Colleagues, I want to thank Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, for delivering our opening guiding words today.

This is the first time in history of our Assembly that we have an opening Hindu prayer. Mr. Zed has encouraged interfaith dialogue worldwide. He's read invocation in US Senate, the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC, and has been bestowed with the World Interfaith Leader Award. He was invited by the President of European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, for a one-on-one meeting to promote interfaith dialogue. He has been a panelist for on faith at inactive conversation on religious produced by the Washington Post and has been producing a weekly multi-faith discussion column faith focused since February 2011.

Colleagues, I had the honour of meeting with him this morning, and I quite enjoyed our conversation. So if you wouldn't mind, give him a big round of applause for being here today. Thank you.

---Applause

Ministers' statements. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to highlight a successful initiative that the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is supporting to remove hazardous waste from solid waste sites in communities across the Northwest Territories.

Over the years, I have witnessed firsthand how quickly solid waste sites can fill up with piles of debris and hazardous materials, including liquid waste that is expensive and complicated to remove. Community governments across the Northwest Territories have quickly run out of room to store this hazardous waste.

To address these historic stockpiles of waste, diversion and improvement projects have been implemented in regions throughout the territory. This work will not only free up valuable space in community solid waste sites, it will also decrease the overall risk of contamination to residents and our environment.

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs has partnered with 26 communities across all five regions to successfully access funding from the Government of Canada to advance this cleanup work. The work of implementing a cleanup clean-start program will also help us deliver on one of the key actions listed in the NWT Waste Resources Management Strategy.

Mr. Speaker, this important work began in 2023 in nine communities:

• Behchoko
• Fort Providence
• Hay River
• Fort McPherson
• Sachs Harbour
• Tsiigehtchic
• Ulukhaktok
• Norman Wells, and
• Tulita.

In total, over 600,000 kilograms of hazardous waste, including nearly 250,000 litres of liquid hazardous waste from eight of these nine communities has been removed, with waste from Sachs Harbour awaiting removal on a barge this summer. To put this work into perspective, this is enough hazardous waste to fill up more than six NHL-sized hockey rinks. It is clear, Mr. Speaker, that this partnership has made a significant difference at solid waste sites throughout the Northwest Territories.

The plan for this summer is to complete clean up in 12 to 14 additional communities throughout all regions of the territory with work remaining communities scheduled for 2025. As this cleanup work is completed, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs will follow up with community governments to make operational improvements designed to prevent future stockpiles and reduce waste. These improvements include more frequent compaction to save space, reduce fire risk, and help manage bear attractants, and also decreases the windblown debris. Other management practices, like improved waste segregation or regular removal schedules, will also prevent stockpiles from recurring.t.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, this coordinated project allows community governments to pool their resources and address a problem that is difficult for any one community to manage on their own. By building these partnerships with community governments and the Government of Canada, we can collaboratively address many of the challenges associated with waste management while enhancing public safety and environmental protection. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Ministers' statements. Mr. Premier.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to stand before you to commemorate a significant milestone for Inuvialuit and all residents of the Northwest Territories. This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement, a landmark event that we celebrate each year on June 5th as Inuvialuit Day.

Forty years ago, the Committee for Original People's Entitlement, signed the Inuvialuit Final Agreement with the Government of Canada. This historic agreement was the first comprehensive land claim north of the 60th Parallel and set a precedent for future negotiations of land, resources, and self-government agreements, not only in the NWT, but across Canada.

The Inuvialuit Final Agreement confirmed the Inuvialuit ownership of over 90,000 square kilometers of land, including nearly 13,000 square kilometers of subsurface rights. This agreement has been instrumental in preserving the cultural identity and values of the Inuvialuit people, enabling them to participate equally and meaningfully in the northern and national economy.

Under the agreement, the Inuvialuit received financial compensation and secured wildlife harvesting rights. The agreement also established the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the Inuvialuit Game Council, and ensured Inuvialuit participation on various co-management boards, safeguarding their right to be involved in decisions affecting their land and resources.

Mr. Speaker, the celebration of Inuvialuit Day is a reminder of the strength and resilience of the Inuvialuit. It is a time to honour the hard work and dedication of elders who have preserved and passed down their culture, language, and identity. It is also a time to recognize the importance of our ongoing partnerships with Indigenous governments.

