R.J. Simpson

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Mandate Letters for the Executive Council of the 20th Legislative Assembly; and, GNWT Search and Rescue System Review Final Report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week I attended the Western Premiers' Conference in Whitehorse, along with the Premiers of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nunavut, and Yukon. The conference is a forum to discuss issues that are of interest or concern to all seven western provinces and territories.

This year, we started our informal discussions with Deputy Chief Darla Jean Lindstrom, of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation. She had a very simple message for Premiers: If we work together, we are stronger together. She also spoke of the importance of working together with Indigenous...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I won't say much about this; I've spoken extensively about the wildfires, and the Member for Hay River South has spoken about the accommodations being provided as well as other supports. So what the government will do is take this motion, use the 120 days to consider it, and provide a response. And we will be abstaining. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize my former colleague and current grand chief of the Tlicho, Mr. Jackson Lafferty. It was an honour serving with him as his deputy Speaker, and as the only Lafferty I'm allowed to recognize today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Cabinet will be taking the 120 days to consider the motion and responding as requested if it passes. Thank you. And we will be abstaining.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm sure the Member knows my answer based on what I just said but no, I cannot make that commitment. During the review of the Residential Tenancies Act, there will be opportunities for public feedback, and we will take that feedback and we will fully consider it. And so I expect that some of that feedback will be around rent control. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm happy to provide some more information to the Member in written form about how extensive we are looking at the review. As of today, I'm not quite sure where things are in the process but I can commit to provide that to her. And some of the things that I can -- that I know will be considered are the recommendations made by the rental officer in their annual report, and those will go back a number of years. So there's many recommendations already that the department will be looking at. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like every other initiative that we would like to bring forward, it has to compete with all of the other initiatives. And so we will weigh this against the other initiatives that the Members have requested, initiatives that other stakeholders have requested, and plan as appropriate. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There's a lot unpack there. I'd probably need to think about it a bit more, understand what the programs the Member's speaking of are, and then we can go from there. Thanks.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Bill 7, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act 2024, be read for the second time. This bill corrects inconsistencies and errors in the statutes of the Northwest Territories. This bill also helps to deal with other matters of a minor, noncontroversial, and uncomplicated nature in the statutes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.