Caitlin Cleveland

A lot of Northerners like to travel south during the summer. It's what we do. Sometimes, it's to visit family. Sometimes, people just need to get away for a little bit. I'm wondering if it's the intent of this government to encourage as many NWT residents as possible to stay in the NWT for the summer in order to reduce people's exposure to COVID-19 in southern Canada and, if so, what the GNWT is doing to encourage NWT residents to stay home.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I am just wondering why we need a separate system for mental health and why we can't just use the electronic systems that we currently use for people of the Northwest Territories when they go to seek advice or medical assistance from their physicians. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The length of the pandemic today -- sorry. I'm going to start this over because I'm going to trip all over my words, and I'm just going to cut right to the point to allow for my colleagues to ask their questions. Mr. Speaker, what I would like to know is: how is the Minister working with the Chief Public Health Officer in order to balance the advice of the Chief Public Health Officer with the other needs and requirements of the people of the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

I will take that, thank you. In March, the GNWT put together an economic relief package that offered NWT businesses fee and loan deferrals. At that point, the GNWT did not know the extent of the impact of COVID-19. We can now see the devastating impact the lockdown is having on the global economy. Can the Minister confirm if the GNWT intends to extend the measures offered in the economic relief packages beyond the original timelines?

That's great news. I'm sure many businesses will be happy to hear that today. We are now almost three months from when we went into the COVID lockdown. Our territory has been spared the health effects of COVID-19 because of the swift and aggressive decision-making of the Department of Health and Social Services. However, while our people are not ailing, our economy definitely is. The NWT has suffered the worst fall in GDP from 2019, and I'm sure that number will continue to show this year. Has the Cabinet begun to discuss how to balance our healthcare needs with the economic needs of our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. ITI's SEED policy describes market disruption as, "Circumstances when, in the opinion of the regional superintendent, the granting of a contribution will likely adversely and significantly impact the revenue earned by another business within the region." This definition plus the duties of a regional superintendent under Section 7.4(c), make it clear that the authority to determine market disruption falls to ITI's regional superintendents and that this authority is discretionary. Will the...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, June 5, 2020, I will move the following motion: Now therefore, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that the Legislative Assembly recommend the reappointment of the following individuals to the Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission:

Ms. Marion Berls of the Town of Fort Smith, for a term of four year; and

Mr. Charles Dent of the City of Yellowknife, for a term of four years;

And further, that the Speaker be authorized to communicate the effective date of these appointments to the Commissioner.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister has mentioned before that we are national leaders in aggressive COVID-19 testing and that we are national leaders in a very timely response to the Reclaiming Power and Place report. I would like to urge the GNWT to be both an aggressive and a timely national leader in its action to do with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Will the Minister commit to providing an annual report to this House on the status of its plans and timelines so we can be accountable to keeping all Northerners safe? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In continuation of the questions posed by my colleague from Inuvik Twin Lakes, I would like to ask some questions of the Minister of Health and Social Services today. One of the questions that was asked by my colleague was in regard to working groups and who our GNWT collaborates with on those working groups, so what I would like to know is: who outside of the Government of the Northwest Territories does the Government of the Northwest Territories collaborate with on its working group for creating its action plan for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the Minister's commitment. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to know, when someone disappears, there is rarely evidence that a crime has been committed. However, this is a prerequisite for police to seek the court's permission for a search warrant or for personal records to help their investigation. In the earliest hours after someone is reported missing, access to this crucial information can yield clues to the person's whereabouts held within their cellphone, computer, home, and more. A number of provincial jurisdictions have missing persons...