As we commemorate this 40th Inuvialuit Day, we reaffirm our commitment to working collaboratively with the Inuvialuit and all Indigenous governments to build a future that respects and honours their contributions and rights. We look forward to continuing our journey towards reconciliation and shared prosperity. Please join me in congratulating all Inuvialuit on this remarkable 40th Anniversary of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Ministers' statements. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during a time of fiscal restraint it's easy to few arts as an extra, a nice to have when times are good but a budget line that should be cut when we're tightening our belts. Mr. Speaker, I think it's time we stopped viewing arts as simply a budget line. It doesn't need to be something that's separate from our real priorities, like education, economy, health care, housing. It can be a way of doing things and a way of approaching problems with more creativity, more humanity, more connection.

Art is more than something that professionals do on stage when they perform for the rest of us. Art is how we express ourselves. As groups, it's how we express our cultures. And as individuals, it's how we express our own unique identities. A healthy person and a healthy community incorporate art forms every single day through written and spoken stories, through songs and drum dances, through the clothing we make with materials from the land, through the murals that brighten up our public spaces. It's how we keep renewing our connection to the land and the world around us.

Now, our priority in this Assembly is to build up a healthy workforce. So I think we need to make sure arts are integrated into every stage of education and training. We all know that to teach young kids the alphabet you have to sing songs and tell stories, but even as we get older, we continue to learn better through the arts. It's more engaging, it sharpens our brains, makes us more creative in our problem solving, and it makes kids want to attend school.

If we want to develop a dynamic and robust economy, we need innovation and entrepreneurship, and that can only come from training our people to be creative. And if we're looking for competitive advantage in the global economy, our niche could be in high value cultural products, cultural tourism, film, art, telling our stories to the world.

In promoting mental health and combatting addictions, the most effective ways to reach people to inspire hope and self-confidence could be through arts and culture programs. In terms of our housing priority, there's a public housing complex in my riding which is full of boarded up units right next to a school. A local resident is spearheading a mural project to involve local children in painting those ugly boards. Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent just to conclude my statement. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So as I said, a local resident is spearheading a mural project to involve local children in painting up those ugly boards so the children who live in those units can feel pride in where they live and feel part of a community initiative. Mr. Speaker, we should not underestimate the power of arts in achieving this Assembly's priorities. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member from Range Lake.

Mr. Speaker, there's no comparing the recent surge of violent crime and drug activity in the North to any other moment in our modern history. Over the last year, my constituents and I have learned to brace ourselves when we check the local headlines because we've grown to expect a procession of drug busts, assaults, and murders each week. I know my colleagues in this Assembly and their constituents share this anxiety. The addictions crisis is reaching into all of our communities, and as the drugs flow in, the violence is never far behind. Violent crime and the drug trade go hand in hand. Total drug violations have increased steadily over the last ten years, and homicides have risen alongside them. These drug dealers are now bringing in guns, and they are certainly using them. In previous years, the RCMP would confiscate one or two handguns but last year they've seized more than 30.

There have been multiple homicides in Yellowknife this year alone where handguns were confirmed to be the murder weapon. I am pleased to see this Assembly is taking action. The new crime reduction unit has been described by the RCMP as a game changer because once it's up and running, the NWT will no longer have to rely on the federal drug crime unit for help. Instead, this NWT unit will be kept on the road, providing effective surveillance of suspected drug activity and prompt dissemination of information so they may quickly obtain the warrants needed to shut those illegal activities down.

However, there is still much work needed to be done here in this Assembly to support this new unit and the RCMP officers who put their lives to get this difficult job done. We need SCAN legislation so civil courts can pursue owners and occupants of homes who are facilitating criminal activity. We can't let anyone turn a blind eye. And there needs to be consequences, and the RCMP need to be able to quickly seize assets related to criminal activity. Housing NWT needs more tools as well. They can't just be waiting for a noise complaint when the neighbourhood knows there's something going on. We made some progress, Mr. Speaker, but we can't lose our focus. Let's keep working to give law enforcement the tools they need to keep our communities safe. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Members' statements. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I am joining many of my colleagues and will speak to the theme of housing.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that public housing can be a net good and benefit for our communities, but it must be supported within a framework that allows for collective pride and a cooperative approach. I also believe in providing smart investments into the maintenance of public housing such as retrofits and new builds as needed and where appropriate. But part of the problem here is that the fact that the federal government has continuously cut funding into public housing significantly since the 1980s. So it feels like Housing NWT has limited choices in front of them.

