Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the construction of a nine-unit seniors' complex in Fort McPherson has been a difficult process from the start. The project, like similar nine-plex buildings in Aklavik, Fort Liard, Fort Good Hope, and Whati, was originally scheduled for completion in March 2016. Then it was pushed to December.
Later this past winter, the contract was finally cancelled. It then took about six months to get things moving again, but the new local contractor got things back on track and back on schedule. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, I've heard that the NWT Housing Corporation plans to halt construction for the duration of the winter as a cost-savings measure. I know this government is interested in saving money, but surely this level of penny-pinching is unreasonable. The additional delay will see the project pushed back almost two years from its original planned completion, and that's assuming that things go smoothly from here on out.
Mr. Speaker, the Housing Corporation's decision is a stressor in the community of Fort McPherson. These aren't just hypothetical housing spaces; we already have elders waiting to move in, not to mention families in line for public housing units that will open up once those elders are able to move into the new units.
It is deeply concerning for me, Mr. Speaker, that the Housing Corporation's idea of cost savings appears to be overlooking the associated costs of overcrowding, relative homelessness, and out-of-community migration tied to the current shortage of housing units. We should be doing everything we can to get those units completed, not slowing them down more. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll have questions later today.