Member statement's addressing core need for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh riding.

Mr. Speaker, today I want to talk about housing in my region. I know this is a priority for this government and also a priority for myself. There are many issues with housing in the Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh but today I will focus on improving core need.

Mr. Speaker, if a house is not suitable, adequate, or affordable, it's considered in core need. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, in the NWT, our statistics on core need are heading in the a wrong direction. In 2014, almost 20 percent of the homes in the NWT were in core need and the latest survey from 2019 shows housing core needs across NWT have grown to almost 24 percent. Almost one in every four houses in the NWT are in core need compared to one in every eight for the national average. But, Mr. Speaker, unfortunately the situation is much worse in the Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh riding. For the people in the Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh riding, we have known that over half of the homes are in core need - 55 percent. We're looking at about 297 homes. So housing is certainly in a state of crisis for the residents of Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh riding, and there are many issues with housing we need to tackle and we need to do this together.

To start, we need a plan to fix up the homes we do have. We need an assessment on these assets with a budget and a work plan to roll out repairs. We need repairs to happen in a way that empowers local tradespeople and builds pride in one's home. We need a strategic approach to address this issues because the current housing system is not working for the residents of Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh residents. We need to leverage the strength of the Indigenous governments to make this happen. Together, we can resolve this crisis. I will have questions for the Minister of Housing later today. Mahsi.