I also want to take the chance to share some insights that Dr. Julia Christensen outlined in a new book Housing, Homelessness and Social Policy in the Urban North. In short, the book's research finds that effective housing policies in the North must be contextually and culturally rooted. Moreover, Mr. Speaker, Dr. Christensen has spoken further in the media clarifying that Indigenous Northerners are disproportionately represented in those experiencing a lack of housing on their own homelands. This mean that is it is imperative to connect the contemporary issue of homelessness with the ongoing effects of colonialism because this issue is a social justice, human rights, and treaty rights issue all in one.

Mr. Speaker, our model and definitions on homelessness come from southern Canada so it isn't reflecting the realities of homelessness manifestations in the North. Dr. Christensen also states that homelessness does not exist on an island solely in urban centres but is, rather, interconnected to the dynamics of chronic housing needs in smaller communities. That interconnectedness also plays into the fact that NGOs in urban centres, like Yellowknife, do so much with so little to provide emergency housing. Mr. Speaker, we must provide these NGOs with consistent funding.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, not only do we need smarter investments into our public housing system, but we also need to provide consistent and annual public funding to the non-profit sector to assist in filling the gaps that our government is unable to fill on its own. I will have questions for the Minister of housing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Members' statements. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, before I give my statement today, I would like to join the Premier in congratulating the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation on their celebration of the 40th Anniversary of signing the Inuvialuit Final Agreement. And to my colleagues and friends in Inuvik, have a great day and I wish I was there participating today and flipping hamburgers with them. So have a great day up there.

Mr. Speaker, I too will speak to housing today. Mr. Speaker, long waitlists for NWT residents when assessing public housing is an ongoing issue that has been raised numerous times in this House. Housing affordability and adequacy are the biggest housing challenges facing the residents of Inuvik. When people can't afford homes or the homes are not adequate, they turn to public housing.

Mr. Speaker, we know there are many people who are on public housing waitlists and, in some cases, these people are waiting years to get into public housing, but this is not publicly reported in Housing NWT's annual reports.

The Minister of housing stated in this House in 2021 that Inuvik had 73 people on the waitlist. On March 31st, 2021, the Minister of housing tabled a unit status report. In this document, it notes that there are 239 public housing units in Inuvik and 226 were occupied. At that time, Mr. Speaker, there were 13 units sitting empty - 11 were noted as needing repairs and 73 people were patiently waiting for housing units to come available.

Mr. Speaker, on April 23rd, 2024, Housing NWT signed a collaborative agreement on housing with the Gwich'in Tribal Council. In this agreement, repairs and renovations are identified under possible areas of joint coordination. Mr. Speaker, this is encouraging news. I trust that through this initiative, Housing NWT will be addressing the empty units needing repairs in Inuvik and that there are policies in place that ensure the priority for elders and people living with disabilities to access these units, Mr. Speaker.

On a positive note, it is the trend that more Inuvik clients are accessing homeownership programs and, Mr. Speaker, if we can find a way to provide some economic activity in these regions and our territory, I am sure that that number will climb. But we must, Mr. Speaker, ensure that if we're serious about solving our housing crisis, if it is, indeed, one of our government's top priorities, we must ensure that the units we own are maintained to an adequate living level. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Members' statements. Member from Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the mid 1960s, the Executive Council was in place to somewhat govern the people of the Northwest Territories. The majority of residents were of Indigenous descent and lived a traditional lifestyle.

This so-called government decided to intervene on our independence and our strength as a nation. It stated that they wanted to make our lives for comfortable and convenient, so they started building public housing units. The Gwich'in people, who did not want their lifestyles changed, but the government officials were persistent in bettering our lives. Now fast forward to the new millennium, we, along with the rest of Canada, are experiencing a housing crisis with no immediate solution in sight.

