Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Members' statements. Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, condolences to my residents in Nunakput over the last few months.

For Paulatuk, Fred Bennett, thoughts and prayers to his wife Mary. Fred Thrasher, too. Thoughts and prayers for Eileen and the family.

Sachs Harbour, Samantha Lucas. And thoughts and prayers to John Lucas Sr. and family. And Charlie Haogak Jr. Thoughts and prayers, his mother Betty.

In Ulukhaktok, Mr. Phillip Inuktalik, and his wife Lillian, thoughts and prayers to them.

In my home community of Tuktoyaktuk, thoughts and prayers for the community of Tuk, passing Lena Kikoak, and thoughts and prayers to Francis and the family. Laverna Kikoak, thoughts and prayers to Stanley. Joshua Gruben, thoughts and prayers to Sharon and Justin and to Josh's family back home in Tuk. And the loss of my brother.

Mr. Speaker, my little brother Gilbert passed away this week. He'll be missed by all of us and all who knew him. He was an awesome uncle to all his nieces and nephews, and he was just a good person. Like, in caring for everybody and helped everybody who asked him, but really quiet in doing so. He is going to be really missed by all of us, my brothers and sisters. Thoughts and prayers for all of them and his mom, to Donna, to Monica, to Sam, to Nicole, thinking of you, love you guys, and to all the lost loved ones, Mr. Speaker, thoughts and prayers for myself and my family and Nunakput as a whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput, our thoughts and prayers are with your communities and yourself, and you know we're here for you. Mahsi.

Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have all heard about the war in Ukraine and witnessed its impact on the news. In this House, we saw numerous Members donate to the Canadian Red Cross and the GNWT made a commitment to match the donations by NWT residents up to a maximum of $50,000.00.

Well, closer to home, our pharmacist and his wife were impacted deeply. Ukraine was their home country. In 2011, he immigrated to Canadian to start a new life. As the war broke out, they watched in horror. They had family and close friends living there So he started with a petition asking the federal government to facilitate visa requirements for Ukrainians that wish to come to Canada. As he was doing this, he witnessed the generosity of the residents of Fort Simpson. As he said, "In Fort Simpson everybody knows everyone and people knew we were from the Ukraine."

They had people come to their work or home to ask how they could help. Residents from the community gave what they could so they could help their friends and family back home. As this support was happening, the Village of Fort Simpson contacted them and asked them how they could help.

Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to say the community of Fort Simpson has two new residents.

On Friday, April 22, 2022, his friend and her daughter (his goddaughter) landed in Fort Simpson with just a few personal items. He and his wife were there to meet them at the airport and welcome them to the community. I have had the pleasure of watching him and his goddaughter walk past my home.

According to them, both are adjusting well. Last week, they reached out to the principal to get the daughter into school. As for his father, he has safely landed in Canada, another worry removed.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the residents of Fort Simpson, the village, the federal government, and others who helped them during this difficult time. As well, all Canadians who helped the country and residents of the Ukraine. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Nahendeh. Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Nunakput.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome my wife Jenny and my son Joseph into the House today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. I see Joseph is growing in to a bright young man. I remember when you first brought him in, he was just a little baby. Just goes to show how long we've been here. Welcome to the Chamber. Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to welcome Mr. Joseph Kochon who is from the Ayoni Keh First Nation of Colville Lake. It's always nice to see leadership from our ridings in attendance. I would just like to say thank you, Joseph, mahsi. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Sahtu. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd just like to recognize two of the pages who have been helping out this week, from Yellowknife North. Asfa Arshad and Jaedenz White. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize the pages in attendance today from the community of Great Slave, Gianne Mercado and Jozuard Mercado. I apologize if I have not said their names right. But it's really great to have them back and it's actually kind of strange because I'm not used to having people open the doors or bring me water anymore, so I do really appreciate their hard work. And I hope that they're getting a good experience. Thank you.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also wanted to recognize my constituent Ms. Natasha Takazo. Your work is very much appreciated and I just wanted to recognize her. Mahsi.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we have missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the Chamber and I hope you're enjoying the proceedings. It's always nice to have people with us in the Chamber. Mahsi.

Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These questions are for the Minister of MACA.

Mr. Speaker, last weekend, I saw a convoy of Samaritan's Purse volunteers and equipment arrive in Hay River to assist those needing supports to evade flood damage. Prior to the arrival of Samaritan's Purse to Hay River, the Hay River Metis Government Council, the Hay River Old Timers Hockey Club, and many volunteers have been providing that assistance.

Other than volunteers, can the Minister confirm what is being done to support abatement efforts for those properties impacted by flooding and who is covering the cost? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we lined up four abatement companies to get in there, into the community, as soon as it was safely to do so.

In regards to the cost, the GNWT government is coordinating emergency work with, and the GNWT will cover the cost for those who prefer to coordinate the work themselves, there's an opportunity to submit backup documentation and seek reimbursement for work through an eventual claiming for disaster assistance. But if they use the four companies right now, that will be covered by the GNWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, currently we have victims of the flood in the South Slave using up their savings while waiting on this government to provide some temporary financial assistance.

Can the Minister confirm what efforts are being made to assist those residents impacted by flooding with some temporary financial relief while they're waiting on assessments to be completed? Has this government identified funds to provide this assistance? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, advance payments can be issued based on the detailed damage assessments. So in other words, we ask the impacted residents to reach out to our pathfinders, register, then we get our assessors in there, and then we're able to do that. Then we work with the community members to make sure that they understand what we're doing, then if they need to go do an advance it takes seven to ten days to get it done. So we work with them on that there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the level of damage to homes and property varies from minimal water damage to the complete loss of one's home.

Will the Minister confirm if the assessments in some way be prioritized to facilitate timely financial compensation to those most in need? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Damage assessment reports are being provided by the assessment contracting to MACA as they become completed. So in other words, as soon as the assessors are completing their report, it's given to our pathfinders. From that time, the damage assessors are at the home to the time their reports are provided to the homeowners can take several weeks. We ask the people to be patient. We have seven assessors on the ground, and they are working hard to get this work done. But we also want them to take the required time that they need to go through with the assessment. So what we're trying to do is we're going as fast as we can. We are quicker than -- we learnt from our last flood experience. We have assessors lined up. They're working with people. As they register, we're meeting with them. We're explaining the process. So once the process is done, if they need an advance then we work with them on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.