Thank you. I think I'm going to give the same answers the Minister of Lands used to give. So we're working with the IGC process. We're working with our Indigenous government. And so it is a process that we need to respect, and it's going to take a little bit of time but we're trying to make sure we get it right. And so, again, what I'm hoping is to have it done but we still need to respect the IGC process. Thank you.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think central to that question is whether any changes to how we treat Indigenous cabin holders on public land will be changing. Right now, we're still operating under the same approach largely that we inherited from the federal government. I know there's a lot of different requests of how you could do that, changing the fee structure, the tax structure, even the rules about what is and isn't required to have a lease. Are we going to have any policy changes to how we approach Indigenous cabin holders on public land occur in this government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, ECC is working with our Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations across the NWT on our approach to manage potential rightsbased cabins on public land. A new approach must be developed with Indigenous governments and organizations, and those discussions take time. Engagement has started and is ongoing and will continue throughout the summer. ECC is committed to making the improvements, and all this would ideally occur within this life of the government. We need to ensure that we are doing the work respectfully and properly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know also on the list of our policy work for the new department to complete is, you know, figuring out what's going on in the Yellowknife periphery area with our recreational leases. I believe there was plans to, you know, assuming we worked with our partners to get a cabin lottery again for the fall. It's been a number of years, and there was a lot of pent of demand. So are we on track to have a cabin lottery in the North Slave occur this fall? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was hoping that we would have been in a position to have a lottery or ballot draw during the life of this Assembly. However, there are complex issues related to the issuance of new leases in this area that remains unresolved. It is important that we take the time to discuss and make progress on these issues before we conduct another ballot draw. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Yellowknife North.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, that's probably one of the number one questions I get from constituents is what's going on there. I'm wondering at the very least whether we I get there's a consultation process but whether we could get some public information about what we're even considering, how many cabins, where they would be, and kind of the steps of a path forward to whether that could occur. I think there's a lot of demand to know what is going on in this area so any sort of public information would be welcomed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if we can get the information and provide that publicly, we will do that, but I don't want to make a commitment saying we'll get that information if we can't do it legally and that. But we will work to try to get as much information to the Member and now publicly as we can. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I previously raised this issue in March of 2023, I was pleased to learn that the Premier was listen to the concerns from the Tu NedheWiilideh riding. I am hopeful that the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, is also listening to the serious concerns raised here today. However, Mr. Speaker, KOSMOS 954 has been around for decades and the voices of the people most impacted have been unheard.
Has the Premier had any discussions with the Prime Minister of Canada since I raised this issue in the House in March 2023? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Tu NedheWiilideh. Madam Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, at this point, since March 2023, I haven't had any meetings with the prime minister, so this has not been addressed with the prime minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. This matter is one that should be major concerns for the Government of the Northwest Territories. Regardless of the status of discussion with the Government of Canada, what will she do to help the serious cumulative impact of KOSMOS 954 in the Tu NedheWiilideh riding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Actually, when it was first brought to my attention last sitting I can't remember if it was March, it was the first I've heard of it in honesty. I stated, I mean, I was here in the '70s, I just wasn't paying attention to the sky at the time. But I did do a little bit more research after that and looked into it. I think that there was a lot of research. I mean, there was a lot of research done at the time. The research found that there was no causal link between the debris from the satellite with cancer incidents, specifically in the Fort Resolution area. The research also stated that the particulate fallout, the dust, was insoluble and lacked some of the more dangerous products thereby lessening the potential environmental impacts.
In saying that, Mr. Speaker, I know that Indigenous people for many years have been told, don't worry, it's good, and then bad things have come. So I think in fairness to the Member, if there are concerns from the community, if the Member feels that it would be any benefit, I'd be more than willing to if the Member invites me, to go into his community and listen to the concerns of people if that's what the Member would like. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, Premier, for your feedback and some of the research you've done. But a lot of that stuff you just mentioned could also be brought out through a public hearing and public inquiry with facts and evidence so that's what that's what I'm going to be calling for. However, Mr. Speaker, with new technology available today that could help us detect sources of radiation that could shed light on the real impacts of the Kosmos 954, will the Premier direct her government to pursue a modern approaches to radiation study in the areas impacted by Kosmos 954 in the Tu NedheWiilideh riding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this point, I'm not too eager to jump on that at this point. I think that there should be maybe a followup with the prime minister. My understanding, I think, is that this would be federal jurisdiction versus territorial. We don't control the sky. But, again, if the Member would like, I think that I have no problem; I can write a letter to the prime minister asking if there's been any more research or anything more that he could report on this if that would appease the Member. And also, again, I understand I empathize, I hear, and I've seen it myself, how people are mistrusting of governments so if the Member feels that there's anything I can do for his community, then I'm more than willing to go in and listen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Final supplementary. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And earlier the Premier had mentioned that they did a study and it talks about cancer, etcetera. But I attended a lot of Dene Nation assemblies, Akaitcho assemblies in my in the Akaitcho region and over the years and decades, I've been to many, many funerals and a lot of them were cancerrelated. We just don't know where and what. So that's why if we were to have a public inquiry, a lot of this stuff will be fleshed out and give a clearer picture.