Mr. Speaker, that was over 50 years ago and most of these units are still being occupied today, including the unit where I moved in as a 4-year-old boy. When we first moved into the housing units, it had no running water or proper washroom facilities that we take for granted today. So we still had our daily chores. The biggest obstacle that we had to adapt to was our heat source. Prior to public housing, everyone heated their homes with firewood, and today we are reliant on fossil fuels and having to deal with global warming.

Mr. Speaker, with the intervention of this so-called governing board, they changed our lives forever. The government owns the land within the municipal boundaries. We pay for the water that once flowed freely for our use, and we even pay for the disposal of our garbage.

Mr. Speaker, the Indigenous people of the past were deceived. They were verbally promised that if they stayed in these public housing units for at least ten years, they would own the units. Today, the descendants of these peoples are homeless, in arrears with Housing NWT, and are lost souls in a land that once was called home to the strongest and most independent people.

Mr. Speaker, now that we are in a housing crisis with the rest of Canada, the government of today has to involve the Indigenous peoples because we are the ones who are impacted the most. The community membership knows what their communities needs and who are the most vulnerable residents who requires the help. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, CMHC funding financial support for Housing NWT is not going to last forever. But when it comes to delivering on housing needs, this government is still stuck on status quo. CMHC funds for base operational maintenance for public housing is declining over year after year, going down to zero by 2038, but as usual this budget proposal just funnels more money into the Housing NWT and makes no attempts to plan for the future. This is the future where Indigenous governments have authority over their own housing needs, and this future is coming whether the territory government likes it or not.

2038 may sound far away but at the pace we are going in, we will reach that date without a plan. Without a plan to shift control of housing over to Indigenous governments means attempting to set up for failure and, in that event this transition only fails. The territory as a whole will suffer. Many are suffering already. However, public housing waitlists are too long, and the policies are not working.

The Indigenous governments in my riding of Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh know what works and what needs to be done and are waiting to get to work for their people, but instead they are forced to compete with Housing NWT for funds needed to repair homes and build new homes while CIRNAC funds for Indigenous governments goes straight into the GNWT pockets with little to no accountability. Federal, territorial, Indigenous governments need to start working together in housing for my communities and communities across the North, and the leadership needs to make that cooperation happen rests with the GNWT. In the long term, the government needs to outline how this transition will take shape and short term, and they need to deliver resources efficiently to housing in my communities and see an improvement as soon as possible.

If the government acts soon, I will know my community of Lutselk'e will lose out on ten housing units by the federal government this year because we're not able to secure funds for the territorial government to develop the lots they will be built on. With housing a top priority for this Assembly and this government, what a shame it will be to see those efforts go to waste. I look forward to questioning the Minister of the Housing NWT today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member from the Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the last sitting I moved a motion for the Government of the Northwest Territories to recognize housing as a human right. Mr. Speaker, I believe that housing is a human right because without housing, there's no foundation. Without a place to call home, there's no structure, no stability. How can we expect people to go to school, participate in the workforce, or raise their families, to live freely, if they are inadequately housed?

Mr. Speaker, acknowledging housing as a human right implies that the government has to implement policies and programs to ensure the right to housing for all residents within the shortest possible timeframe. It also recognizes that programs and policies need to address those in greatest need - the homeless.

The mandate of the 20th Assembly has prioritized housing. This government has committed to increase housing availability, to collaborate with partners and Indigenous governments, to reduce homelessness and increase sustainable housing.

I want to acknowledge the Minister of housing is working in collaboration with Indigenous governments to address the housing crisis, and this is very positive. Mr. Speaker, I believe the Minister of housing is moving in the right direction. However, Mr. Speaker, the federal government has recognized in legislation that housing is essential to the inherent dignity and well-being of a person, and I see no reason why the Government of the Northwest Territories cannot do the same.

Mr. Speaker, we should be able to acknowledge that without housing, our people have nothing. Our housing policies and programs should be measured how well we are achieving the right to housing for all residents of the NWT. I will have questions for the Minister of housing later today.

Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member from Monfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I spoke in this House about my concerns for elders, that we have elders in communities who are held into mortgages from the GNWT which they cannot afford. For these elders who are on fixed income, it's not just only mortgages but it's also public housing units that I am talking about too. For these elders who are on fixed income, once their file is transferred into collections, they are trapped with so little money - so little money they won't ever get out of housing debt.

