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.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Sahtu.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today I wear my traditional vest in recognition of the NWT Arts Week. The residents of the Northwest Territories possess and produce world-wide unique art. Among the unique inventory is our art of traditional knowledge captured in our elders. The NWT Geological Survey Strategy is one of many strategic plans developed by this government. Strategic plans are an essential element to management's ability to enhance the directives as developed.

Having a model or strategy supported by management's ability to achieve our government's mandate for the people we represent is a positive and prudent starting point. Our greatest concerns today are the limited and high levels of isolated unemployment, economic opportunities. This is highly attributed to the global commodity markets.

Action planning towards resiliency in minimizing these impacts can be viewed by the efforts our government is taking and continues to take in tourism, while making efforts of federal resources accessibility.

Mr. Speaker, continued efforts in marketing our resource sector, such as the produced geological survey, enhance certainty and confidence in our investment community; however, tools of success are only measured by the fruits of these strategies.

Analyzing measurables is fundamental to the success of these strategies. As we advance into next week's chapter, measures of our first term results of strategies will only assist in our voices to the NWT we serve. Later, Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the appropriate Minister. Masi.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, today, I wish to talk about the land lease policy of the Department of Lands. Previously, I had asked the Minister about the land lease policy and he expressed the policy was fair, yet the elders who are living on the land cannot afford it.

At this time, the land lease policy indicates that the land is based on 10 per cent of the value per year, so people who live in small houses on small lands worth about $40,000, $50,000, are paying $4,000 or $5,000 in lease costs; if they are elders, they get a 50 per cent exemption, and they pay $2,025 in lease payments.

Currently, I have many, many elders who are making under $25,000. Many of them are making much less than that, and yet they are asked to pay $2,000. In some cases, that is about a month and a half's worth of take-home pay. It is very difficult for the various elders to do.

Mr. Speaker, I think the Department of Lands needs to take a look another look at the policy so that the people have an opportunity to afford the land that they have been living on for many, many years. Currently, it is extremely high for them, and they cannot apply for the lease. My constituents cannot access the housing programs because they cannot afford the lease. Without the lease, they are ineligible for a housing program. We in the Legislative Assembly are trying to address a core need for housing, and with the policy in place, they are falling deeper and deeper into core need.

I may ask the Minister some questions on it. Currently, the programs the Housing Corporation deliver are much in need, and in order to get the programs out, I think that… sorry, Mr. Speaker, can I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement?

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the policy of the land portion of the policy, it will go a long way to helping people to apply for programs and come closer and closer each year to trying to bring core need down to a national level of 12 per cent. Thank you.

Masi. Members' statement. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in 1886 the SS Wrigley, a steam-powered sternwheeler, was launched in Fort Smith and began regular freight and passenger services to the trading posts along the Slave River, the Great Slave Lake, the Mackenzie River, and up to Fort McPherson on the Peel. While people and goods have always travelled along the waterways, the Wrigley connected the North to the South in a way that had never been done before, and ushered in an era of marine shipping that continues until this day. The North as we know it exists because of our marine transportation industry. Not only that, if you consider the role it played in the Klondike gold rush, resource development in northern Canada and Alaska, the DEW line, the CANOL Pipeline and the Manhattan Project, it has also had a role in shaping the world.

Mr. Speaker, this government's purchase of NTCL's assets provides a perfect chance to bring this history to light, to celebrate the people who helped shaped our territory, and to engage our communities and our youth. When NorTerra purchased NTCL in the 1980s, the vessels were renamed in honour of individuals from the shareholders' regions. Now that the GNWT owns those assets, I propose that we rename the vessels to better reflect the entire Northwest Territories.

I am not suggesting that the government strike some internal committee to do this. There are over 130 years of stories about the people involved in this industry, from Fort Smith to the High Arctic and nearly everywhere in between. I would like to see the government reach out to the public and solicit nominations for the new names so that we can hear these stories and celebrate our history.

This also presents a great opportunity to engage our youth and teach them about the history of the NWT. Imagine a student who starts researching this history for a class project, and sees his or her last name, and see the contribution their family has made to the territory. Suddenly, they are interested and engaged. In some communities like mine, the families who have been involved in marine shipping read like the phone book; Beaulieu, Lafferty, Camsell, Bouvier, Loutit, and so on. Mr. Speaker, that is a lot of engagement.

Now, this potential initiative was not my idea. I cannot take credit. There were a few of us sitting around having coffee at the Hay River Museum and Kirk the Hay River Museum manager, suggested it. He thought it would be a great way to recognize our history and pass it on to the next generation, and I agree.

Naming government infrastructure is the responsibility of the Department of the Executive, so I mentioned this to the Premier a while back. During question period, I am going to see if he is on board. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in gallery.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize two people here. They are here from Ottawa. They are Nick Gregg, or little Nick as we call him at camp, and Rebecca Bisson. I thank them very much. They are from Northern Youth Abroad.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize my constituent Nalini Naidoo. It is through the generosity of the Naidoo family, the MS Naidoo Foundation that helps to support the Northern Youth Abroad program.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Nia Mckenzie-Steinwand, one of the Pages from Hay River South, and thank you for your great work this week, Nia.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the interpreters who we have in the House from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh; Mr. Tommy Unka from Fort Resolution and Maro Sundberg from Detah. Thank you.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I would like to recognize my wife, Anne, in the gallery today. Thank you.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize a Page from Hay River North who has been here all week, Shayla Moore. Thank you.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize the youth members of the Youth Abroad program and their supervisors. Mahsi.

Mahsi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Deh Cho.