Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, you know, this is one of the issues that everyone in the territory feels. You know, we used to have exemption from the carbon tax on heating fuel, which we no longer have. And I look at my bill now, and I'm shocked by the cost of that. And so there's things like continuing to lobby the federal government, trying to make them realize that the North is not the south. The idea of the carbon tax is -- you know, maybe it's a good idea for some jurisdictions. It just doesn't work for us. And so we need to continue to lobby the federal government to make the exemptions for the Northwest Territories that people need. A number of changes were made in the last government to help our most vulnerable populations, changes to income assistance so that families when they need it are better supported, changes made so that seniors and persons with disabilities will have more income, can live more comfortable lives, can afford the things given the rising costs. We need to do a better job of expanding access to childcare. We've seen millions of dollars go back into parents' pockets because of the new childcare funding but I personally believe this is one area where the GNWT needs to make additional investments so that we can expand the number of childcare spaces, which is a huge cost for many people. We need to continue keeping work in the Northwest Territories. You know, the cost of living is high if you have no income. And so if people are working and we're keeping money here, that is going to help families as well. And one of the biggest things we need to do is deal with housing. The lack of housing has driven costs up so high across the territory. We need to work with municipalities to help develop land. A number of municipalities have good, solid plans on how to develop land, how to get more houses on the ground, and we need to make that priority and we need to push it because, you know, a number of the places are -- most places, in my community, in Yellowknife, and a number of communities are just unaffordable if you're looking at market rent. And it's supply and demand. We need more supply. Thank you.
R.J. Simpson on Questions by Members
On December 7th, 2023. See this statement in context.
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