The Financial Administration Act, the manual, provides guidance for consideration when forgiving or writing off debts. The main consideration is that the circumstances justify seeking forgiveness. The information bulletin 64.01, forgiveness and remission, provides further guidance on this. Under the information bulletin, it details that if a debtor is considered indigent, that is acceptable criteria for the government to forgive debt. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, this describes the situation of many of our elders. How is the GNWT assessing and determining when a client may not be in the position to financially pay the debt owed to the government?

Under 62 of the Act, a debt can be forgiven if the board considers that collection of the debt unreasonable or unjust or that it is otherwise in the public interest to forgive the debt or obligations. The GNWT can take steps to forgive debt to GNWT and the housing corp for elders and seniors specifically who are no longer in the workforce to alleviate debt when it has become unjust and unreasonable. I will have questions for the Minister of Finance later today. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Members' statements. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm going to join my colleagues in speaking to the theme of the day which is housing. I intend to put a bit of a different spin on it.

Mr. Speaker, housing is a priority of this Assembly and also one of the most pressing concerns of our residents, which many of us have been speaking to over the past few weeks. Some may not realize it, but the GNWT is actually one of the largest landlords in the territory. The government owns the land on which many of our residents' homes sit, especially in our smaller communities, Mr. Speaker. About one in three privately-owned households outside of the five largest communities in the NWT sits on a GNWT land lease. This is in comparison to just .4 percent of homeowner households within the five largest communities.

Mr. Speaker, Chris van Dyke is a resident of Yellowknife, and last month he handed in his thesis for his master of planning that he completed at the University of Guelph. His research explores this uniquely northern situation. The researcher found that more than $450,000 annually is charged for residential land lease fees throughout the NWT. Communities with a higher percentage of homes sitting on land leases also have a higher number of homes in need of major repairs. The researcher suggests that there is a need for more interdepartmental collaboration to address housing barriers and that land policies have to be a part of this consideration. The researcher advises that policy amendments are needed to facilitate Indigenous organizations' access to land and that the elimination of residential land lease fees in our smaller communities must be considered.

Mr. Speaker, the takeaway here is that since the GNWT owns the land on which resident homes sit, GNWT land policies have a direct impact on our residents' access to and quality of housing. Mr. Speaker, let's keep housing in mind when we consider land management and the policies around it. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Aurora College transition still is a concern in Yellowknife. It's a live issue. Mr. Speaker, we've heard from the chair, the president, and the incoming president about the unfunded transition, Mr. Speaker. This is serious stuff. Mr. Speaker, they're using their surplus just to keep the doors open on this particular issue and the lights on. Mr. Speaker, we need to ask ourselves the tough questions, why is this issue not being discussed? The Minister will say she talks to the chair all the time. Makes you wonder what do they talk about, then, if this never comes up.

Mr. Speaker, the president talks about incomplete work. She identified 200 projects that need to be done for the transition but that said, she said it's not done yet and they still have work to do but they're not properly funded to do this initiative. The president acknowledges the $8 million from CIRNAC. Thank you, Minister Vandal. Please send more. At the same time, the GNWT only gave $1 million, which was earmarked, as the Minister had said and the president had confirmed, for education -- BED, sorry, and social work. But that said, they have to use that for the transition. So they're finding ways to do this but, you know, they're scraping by.

Mr. Speaker, money needs to be dedicated for the transformation process. Why do I say this is so important? We don't have to go so far as looking to the Aurora College corporate plan. I'm not going to table it, but I'm sure it is tabled, Mr. Speaker. But the 2023-2024 plan on page 2 refers to the transformation into a polytech. It further goes on to the implementation plan. Oh, but there's more, Mr. Speaker.

On the 20 to 2023 strengthening and foundation planning for change talks about the, again, transformation. We don't have to look any further than just over a year ago on March 6th, 2023, then Honourable Minister Simpson, who was the education Minister -- and I quote -- committed to transforming Aurora College into a polytech. I could go on.

Mr. Speaker, oh wait a minute, there's more, believe it or not. Aurora College has an Aurora College Act, and section 6.1 refers to the mandate. Yesterday, the Minister talked about the mandate potentially discussed in July. Mr. Speaker, now's the opportunity to sharpen our pencil and write it clear and loud to the college that we are supportive of a transition from the college into a polytech to support Northerners, Mr. Speaker.

