Julian Morse

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. By way of explanation, this is just an addition to the friendly amendments made by the Member for Monfwi. It was my feeling that a sixperson board is getting quite large at that point and so a three Member panel would be more appropriate. It would be more cost conscious and so that's why I made this what I consider to be a friendly amendment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the Minister's earlier statement about Indigenous Languages Month. The GNWT has been clear about the need for language revival and preservation in this year's Indigenous Languages Month campaign, which I will quote from directly: The loss of Indigenous languages is an ongoing challenge in our territory and around the world. To reverse the loss of language and culture and keep Indigenous languages alive and thriving, they must be spoken in homes and communities.

While the statement about homes and communities is true, and we should be proud that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a followup question to the Minister of health from some of my questions yesterday.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister has said that there will not be job losses associated with COVID  COVID funding sunsetting but it is not clear to me what changes may occur to where staff were placed in the system. Can the Minister describe in more detail what changes are proposed and how that will affect frontline operations at Stanton? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thanks to the Minister for the answer. The third question is how does the Minister provide direction to the college, and how is the college held accountable to the priorities set in the Legislative Assembly and the priorities of the funders of the college; how are they held accountable to the Minister and this Assembly? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is related to a statement I gave a couple of weeks ago related to the importance of postsecondary education. Now that we've established our priority of having a strong economic foundation, I wanted to ask the Minister some questions about the college transition.

So first, can the Minister first describe to me the department's relationship with Aurora College now that the Aurora College board of governors has been reestablished? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So can the Minister describe to the House what the department is going to be doing to ensure that frontline staff, particularly nurses, are continuing to be supported in their roles in our hospitals in the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister agree to the board chair and president of Aurora College appearing in front of a standing committee should the committee make such a request? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I note that a new president has been appointed to the college, and I congratulate Ms. James on her appointment. Can the Minister tell me what role she or the department had in the recruitment process?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Okay, that's an interesting response from the Minister. I guess my question is I believe that people were given the impression there would be layoffs. There was a story in the news. I've heard from constituents about this. So how is the department been communicating about these changes and how did we get to the point where we're in a miscommunication about whether there's going to be layoffs or not? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the past five years, nursing aides have been indispensable members of nursing teams in the NWT, particularly shining during the pandemic as unsung heros alongside nurses. Their expanded roles during the pandemic included providing crucial support and companionship to isolated, critically ill elders, going above and beyond to ensure no one passed away alone by offering comfort and conveying messages of love from family members. Their presence not only facilitated medical care but also preserved the dignity of patients in their final moments.

Beyond the...