Mr. Speaker, the Giant Mine remediation project is the model that could be used to address the impacts of Kosmos 954, including a multiyear project to study impacts and mitigate damages while ensuring the community and those affected receive through, one, public inquiry, which includes:
An environment assessment and this could include the Canadian nuclear safety commission; compensation for the historic harm done to the land and trappers and communities in the Tu NedheWiilideh riding; and lastly, is the public apology.
My question to the Premier is will the Premier Cochrane work with the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, to call for a public inquiry and fund a public inquiry immediately and through this environmental assessment process? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have the ability to be able to tell the prime minister what to do, what to fund, etcetera. I wish I did have that power; we'd be a lot better off in the Northwest Territories. However, I don't. So what I can do, though, is, like I said, I will write a letter to the prime minister. I'll explain the concerns of the MLA, that he's hearing these from his people, and I'll ask the prime minister what new research has been done with this and raise the request to do a public inquiry. We won't do it as the GNWT but I will write a letter to the prime minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as more and more selfgovernment agreements are signed and Indigenous governments draw down jurisdictions for programs and services, the Government of the Northwest Territories needs to adapt and reevaluate the current administrative regions. So I want to ask the Premier what work has been done to date to reevaluate the administrative regions recognizing Indigenous governments as regions. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Madam Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the administrative regions actually predate the establishment of Indigenousrights agreements. And I think that like, I heard the Member when she was asking the Minister the other day on this, and I gave it some thought as well. The difficulty is it's not the regions aren't divided just by Indigenous governments. If we did that, that would be really cumbersome. I think we need to look at it but we need to figure out a better way. It's a little bit simpler with the Tlicho. They are one community, one government. But we have some regions that have multiple Indigenous governments. In fact, we have some communities that have multiple Indigenous governments. So to define the regions just by the Indigenous governments, I think, Mr. Speaker, would be probably not feasible to do. And then the other thing, too, is if we're going to do that, it would be a huge consultation process. That should be something that should definitely not be done by the territorial government without consultation. So we'd have to consult with all of the Indigenous governments and the general public on this. So I hear the Member but I don't think it's something that easily done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Tlicho are unique, you know. They're in a unique situation. And from what I learned, it's the Cabinet's decisions. They can do it, but they refuse to do it to acknowledge Tlicho as a region. So what is the process to create a new GNWTTlicho region, administrative region. How long will this take and what does it require? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A lot of things are just Cabinet has the control to do but Cabinet very seldom makes decisions without doing the proper consultation, especially when it talks about things that impact the whole population, especially Indigenous governments. So it would not be something that I would support that Cabinet would just go ahead and do on their own. We would need to do the consultations.
Like I said, the Tlicho region is a little bit easier. Those communities are all Tlicho people. But I look at your own region, I look at the Beaufort Delta, Mr. Speaker, and that wouldn't be as easy. We have Inuvialuit, we have Gwich'in. So it's not as easy in all communities, in all regions. So I think that it would need to be something that would have serious thought. It should not be done very quickly. It should take the time and the consultation to do that process if it wanted to be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, if it was easier, then why are they not creating a Tlicho region? And the only people or the only regions that's going to have an impact is the North Slave, and North Slave consists of Yellowknife and Tu NedheWiilideh's riding as well. And it is not her problem or her issues to say what she just said. It's up to the Cabinet. The Cabinet can do this. And I understand about other different regions having more than one Indigenous government. And, yes, in Tlicho we have only one. You know, it's we don't have any other government, but we do have only one set. So which is that's why I said we are in a unique situation. So can the Premier describe how selfgovernment can become its own GNWT administrative region?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm just wondering if by any chance that I offended the Member. It was certainly not my intention to offend the Member by stating that it would take a long process. She is right, I mean, Cabinet makes decisions, but the Premier speaks for Cabinet. So it would not be mine, but I am the only member of Cabinet that has the authority to speak for Cabinet. Like I said, it's not as easy as just having a Tlicho region. We have some communities, like I said, the Beaufort Delta has a couple. The Sahtu has seven different Indigenous groups. How do we do that? So it's something that I think, Mr. Speaker, that's a conversation, a huge conversation that would have to be taken with Indigenous governments and the consultation process. It should not be something that the GNWT Cabinet does on their own with no consultation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Final supplementary. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, all we are asking for is just remove us from North Slave regions, and they are the colonial government is the one that created this, North Slave. They didn't even consult us to be part of the North Slave region. So what policy changes are needed and who makes those policies? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, those decisions were made before the Indigenous government rights agreements were done. That would be something that could be put as a priority, it could be done as a Minister, an MLA could challenge the Cabinet to do that. I hear the Member; I hear that the Tlicho don't want to be part of the North Slave. I'm sure the NWT Metis and the K'atlodeeche and all those might not want to be part of the South Slave. I'm sure the seven Indigenous governments in the Sahtu might not want to be part of the Sahtu. The problem is is that we don't divide the regions by the Indigenous governments. They're defined by borders. So, Mr. Speaker, to respect the Member, I hear her concerns but I think it would be a long cumbersome process to do, and I don't think it would be done any justice to try to do it in a couple of months at the end of a government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister responsible for Homelessness.
