Masi. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, housing continues to be a large issue affecting the remote northern communities of Nunakput. In the Northwest Territories, reducing core need in housing is vital to reducing the many social problems associated with the poor quality of housing.

The previous Housing Minister stated that, although the yearly decline of the CMHC funding will end by the year 2038, CMHC will provide no funds to Northwest Territories for maintenance and operations. Mr. Speaker, it is important that we stay on top of housing, and that we act strategically so that there is sufficient housing support, especially for those who are at risk of homelessness, as well as for those who are struggling in their current homes.

Mr. Speaker, evictions are not the answer, and we need to take care of our residents during the times they struggle, especially with the high cost of living in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, the recent work that led to the corporation's report On Level Ground was a great start. Now, the government must plan for the strategy to interact with the federal National Housing Strategy, which is where new funds and new opportunities will be in the years to come.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories must continue to strengthen its working relationship with the federal government, as well as Indigenous governments, to mitigate housing issues and improve the quality of life for the residents of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, later, I will have questions for the Minister responsible for Housing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to Ernie Bernhardt, who is a former Member of the 12^th Assembly. Welcome to our Assembly. Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize Ernie Bernhardt, who is also a constituent of the Great Slave riding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to recognize two Pages from my riding, two Pages from Fort Resolution, Alexa Mandeville-Pasowisty and Santina Vanloon. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize a Page today from Yellowknife North, Page Ramanda Castillo. I thank all the Pages for the great work that they do on our behalf. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, also, would like to recognize Mr. Ernie Bernhardt and welcome him to the Legislative Assembly. He has given a lot of useful advice and encouragement over the last few year, so welcome to Ernie. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I do want to recognize Ernie Bernhardt, on another note though, in terms of being a very strong advocate, a coach, a promoter, and helping us revitalize the Arctic sports not only here in the Northwest Territories, but through the circumpolar region, and just thank him for all the work that he does in that area. Thank you, quana.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the Gallery. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize a Page from my riding of Kam Lake, Rhuwina Javier. Thank you very much for your hard work this sitting. Thank you.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we missed anyone in the gallery, welcome to our sitting. It's always nice to have an audience as part of our proceedings. Masi. Item 6, acknowledgements. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize the Grand Chief of the Dehcho First Nations, Herb Norwegian, who received the Glen Davis Conservation Leadership Prize on May 24, 2018. The World Wildlife Fund of Canada and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society awarded Mr. Norwegian for his decades of work on the Dehcho Land Use Plan. Mr. Norwegian takes pride in his work and is humbled by receiving this award. I would like to personally congratulate and thank the Grand Chief for all the work he does, and for the work he will continue to do in the future for our region. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Earlier I spoke about the housing issues and noted that CMHC will no longer be providing O and M funds to the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation by the year 2038. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if there are any plans to restore this funding or otherwise mitigate this loss so that we can maintain our public housing programs across the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Most recently myself, along with my territorial, provincial and federal counterparts, have been working to endorse the Multi-lateral Housing Partnership Framework. We continue to negotiate with Canada, through the National Housing Strategy, and our current next step is to work on signing a bilateral agreement with the Government of Canada through the Northern Housing Fund. We didn't get our fair share of that funding, so we are negotiating with the Government of Canada to address those issues, and that agreement hopefully should be signed this fall so we'll be able to have a better understanding of how those dollars are going to be spent.

I can let you know at this time, however, that we have been successful in convincing the federal government to support the sustainability of social housing for the next 10 years, which is the life of the National Housing Strategy, and we will continue to work with the federal government and keep them apprised of the housing needs that we have in our communities, and how can we work together to address them. As you have heard me say in this House before, it's not only us as a government, but working with our Indigenous governments, our community governments, and our NGOs to address the core housing needs throughout the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the response. According to the federal budget, the Northwest Territories will receive $36 million over the next 10 years for housing-related matters. Mr. Speaker, how will these funds be used to address Northwest Territories housing needs?