But lastly, it needs to be funded. They're just words until we see some actions. I look forward to some clear decisions today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Members' statements. Member from Hay River North.

Mr. Speaker, can you feel it, Mr. Speaker? Can you feel the excitement in the air? The NWT Track and Field Championships are back after five long years. And, Mr. Speaker, I am excited. I'm excited for the youth who have missed out on this event five years in a row. I was lucky enough to participate in many track and field events in Hay River, and they're some of the best memories that I have.

I'm also excited for the community. The track and field championships brings over 900 athletes into Hay River as well as hundreds of volunteers, parents, and chaperones. Mr. Speaker, the community swells in size by a third when track and field happens. It is the biggest event of the year in Hay River, and it's back. And I couldn't be happier. And so I want to say thank you to all of the volunteers who make this happen. I don't think people understand how labour intensive it is, and it's a labour of love, because we have some of the same volunteers who have been doing this year after year, decade after decade. And, of course, Mr. Speaker, I want to say good luck to all of the athletes and, of course, have a great time in Hay Riveria. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'd love to see you on the track there, Premier. Members' statements. Member from Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Mr. Speaker, today I want to congratulate the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation on 40 years since signing this monumental land claim agreement. I want to thank the current chair of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Duane Smith, and the board of directors on the work that they do to lead this organization.

I want to take this time to honour the many people who have worked together to make this agreement a reality 40 years ago today. Many of the signatories to the Inuvialuit Final Agreement have now passed on, but their families live on and thrive. The Inuvialuit people continue to be stewards of these lands passing on their culture and traditions to generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, the Committee of Original People's Entitlement Board, there was the late Peter Green, who was the president and from Paulatuk; the late Charles Hodak, he was the vice-president and from Sachs Harbour; the late Sam Raddi, director from Inuvik; the late Billy Day, a director from Inuvik; the late Eddy Gruben, director from Tuktoyaktuk; the late Bertha Reuben, director from Paulatuk. We still have with us Annie C. Gordon, a director from Aklavik; and Elsie Klengenberg, a director from Ulukhaktok.

But we cannot forget those negotiators that negotiated this agreement and who we still have with us today. Nellie Cournoyea from Tuktoyaktuk; the late Andy Carpenter, Sachs Harbour; the late Robert Kuptana, Ulukhaktok; the late Nelson Green from Paulatuk; the late Mark Noksana from Tuktoyaktuk; Rene Arey of Aklavik, who is still with us today; the late Agnes Semmler of Inuvik; and their chief negotiator, Bob Delorey, who I remember always in that room with his pipe.

Mr. Speaker, I can say that my political career may have been instilled in me at a very young age, but I didn't know it back then. What I now realize is the meetings that I witnessed in this small room two doors down from my house when I was about six years old, with no table in that room, just chairs, where they sat around with federal negotiators like a Sharing Circle. This room included these past leaders where they were ensuring and securing the future of the Inuvialuit people. So once again, I congratulate them on their 40 years. Quyananni, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Inuvik Twin Lakes. Members' statements. Member from Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today we are celebrating 40 years of the signing of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement. This agreement is a culmination of many, many years of negotiations by Inuvialuit who sacrificed their lives, time away from their families, time away from the land, from harvesting, from work, to see this agreement through.

This agreement's negotiation was born at a time when industry was knocking on the door in the Arctic, and government was opening it up. To protect our rights, our land, and the ocean, the Inuvialuit developed a negotiating mandate based on evidence which included mapping out our traditional land use and occupancy, Indigenous rights to the land, and co-management of the area.

Mr. Speaker, two elders we lost in May 2024 were very significant to the negotiations and the implementation of the claim. Mr. Robert Kuptana, a generous, kindhearted Inuvialuk, who was part of the negotiating team on behalf of the Inuvialuit, a signatory to the Inuvialuit Final Agreement, former IRC chair and CEO, a harvester, a hunter, a husband to Agnes, a father and grandfather, a Inuvialuk language expert who could speak three dialects of Inuvialuktun with ease. I wish to honour Robert today.

