Mr. Speaker, I'd like to talk about something that is a very important item to the small communities and that is the attendance of students K to 12. Absenteeism is very high in some of our small communities and I would like to recommend to the Minister -- not now, I'm not making a recommendation now, but in the future I recommend that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment start to collect data so that they could determine the level of absenteeism in all of the communities, but specifically in the small communities. We know that if a student misses one day of school per week, that's an 80 per cent attendance rate, then at the end of 12 years of school, or 13 with kindergarten, they would have missed two and a half years of schooling. I think those numbers do come out at the end of the day when people graduate from grade 12 and they've missed two and a half years of school, then it shows. They are at approximately a grade 10 level when they finish grade 12. I think that one of the things that I'm going to do is that I will be discussing the rates of absenteeism and the attendance with the principals of the schools in Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh and see what they see as a solution. Previously, in one of the small communities, we had a breakfast program. Absenteeism was very high, attendance was down, and the breakfast program seemed to change that. A lot of students were starting to come in and have breakfast and then they were able to spend the entire day in the school, but that was discontinued because the cost was considered too high. I think that the cost is not too high, that we should have programs like that. But again, I wouldn't be standing here making a recommendation, but I would get the principals' opinions on how to get the classes in the seats, then present that to the Minister in another forum. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi. Members' statements. Honourable Member for Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge all of the youth participating in the Arctic Winter Games to be held in Nuuk, Greenland from March 6 to 11, 2016. The 2016 Arctic Winter Games is not only an athletic competition, but also an international circumpolar celebration, which provides an opportunity for our youth to develop new friendships, talk about the wonderful assets of the Northwest Territories, and learn about other cultures. I'm extremely proud that 21 of the participants are residents of the Range Lake riding, and no matter how each of them does, it's an honour that they're going to the games representing our community and the NWT as a whole. I cannot emphasize enough how proud I am of all the youth participating in this event. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi. Members' statements. Honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to take this opportunity to speak about a role model, a mentor, innovator, elder, family man, and respected resident of Inuvik, the Beaufort Delta, and the North. Otto Binder was born in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. During the 1940s and '50s, he herded reindeer at Reindeer Station. He met his wife Ellen Pulk, daughter of Sami herders who brought the reindeer to the Mackenzie Delta region in the 1930s. In the early 1950s, Otto moved his family to Aklavik where he began working as a game warden so that his children can receive an education. Soon after, he became an RCMP special constable, a job that made use of his knowledge of the land and his fluency in Inuvialuqtun. Otto's role as a special constable helped bridge the gap between the Inuvialuit and the police, and his presence in the RCMP helped other Northerners like Gerry Kisoun and many others, see the benefit of becoming a special constable. After around 25 years in the RCMP, Otto retired and worked as a barge captain on the Mackenzie River for a decade before retiring to spend time back on the land. The Binder Family reacquired the reindeer herd in 2001. Otto would help his son Lloyd out occasionally during the winter until he was 85, then continued to provide advice. Lloyd mentioned that like many of his generation, he preferred to remain active into his last decade. It was difficult to become housebound. Otto continued to live a remarkable life surrounded by his family and friends. I had the honour of presenting Otto with a plaque on his ninetieth birthday during my first term as an MLA. Afterwards, every time I saw Otto, he'd always give me words of encouragement and support when I saw him about the work that's being done in this House. Otto passed away peacefully in his home in Inuvik on Thursday, February 25, at the age of 93. He will be greatly missed by many Northerners as well as people in the circumpolar region of the world. There will be a service held this Saturday in Inuvik. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and his friends. Quanani. Mahsi cho.

Mahsi. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Honourable Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Minister's statement earlier today I talked about the On the Land Collaborative Fund, and I'd like to take this opportunity to recognize some of the collaborative partners who are in the gallery today.

First, Stephen Ellis, the Program Lead for Northern Canada Tides Canada; Geoff Ray, the executive director of NWT Recreation and Parks Association; Sabrina Broadhead, the Director of Aboriginal Health and Community Wellness with the Department of Health and Social Services; Claudine Lee, the head of the Environment Communities, Dominion Diamond Corporation; and Steven Nitah, the Senior Advisor Indigenous Leadership Initiative. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Honourable Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to recognize some of the people on the On the Land Collaboration Fund. Sarah True, Regional Environment Assessment Coordinator for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Sarah was the administrative lead for the first round of applicants, coordinating all the partners and the massive number of applicants received. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to acknowledge Stephen Ellis, the northern leader of Tides Canada, and thank him for his visionary leadership in self-determination. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome everybody into the House today, and in particular, Mr. Geoff Ray. He and I go way back in terms of doing a lot of work, whether it was the anti-tobacco work that we did, helping create legislation in this House, as well as the Get Active campaigns and many healthy living initiatives. I'd like to welcome him to the House. Thank you.

Mahsi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to recognize Geoff Ray, an individual I have worked with for a number of years over the time. Hopefully, I'll continue to work with him as an MLA. As well, I'd like to recognize Sabrina Broadhead, who was a former colleague of mine and was a mentor when I first started the job. Welcome.

Recognition of the visitors in the gallery. Member for Nunakput.

Mahsi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we may have missed individuals in the gallery, welcome. It's always nice to have audience as part of our proceedings. Mahsi. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I made a Member’s statement on the Housing Needs Survey. I'd like to ask the Minister some follow-up questions. Yesterday I indicated the last survey I had was 2009, but it's actually 2014. There was an update done. The NWT Bureau of Statistics has worked with the NWT Housing Corporation to do a survey on housing. This survey began decades ago, and it's done approximately every five years, most recently in 2014. The survey reports on nationally acceptable indicators such as suitability, adequacy, and affordability. This is how they determine the core need. I'd like to ask the Minister if the Housing Corporation is continuing collecting information in this manner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the NWT Housing Corporation does use the Bureau of Statistics to provide survey information every five years, and we will continue to do so. Thank you.

I was wondering if the Minister is contemplating collecting additional data in a different way in order to supplement the needs survey for future development of programs.

Yes, I really took heed of the 18th Legislative Assembly’s priority about wanting change within the government, and to be as transparent and as inclusive with the public as possible

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The needs surveys that are provided every five years does give us the basic information, but we're actually looking for more information: a breakdown by community on what the people using the community -- the chiefs, the people, the LHOs, et cetera -- would like to see, and programs to be maintained, to be sustained, and to be expanded upon.

When the Minister reaches out to the communities and gets community input on what they see as key in their communities for housing programs, how quickly, after that, then, can the Minister make changes to programs so that communities can take advantage of the programs, say, this coming summer?