bills had been drafted, where very significant matters, such as resource royalties, requirements for benefit agreements, and more, had been left to the sole discretion of Ministers or Cabinet. There are no provisions and no requirements for public engagement or co-drafting with Indigenous governments for any of these regulations to implement these new laws.
Regular MLAs worked very hard. We proposed a number of possible solutions to the reasonable requests of Indigenous governments, NGOs, business, and the general public for involvement in the development of these regulations. Public notice with an opportunity for comment, opportunities for Ministers to enter into agreements on co-drafting, a legislative requirement for consultation, and other options were all attempted, but failed to get any support from the previous Cabinet.
I will have questions later today for the Minister of Justice on how our government is going to put into practice its open government policy and reconciliation with Indigenous governments in regulation-making going forward. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that the success of healthy, inclusive, creative communities starts with housing as a human right. Article 25 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights assures everyone the right to housing and a dignified standard of living. Article 23 of the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples invokes self-determination in health, economic and social sufficiency, and housing.
Canada's first-ever 2018 National Housing Strategy puts $40 billion behind a human rights and distinctions-based approach to housing. Housing is a key pillar to the United Nations' sustainable development goals and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The emerging international Green New Plans recognize that housing is critical to the knowledge economy and a climate-sensitive industrial system.
Why is housing so critical, Mr. Speaker? Housing is more than a roof over our heads. Safe, affordable, accessible housing has proven to support better outcomes for our people, our communities, and our social cohesion. It is the foundation for strengthening our educational outcomes, our economy, our health, and social justice. How can children be ready to learn if they have not slept? How can adults meaningfully contribute to our economy if they do not know where or how they will keep their families safe at night? How can elders age in place without appropriate accessible housing? How can communities promote inclusion, belonging, and participation without affordable housing options that connect family to our shared responsibility to care for each other?
Housing is dwelling in this land, and it is caring for this planet. Our lack of appropriate housing is making our vulnerable populations -- women and children, our Indigenous people, seniors, and people with disabilities, mental health and addiction issues -- even more vulnerable.
Mr. Speaker, when we think of our social priorities, we think of Health and Social Services, Justice, Education, and ITI delivering programs independently, but what becomes of all of those investments when a parent cannot cover rent, when a child isn't ready to learn because they have not yet slept, or when the vulnerable are homeless?
Housing as a human right is square one. Without it, we risk the loss of dignity, inclusion, employment, safety, personal fulfillment, and freedom, as well as our ability to be innovative, resilient, and caring because, Mr. Speaker, we are then less than human. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Gary Vaillancourt came north from Sudbury, Ontario, in 1977 to fly helicopters, but where he hailed from, I think he would deem irrelevant, as the North was his home and captivated him for over 40 years. Gary was a hardworking, enigmatic individual, one of the first houseboaters on the Yellowknife Bay. It is with a heavy heart, and as a member of his community, that I mourn his passing.
I think Gary would scoff at the idea of me giving him an address in the Legislative Assembly. Unfortunately, our last interaction was him yelling at me about where to park my canoe, but Gary deserves this address. Without him, we may not have the colourful bay life that charms visitors and characterizes the Yellowknife landscape.
Gary was a baron of the bay, housing many and helping more. He was a community-minded innovator, who worked tirelessly and dreamed big. In the early '80s, Gary and friends, such as John Alexander, Chris Holloway, and Scott Mitchell, built the first permanent houseboats. The barges were built out of 50-foot trees, telephone poles, and discarded aviation barrels. This was not the last houseboat that he would build, but rather the start of a floating empire.
Gary was fiercely independent. It drove him to learn many trades, and he was always willing to share his immense knowledge. Gary was a pilot, musician, builder, philosopher, and embodied the creative spirit of the North. The extent of his contribution to the culture and vibrancy of this city really cannot be measured.
Gary is survived by his daughter, Molly, who is with us today in the gallery, a large community of friends, and many ambitious floating homes. Thank you, Gary. You won't be forgotten.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Today, I am going to talk about medical travel in the NWT. I feel like a broken record, but I feel like I need to drive this point home.
Since taking office, I have already dealt with several medical travel-related issues with constituents, and with each passing case, I am seeing the same issue come up again and again. I am seeing cases where people are dealing with some fairly serious medical issues and are in need of further assistance, so they are sent to Yellowknife or Edmonton for treatment. Doctors will recommend a medical escort; however, our medical travel personnel are denying medical escorts in the vast majority of cases I have seen so far.
In most of these cases, it is elderly people who require medical travel services, and of the cases I have seen, English is almost always the patient's second language. Right there, we have two strong reasons for why patients in these cases should be approved for medical escorts. We also have to consider the state of mind and body that some of these patients may be in when being sent for medical travel purposes. It can be a daunting and stressful experience when being sent alone to a strange place while undergoing serious medical issues. As well, I am hearing first-hand accounts of people being denied a medical escort, even when a doctor recommends that an escort be provided for the patient.
Mr. Speaker, I understand that our government is trying to cut costs where they can, and I believe they are doing it to the detriment of the needs of our constituents when it comes to medical travel and medical escorts. I hope to see more compassion on this policy front over the course of this Assembly. This area is in need of review, and I know that this issue affects all regions of the NWT, not only mine.
In closing, patients in care deserve the best care possible and patients need to be informed of what's going on with their bodies, and these policy gaps put lives at risk. There are language barriers there that need to be addressed immediately, and I am hoping that the Minister of Health and Social Services can speak to that a bit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services shortly. Marci cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. It's my pleasure to introduce my neighbour and constituent, Paul Falvo, who is joining us here today, and his daughter Juniper, who is one of three Pages from Yellowknife Centre in the Assembly this time. I would also like to thank the other two Pages for their work with us this week. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this moment to recognize three visitors in the gallery. We have Baldeep Bajwa, who is the branch manager for the Yellowknife branch of the Scotiabank. We also have Lucie Guertin, who is a coach with Scotiabank; and the vice president of northern Alberta and NWT region, Tanja Perry, who are all here for, I'm not going to say this right, Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada. Thank you for coming.