Also, I want to recognize Mr. Frank Pokiak, former chair of the Inuvialuit Game Council. Frank was instrumental in implementing the Inuvialuit Final Agreement. As chair of the game council, he was the lead in all co-management efforts and representing us globally. Frank was a harvester, a hunter, a tradesman, a husband, a father and grandfather. I wish to honour Frank today.

Over the last little while, we've lost so many, including Mrs. Margaret Klengenberg, Mr. Barry Jacobson, Ms. Nita Felix, Mr. Angus Himolok, Mrs. Maureen Pokiak, Mrs. Mabel Niyok, and Mr. Adam Wolki. God bless their families and prayers for comfort and strength today and all the days ahead. Their greatest legacy are their children and grandchildren.

I offer congratulations to Duane Ningaqsiq Smith, IRC chair and CEO, and the entire Inuvialuit team in celebrating 40 years of successful implementation of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement and governance of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, a corporation that's diverse, successful, and an example for many other land claim organizations. Quyananni, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Nunakput. Members' statements.

Good afternoon, colleagues. Today is going to be a very difficult time for myself as I say goodbye to a friend, who has been a big part of my family's life. Whether it was a boss to my son, bus driver for my kids, sponsor of numerous events and trips for the youth of the community, key driver of sport programs, businessman, you name it. Pat was that person.

Pat was born September 20, 1959, in Fairview, Alberta to John and Anne Rowe. Early on in his life, the family moved north to Hay River and this is when I first met the family. Finally in 1971, the family moved to Fort Simpson. Pat joined the navy in 1977 and travelled the world. During this time, he met Sandra, and they had two wonderful children, Becky and Michael. In 1983, Pat returned to Fort Simpson, where he started and grew P.R. Contracting into a successful business. As well, Pat was instrumental in helping improve the village of Fort Simpson's fire department. If this was not enough, he would be seen volunteering for the curling club, golf course, and supporting the community events wherever he could. Colleagues, I would like to share a couple of stories here today.

As people said, he had a big heart. I could tell you he hired a ten-year-old boy to work for him. My son was looking for a job but didn't know where to go and how to get one. I gave him a couple ideas and options of who he could ask, and he said that he would have to be there to go there by 8:20 in the morning. My son thought about it and decided to ask P.R. Contracting for a job. He got up early, asked me to drop him off at the shop and he would go from there. About 8:40, my son showed up to my office. I asked him how it went. He looked at me and said Pat doesn't show up until 9 o'clock, why did you get me up so early? After chatting with me, he took off to see Pat and that July morning, he started working for him. I have to say he spent the last at least 10 to 12 years working for that company and we much appreciate this mentorship.

Pat had a habit of telling stories, and you would think there was no way this happened or it had; it was that bad. A mutual friend told me that he was a storyteller but not the way you would think. As she explained, he would stretch the truth a bit. As I explained to her, that's how a storyteller operates. She said no, he downplays the situation as people wouldn't believe the truth. I laughed about her comment but didn't think about it anymore until I was a trip with him.

I can tell you it was a very interesting trip. However about a month later, he was telling someone about it. After the story was finished, I looked at him and I said man, I wish it was that good. Like most people in your life, we all have some amazing stories and I don't have enough time to tell you more. Therefore, I would like to have the rest of my speech deemed as read. I can tell you his passing left a huge hole in the community and the life of his family and friends. He will be sadly missed.

(Deemed Read)

It's difficult to explain in words the life of Pat Rowe. He can be described as a presence or role model; someone you want to be around and be like. He was liked, loved, respected, and is sorely missed by all that knew him. Whether you loved or disagreed with him you most likely respected him. He was often a source of wisdom and guidance and sometimes pure stubbornness.

Pat can be described in three categories: Family, Friend, and Community. All these areas he was extremely passionate about and defined most of what he was.

Family:

Family was always #1 for Pat, he never missed an opportunity to brag about the accomplishments his children, grandchildren, or nieces. No matter what was happening in his life he always took the time to call and congratulate when good news reached his ears, and let you know he was proud of you or happy for you. He could also be counted on to share any good news that came his way, sometimes if only to a cab driver in Edmonton because he wasn't allowed to share yet.

