R.J. Simpson

Mr. Speaker, every year the grade 6 class from Princess Alexandra School in Hay River travels to Yellowknife, and they visit the ledge. For the last four years they weren't able to do that, but this year, Mr. Speaker, they came back. And so I want to recognize Ms. Hoss' grade 6 class from Princess Alexandra who joined us today. We have Maliki Beaulieu, Skylar Cayen, Katanna McArthur, Noel Peters, Jager Walsh, Blakely Beck, Abigail Belanger, Kennedy Bolt, Shelby Cofwell, Shane Delorey, Nash Fraser, Olivia Frais, Sawyer Hurst, Charlotte Hinesruggles, Michele Longwey, AnnaLee Bunkin, Braden...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I'd like to send that to the Minister of Finance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that it's clearly a public safety concern. If you need to contact someone because of an accident or because of an incident or because you see a wildfire that you want to report and there's no cell service, then that's an issue. And it's recognized as an issue not just here in the territory but really across Canada, because if you look at a map of cell coverage of Canada most of it is empty. Most rural areas do not have highway cell coverage, so it is a public safety issue that is known across Canada. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following five documents: Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories 2023 to 2027 Draft Inquiry Establishment Order (2023 Wildfire Season Preparedness and Response); Response to Petition 1-20(1): A Ceasefire and End to Canadian Support for the Plausible Genocide in Gaza; Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Motion 23-20(1): Call to Uphold Human Rights in Gaza; and, Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 152-20(1) Public Safety. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, later today I will table the mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories 2023 to 2027. This mandate will be our guide as we work to advance the priorities of the 20th Legislative Assembly.

The Northwest Territories has always been a land of opportunity. Since time immemorial, it has sustained thriving and resilient Indigenous peoples, and it has welcomed and provided opportunities to new community members who have made the NWT their home. This land and its people have made significant contributions to Canada's cultural, economic, and environmental prosperity, and we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a Return to Oral Question asked by the Member for Yellowknife Centre on February 20th, 2024, regarding Consultation with Members of the Legislative Assembly on Policies and Strategies.

The Member asked about the government's internal employee survey requesting input to suggest where the government can save money. When we released the fiscal sustainability strategy on February 12th, 2024, we noted that all Government of the Northwest Territories' employees would be given the opportunity to provide input. That same day, we opened an online survey so employees could...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, again, I have no policy mechanisms to impact what is happening in Gaza. But that being said, the Northwest Territories does work with the federal government when it comes to immigration, and so I know the federal government has implemented some changes to their processes and the Northwest Territories Nominee Program, which is our side of that immigration process, is doing what it can to expedite or help expedite applications for those who are coming from impacted regions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this has been quite an emotional motion right from the time conversations about it started, the conversations around the petition. We have residents in our territory who are directly impacted by the ongoing conflict. And, frankly, I can't comprehend what they must be going through and hopefully no one in this room ever has to will ever know what that is like. From everything I've seen, it looks like people are in a living hell right now. And so I appreciate that the Members have brought this forward to bring this conversation to the forefront. It is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've got to say I'm a little surprised that the committee hasn't done that themselves. They have the full authority to make that offer or reach out to the RCMP, and I know that the commanding officer would be happy to appear and have those discussions. So I can pass along the message but what I recommend is that the committee actually write a letter and ask for that meeting. That way you start building a relationship between the committee and the commanding officer. If I act as a gobetween, I'm just kind of passing notes back and forth. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the main things that I've been doing during this Assembly is lobbying my fellow MLAs to also make crime prevention and law enforcement a priority. We wound up with that in our priorities of this Assembly. Well, public safety, and so I'm happy to see that. And that will allow us to now move forward hopefully with some other initiatives. I meet regularly with the commanding officer of the RCMP. We discuss some of the challenges they're facing, potential solutions, and I'm always trying to find ways to provide additional support to the RCMP. We've added new RCMP...