Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A Strategy to Match Canada's Population Growth.

WHEREAS Statistics Canada's projects lower population growth from 2018 to 2043 for the Northwest Territories, at 9 per cent, than for Canada, at 25 per cent;

AND WHEREAS the Northwest Territories Bureau of Statistics projects that by 2035, the population will decline in 18 of 33 communities, including Inuvik (-407 residents), Fort Simpson (-233 residents), Fort Smith (-80 residents), Fort Resolution (-68 residents), Whati (-68 residents), Fort Providence (-64 residents), and Tuktoyaktuk (-42 residents);

AND WHEREAS over 6,300 dwellings, or 43 percent, in the Northwest Territories have an affordability, adequacy, or suitability issue, and upwards of 900 households are on the public housing waitlist, despite a stagnating population;

AND WHEREAS growth in Territorial Formula Financing, which provides an average of 70 per cent of the Government of the Northwest Territories' revenues, relies heavily on Northwest Territories population growth relative to Canada;

AND WHEREAS population growth of the Northwest Territories is one of the most effective ways to increase federal transfer payments and government revenues;

AND WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories' Mandate for the 19th Assembly directs Cabinet to increase the number of resident healthcare professionals by at least 20 per cent;

AND WHEREAS the Northwest Territories' faces acute labour shortages in the next decade, including 13,700 total job openings, 270 for nurses, and 140 for other professional occupations in health;

AND WHEREAS other Canadian jurisdictions are offering increasingly competitive publicly-funded benefits for healthcare workers, such as recruitment benefits and fertility treatments;

AND WHEREAS the Northwest Territories does not fulfill its annual immigration quota allotted by the Government of Canada through the nominee program;

AND WHEREAS the Northwest Territories offers one of, if not the most, competitive post-secondary student financial assistance in the country;

AND WHEREAS the rising cost of living, which is reaching 30-year high, can be reduced by increasing our territorial population;

AND WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories lacks a unified framework to sustain and grow the territory's population;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife North, that this Legislative Assembly calls upon the Government of the Northwest Territories to create a comprehensive strategy to match Canada's population growth;

AND FURTHER, that this strategy aimed to sustain the population of each community and grow the territory's overall population by 25 percent by 2043;

AND FURTHERMORE, that this strategy is linked with a goal to add at least 3,700 new homes, or 25 percent, by 2043 and an update to each community's housing plan to make this priority;

AND FURTHERMORE, that this strategy bring together existing policies, programs, and campaigns aimed at keeping residents in the North and attracting new residents;

AND FURTHERMORE, that this strategy include:

• an analysis of what brings people to the North;
• an analysis of what keeps residents in the North;
• a plan to address the increasing cost of living to keep residents in the North;
• an immigration strategy;
• a communication strategy to attract people to the North; and
• a review of business programs to help residents establish and grow their business in the North;

AND FURTHERMORE, that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a comprehensive response to this motion within 120 days.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.