Can the Minister tell me if there is a shortterm plan after August 31st to ensure continuous services provided to the homeless shelters in Inuvik; if so, what is the plan? Is it a not for profit to take over or is it GNWT for another winter? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister responsible for Homelessness.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question as well. We did have a conversation a couple of days ago regarding this subject as well. We have been administering the homelessness shelter in Inuvik. We did run into some issues with that region and with the NGOs in that region as well too. Right now we are looking at funding provided up to March sorry, up to August 31st of this year. And as we go forward, we will have to identify longterm plans for the shelter as well too and I will keep the Member updated as well.
As for our conversation that we did have a couple days ago, I did instruct the department to get back to me next or June 9th with a concrete plan on what we will be doing for the rest of the year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over this last little while I've been doing some more work on these homeless shelters, and what I found is there are positions that have been created in Inuvik and one of the things is and I'll repeat this, and we've all said it in the House. Inuvik, for one, is not Yellowknife. So you can't pick up what has been done in Yellowknife and drop it in Inuvik and expect it to work and all the same job descriptions and, you know, and expect that expertise to be in that community.
So can the Minister tell me when her department will ensure that there's a dedicated person on the ground in Inuvik that's located there, either in the regional office to lead this, and support the current structure until longer term plans are initiated in Inuvik? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member as well too. I do see the differences between addressing homelessness in Yellowknife and also in the higher Arctic communities. Right now we are in the process of hiring a position, and we are in the process as well too as identifying the responsibilities of that position. I would like to see the position administer the northern part of the region, but those conversations are taking place right now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister. Mr. Speaker, there are those that are homeless in Inuvik that are homeless because they're in between the emergency shelter needs and living independent in housing. So they are sober, they are you know, they are doing things that they need to do to be able to be in their own place, but some are just not able to have that independent living. And so when they do get housing, they end up evicted within months, like a few months. So is there any plan in Inuvik to work with these clients to have more stable supportive longterm care housing because right now we have two shelters, and I believe one is almost kind of acting that way but the funding is coming from the homelessness and not in a collaboration with health. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member. I clearly see and understand the significant need in this region as well too. But we have struggled with nonprofit organizations. We also have been in conversation with the Indigenous governments in the Member's riding as well too. So right now, just looking and trying to identify possibilities for the region, one thing that I did bring up to the department is that we do have a number of units that are there in the community and really wanting to engage and navigate with the nonprofits that are there currently and looking at suitable services that we can provide. I will have to follow up with my colleague, Minister of health, just to verify what services that we do offer and if there's an opportunity for us to further look at opportunities with the vacant units that we currently do have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Final supplementary. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Inuvik is the community with the second highest homeless population in the NWT, or is it? We don't know, because we don't have anyone or any documents that state this. We don't have a designated person that is to do this work. So, you know, to find out what the accurate numbers are. So I'm asking the Minister to have somebody in Inuvik, whether it's this person that she's looking at, that can do this work in the Beaufort Delta because if we don't know who and how many residents we are serving, how can we solve the issues that they're ending up homeless and come up with a longterm tackle to prevent those issues? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question as well too. And to be honest, we don't have the data collection for the homelessness population throughout the territory. This will be coming forward with the homelessness strategy. But I just wanted to just have some numbers out here for the Members that we do provide funding to the Teepee Housing in Inuvik as well too, with that collaboration approach as well, and we did provide significant amount for the homelessness shelters in Inuvik as well. And just for the Members, that over the past ten years housing has invested $33.5 million into the Member's riding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Written questions. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
Go back to oral questions again. And, again, I just wanted to stress really important how important this issue in regards to the Kosmos 954. When it happened in April of 1978, there was a joint recovery between the Americans and the Canadian Army. And today the research shows that the majority of these people that were involved in the cleanup of this Kosmos 954 have passed on with cancer. And today, again, my riding we have I've been to like I said earlier, I've been to so many funerals and that majority of them are cancer related.
And so this issue, when I brought this attention to the Premier back in March, I was under the impression then that a letter was going to be sent to the prime minister to really look at this. And I'm hoping that we could just get this thing out the door right away and really let people know that this is an urgent issue.
And people need to understand too as well that when the satellite was coming down, some had said, from my riding, that this satellite was also shot down. It's hard to say. But if it didn't something didn't happen, it was earmarked to land in New York City. If that was the case, then this thing will you know, it's it's important to know that because, I mean, then we would have the world's attention. But because it landed in my riding, nothing become of it. So I just wanted to let the Premier know that the urgency to really get this letter out to the prime minister and say that we have issues and concerns in our riding and then and that's kind of I want to have your response on that. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Member for Tu NedheWiilideh. Madam Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Actually I'd like to get things off my plate too. The more I have on is the more work I have. So I will make a commitment that I will have this done by before the end of June, and probably sooner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
