Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not have any more questions, but I just want to say thank you to the Minister for taking this seriously, for taking the calls seriously, and listening to the families. I am looking forward and I am sure the families are looking forward to how this government is going to protect our women, girls, and our two-spirited, queer, lesbian, and QIA.

Mr. Speaker, I am really happy to hear that, that there is some progress being made. Can the Minister explain or give a little bit of a timeline that we should be seeing this work plan and possibly leading into an action plan?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We continue to see violence against our Indigenous women and girls, not just here in the North, Mr. Speaker, but across Canada. We have all seen recently over this time, during this pandemic, the loss of a young Indigenous woman from Yellowknife as well as another young woman murdered in Hay River. Outside the NWT, an Indigenous woman and a mother of seven, Joyce Echaquan, who went to the hospital to seek medical treatment, instead died while being treated like no person should be treated in a facility like that.

Mr. Speaker, in June, we were informed that an action plan...

I will rise and report progress.

I will now call Committee of the Whole to order. Mr. Norn, what is the wish of committee?

Thanks to the Minister for that. I am going to be looking forward to that in four to six months. My question to the Minister is: how is this going to be kind of infiltrated into the departments so that way we know, when we look at the calls for justice, that it kind of filters into all different areas of the GNWT, that the GNWT would be responsible for actioning? Can the Minister just say how this direction is being provided? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for the Status of Women. Will the Minister update this House if there has been any progress made on the development of an NWT action plan? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I also understand that there has been many changes to this document, and we've heard Dr. Kandola has said this, that it's a moving doc. It's a living document. There's been a lot of changes in there. There's been a lot of changes with the essential workers, who gets exceptions, who can get exceptions to go to communities now. How is this information passed onto the CPHO if there was no one to influence her decision on making changes?

We can go to church with up to 25 people, with the ability to apply for more seats, but this does not include funerals. That is not right. How does one measure a funeral ceremony is more risk and less important than allowing non-NWT-resident essential workers for infrastructure and mining projects, who are flying in from Edmonton on the same flight as all of us, that I go home on every time I leave Yellowknife?

The winter is on its way. We cannot deny families indoor funerals. This must be looked into. Our families need to mourn. They need to lay their family members to rest in a way that...

During the public briefing that we had in September, I did ask the Minister if they could review the restrictions around funerals, and I'm just wondering if the Minister can tell me if the CPHO, if you know that they are reviewing this rule?