Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to propose that we in this House work together to further the NWT Disabilities Council's vision that all individuals have the opportunity and access to achieve their full potential. We can do that by creating a new five-year plan for them. The previous five-year action plan for persons with disabilities comprised 34 main action items under five pillars of education, employment, disability supports, income, and housing. The action plan was endorsed when it was completed in 2008 and apparently, quite promptly forgotten. Fast-forward to 2015 when the NWT Disabilities Council took stock of the action plan. The council met with senior managers of all departments accountable for actions in the 2008 plan. In some cases, Mr. Speaker, council staff discovered that senior managers didn't even know a plan existed. The council also gathered information by surveying 321 people who live with a disability, care for someone with a disability, or provide a service. The council's item-by-item review revealed that many of the priorities identified in the 2008 plan remain to be addressed.

The 2015 review includes these recommendations:

Figure out how many people are living with a disability in the NWT and what their needs are;

Address the accessibility of both public and private buildings to address functional accessibility and social inclusion for the disabled;

Re-assess income support for people with disabilities;

Address affordable and accessible housing concerns; and

Continue work on the priorities from the 2008 plan.

I am told that recently that council briefed our Ministers of ECE and Housing about the contents of the review. Where should we go from here? The council says the direction should be forward. The recent GNWT-funded evaluation of the plan's status, with full input from responsible departmental participants, is done. We don't need an internal review to mirror that work and hold back progress. What we need, what the council wants, is to get all the stakeholders to the table with authority to update and recommend changes for a new five-year plan. That new plan should have costed deliverables, resources for implementation with annual evaluations built in. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to request permission to conclude my statement

---Unanimous consent granted

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi, colleagues. At the last election, nine of the Members here in this House, including four Cabinet Ministers, answered yes when they were asked if they would support the creation of a new strategic plan for improving disabled persons’ situations and services. I'll have questions for the Minister responsible for Persons with Disabilities later. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi. Members' statements. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dr. Lance Crook. He's a local Hay River boy who just last week completed his medical residency and is now officially an attending physician. I'm not surprised by Lance's success. He's always been a hard worker. Before beginning on his career path, he was already an accomplished guitarist and a journeyman tradesperson. Dr. Crook attended the University of Saskatchewan, where he received a Bachelor of Science honours degree in biochemistry. He went on to complete the Island Medical Program in Victoria and received his medical degree from UBC, which is one of the top-ranked medical schools in the country. We've all heard stories about gruelling residencies are, but Dr. Crook somehow managed to get through all while helping his wife raise their four young children. I'm excited to say that Lance is now moving back to Hay River to practice medicine. I want to congratulate Lance and I want to congratulate his mother who I know is very proud of him. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. It's my pleasure to introduce today a number of people who are advocates for the disabilities community in the Northwest Territories, and in particular Denise McKee, the executive director of the Northwest Territories Disabilities Council; Samantha Thomas, who is a member of that board; Rhonda Hoffos, who's the executive director of the Canadian Institute for the Blind, NWT; and Darren Jacquard, who's the vice-president of the NWT Autism Society. I'd like to thank them for coming today. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to welcome to the gallery today a constituent of Inuvik Twin Lakes and also my official agent in the past election, Mr. Denny Rodgers. I would also like to welcome to the Assembly my constituency assistant, Krysten Cardinal, and I'd like to welcome all the young folks into the gallery as well. I would like to welcome all folks into the gallery as well. ---Laughter

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and like yourself, I'm going to take this opportunity to welcome and recognize one of our distinguished Northerners and Yellowknife North resident Mr. Tony Whitford. Welcome. Thank you.

Mahsi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Julie, for recognizing the visitors that you mentioned, because that was appreciated. Thanks for being here. I also want to recognize the Rotary Exchange Group that's coming out of Edmonton in the gallery today. This group includes four chaperones and 27 students from all over the world. We're really excited to have you here. Welcome.

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

Quyanini, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome my new constituency assistant Ora Williamson-Mercredi. Welcome to the gallery. Also, Mr. Denny Rodgers who works for the Inuvialuit Development Corporation in Inuvik. I don't see him but I sense he's back there. ---Laughter

And also to everyone in the gallery, welcome. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. At this time, I'd like to draw your attention to a couple of Pages from my region, Behchoko: Rianna Camsell and Nicolle Zoe that are here with us and their chaperone Victoria Apples. I'd like to welcome them and they're doing a fantastic job for us, and also the rest of the Pages as well. Thanks for being here with us. And to those in the gallery, welcome. It's always great to have an audience as part of our proceedings. Mahsi. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member’s statement I discussed rent that is currently being collected on lots in the Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh riding. I’d like to ask the Minister of Lands questions. Would the Minister be willing to consider adjusting the rent currently charged on land to a reasonable amount, especially for seniors and other people on fixed income? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi. Minister of Lands.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Lands has already instituted lease-cost breaks for seniors, in recognition of high lease costs. The department is also examining the lease payment structure in settled and unsettled areas and how leaseholders can gain title through outright purchase or lease. The options in the unsettled area are quite limited. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm glad the Minister mentioned the Seniors and Disabled Persons Property Tax Relief program. My next question is: Will the Minister consider applying that senior citizens’ property tax relief for individuals in Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh that are renting their lot right now?

Mahsi. Minister of Lands.

We are quite limited to what we can do in the unsettled areas, because some of that land might be claimed by the claimant groups, but we would be willing to work with the Member and work with the claimant groups to see if there are any options that might be available to us. But because they are in the process of negotiation, as I said a couple of times already, our options are quite limited.

The Minister mentions the land claim organizations and the work that goes on there for those negotiations. I'd like to ask the Minister if he could contact those organizations, not necessarily trying to establish a side table, that is not my responsibility or authority, but just to have the discussion on this issue. This is a serious issue, and if individuals want to move forward to fix their units and so on, as I indicated in here, we need to resolve this issue. I would like to know if the Minister would be prepared to talk about this issue specifically with land claim organizations.

I take the Member's point about the high cost of leases. I think I have seen some of the numbers, and they are paying a fairly high cost. We can make contact with the claimant groups to see if there is a preliminary discussion we can have. As the Member said himself, we don't want to start a side table to deal with this. I will commit to the Member that I will make some contact with them and see if we can initiate a discussion as to how we can move forward.