Good morning, Mr. Speaker. Let's talk housing in the NWT, or lack of housing. Mr. Speaker, as it stands right now, housing is a major issue in our communities. There are families that have been on the waiting list for months and, in some cases, for years.
Fort McPherson has had the same concerns with housing: just not enough units available for families that are growing and not enough units for single adults. We have new families that are just beginning their lives together with little or no housing available.
Mr. Speaker, in all of our communities, we have homelessness: people who are couch-surfing because they have no home. Fortunately, we have large extended families that will take in family members on a short-term basis.
The elders in Fort McPherson have been put on hold once again in terms of getting their new elders' home built. In 2015, after a few years of designing the building, selecting a site for the building, trucking all of the materials to Fort McPherson, finally, construction began on the new elders' home.
Mr. Speaker, the building barely got off the ground. The project was undergoing some problems with management. This was nothing to do with the elders, who are excitedly waiting to see who is going to be residing in the new units. The project was stopped and left unattended for months and months. In early 2017, negotiations took place, and, once again, the project was in full swing. Employment was up, people were busy, and everyone was happy.
Just recently, the project has been put on hold, and everyone is questioning: what is going on, and when will the construction start again, and what about our elders? Mr. Speaker, we need to complete this building as soon as possible. I will have questions later today. Thank you.