The Minister of Health and Social Services tabled the Annual Report of the Director of Child and Family Services 2017-2018 yesterday in the Legislative Assembly.

Education, Culture and Employment  (ECE) Minister  Caroline Cochrane met with leaders of territorial education bodies during the first week of October to discuss progress.

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Mr. Speaker, protecting children from abuse and neglect, and providing services aimed at keeping families healthy, safe and intact, are fundamental priorities for this government.  This is a priority for me personally as well. Since joining the Legislative Assembly in 2007 as both a regular MLA and Minister, I have worked to ensure our child and family services system is built around the philosophy that the best supports for children are strong and resilient families.

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Minister of Infrastructure and Industry, Tourism and Investment, Wally Schumann issued the following statement today on the opening of the Marine Training Centre in Hay River and Oceans Protection Plan funding announcement:

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Mr. Speaker, our government is following through on its commitment to invest in transportation infrastructure by strengthening connections with our federal partners.

Improving our existing highway system helps to keep communities connected while improving safety for all road users. This also provides jobs and fosters skills and capacity development for all northerners. Today, I am pleased to provide an update on the many highway improvements that were undertaken this year.   

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Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to update Members on our fiscal and economic situation and some of our on-going challenges.

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Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation has been working collaboratively with the Tłı̨chǫ Government to address critical housing issues in the Tłı̨chǫ Region.  In order to meet this Government’s commitments to address the cost of living, the Housing Corporation is continuing to implement northern solutions for northern housing.   A crucial element of this approach is working in partnership with other orders of government, such as the Tłı̨chǫ to address affordable housing challenges.

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the International Day of the Girl Child. Plan International Canada, with all-party support from the Canadian Parliament, led global efforts to recognize this day.  Their actions resulted in October 11^th being recognized by the United Nations for the first time in 2012 as a day to champion the empowerment and rights of girls around the world.  This is a powerful accomplishment, and I am extremely proud of our country’s leadership in this effort.

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Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome my colleagues back to the Legislative Assembly for the continuation of the Third Session. This will be a very active sitting for us, as we continue making important decisions to create a strong future for the Northwest Territories.

With one year left in our term, we are getting into the home stretch for the 18^th Legislative Assembly.