Lesa Semmler

Mr. Speaker, the public engagement proposed key elements took place between July 29th and August 30th of 2024, and a What We Heard report was done December 3rd, 2024. Drafting instructions are currently being developed right now, and it's anticipated that the regulations will be ready to come into force with the coming into the force of the Health and Social Services Professionals Health Act.

The one thing that I would like to add is is that we are not the same as -- like we always say, we're not the same as in the south, so we have to ensure we've been working with our pharmacists in the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, I'm not going to repeat all of their titles again but His Worship Peter Clarkson, the SAO Cynthia Pihlaja, and my cousin Melinda Gillis. That's one title that she didn't get. So I'd like to welcome them here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I hear from many MLAs and many constituents when it's not a good stay; however, since Larga has moved to Leduc, there were initially -- there were concerns and complaints. Larga has accommodated many of the issues that were brought forward just because of their distance away from Edmonton, and they provided a lot of different space. People seem to enjoy staying in the hotel, in Larga. Recently, I haven't had a lot of complaints. There are -- Goba Care is working a lot out of there for, you know, providing programming while people are there for extended...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not sure what the Member is referring to. If they're staying at the boarding home, then they don't get -- they don't get -- everything when they're assigned a room there is free. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Committee Report 16-20(1), Report on the Statutory Review of the Mental Health Act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this -- since I've been the Minister, I think is the farthest that we've gone forward on trying to making sure that we're looking at a new way of trying to support those international education nurses that are here, that have been going to our MLAs, that have been saying, you know, I've been trained. And it is looking outside the box. It is working with BC. We have CAN right now working with BC trying to look at the system that they're using that they are collaborating with the Yukon right now to assess those skills, and that's what we are doing right now...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will commit my office to connect with Minister Cleveland's office to make sure that there is some kind of instructions on how to ensure that they can apply for their health care -- or get their health care renewed. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I have a return to oral question asked by the member for Yellowknife Centre on February 10, 2025, regarding the budgeting process for the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority.

The department provides a dollar value and service expectation to each of the three health authorities to develop a detailed budget. The authorities must submit this budget to the department by February 15th of each year concurrent with the main estimates process. The department works with each authority to review their budget aligning details with what was presented to committee. This...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are trying. That is what we are doing. We are looking at the different routes. And there are -- you know, and what we're now finding out is that educations in other countries have changed, and so, you know, by going through and doing the assessment, doing the English assessment, and using BC's model, that's what we're trying to work with right now. And so I would not commit to removing hours if that would put, you know, people at risk. I'm not saying that they're going to be at risk, but what I am saying is that we have people in these roles and we have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of work that's going on right now with the joint nursing -- it's CAN, it's the health authorities. They're all working toward right now of trying to figure out who in the Northwest Territories that they can -- like, who is here in the Northwest Territories right now that are potentially, you know, still within that licensing time, what needs do they have, and so that work is going to go out and to survey those nurses.

As for the overall picture in the -- you know, bringing in international nurses into the Northwest Territories, we are not...