Pat never missed a celebration, milestone, or event. Whether it was stopping in for a quick coffee, planning a tow to be in a certain place at a certain time, or flying to another country Pat always showed up when it was within his power to do so. NO matter the personal cost, broken ribs, and all.

Story from his brother Perry:

Not a lot of people know this, but Anne and Connie were the ones who sent Pat out on his first ever roadside assistance back in the 80s.

It was Christmas, and Rick had not made it into Fort Simpson from Hay River at the expected time. So, the girls sent Pat, along with his swamper Perry, out on the Highway to find him. In true Rowe fashion, no road trip is complete without a stop at the store to get some road “pops”. Needless to say, Pat and Perry had a most enjoyable trip to Hay River without seeing Rick at all.

When they arrived in Hay, they called back to let the girls know they did not see Rick. To their surprise, Rick answered the phone. He was less than impressed, especially since he had hit the ditch, and had watched them drive straight by him talking and laughing without even checking the ditch line. Rick let them know firmly that he wished he had a 30-30 at the time so he could take out their tires!!

Well, with Rick safe, there was nothing left to do in Hay, except hit the store for more road pops and head back to Simpson. Pat and Perry clocked about 10 hours on their adventure, we're still not sure who paid that bill!

Friends:

Where do you start? Pat had a way of drawing people in. You couldn't help but be pulled to him. A natural storyteller. He held captive anyone who was near to hear, and this enticed them to get to know him better. Once you sat and had a chat with Pat you were hooked. He was always kind to strangers, often joking with whomever he ran into, front desk clerks, waiters or store clerks all fell for his charm and for that he was always remembered and treated as a valued friend when he returned.

He was as loyal to his friend as he was to his family, and in many ways his friends were his family. This is evident by the crowd gathered here today and the sorrow in which we all share. But Pat wouldn't want us to be sad but to be kind to one another and to support each other. Words that he lived by were "be kind to your people, you are nothing without people." These words were passed to him by his father and have been his motto for most of his life. Many of his friendships were built though a mutual love for hunting. Pats hunting stories were always adventure movie quality. He shared stories from his cabin in the mountains, up high on a plateau, or from in a boat on the river, each one as captivating as the one before. Pat was known as a good shot but the truth was, he was an excellent shot, and if the stories are to be believed he didn't miss.

Community:

Not 2nd or 3rd to family and friends, but equal was his love for his community. Pat never failed to step up and help the community in any way he could. He donated countless hours to the fire department, participated in emergency measures planning and during the recent flood, while battling cancer, on chemotherapy he showed up every day and donated his shop as a base for the fire department. After the flood Pat and his company provided garbage bins and removal to help with the cleanup.

Not only a firefighter also a volunteer and supporter of youth activities throughout the years. You may remember his starring roles in the annual skate carnivals, or seen him on the sidelines cheering his children and nieces on, or as the goofy bus driver taking the kids all over the country so that they could have the opportunities to experience new adventures and grow in their skills.

Pat was very much about youth. The first grade six trip involved him using a school bus. However, after that trip he was able to track down a coach, for the next year trip. Then he got another one, so youth from the community could travel down south for sporting events. As Shane tells, he did not do it for the money, because the first question he would ask was how much you have and then you went from there. This coach service expanded to other communities and lasted over 15 years.

He was often referred to as Uncle Pat and is part of many fond memories, I'm sure.

Pat also helped to grow curling in Fort Simpson, often recruiting new curlers and keeping the sport alive, he was part of the NWT Fire Fighter

Team for years and was part of the 2004 team when they achieved a perfect 8 ender! He was also one of the first sponsors of the 7 Spruce

golf course donating time and equipment to help lay the foundation of the course we see today. He would often golf and curl in out of town events, in 2006 in Fort Smith he also shot a hole in one! Regardless where he was, he could be counted on to bring the good time with him, and of course, making more lifelong friends in the process.

No matter how you met Pat you most likely share in our sorrow at the loss of a great man, a strong fighter, and a loving friend. We can all learn from the life of Pat Rowe. We can learn to be kind, to enjoy and celebrate all of life's moments, to hold our friends and family close and to show up whenever you can. I will leave you with some words by Carrie Hamilton:

“Our legacy is really the lives we touch, the inspiration we give, altering someone's plan - if even for a moment - and getting them to think, cry, laugh, argue. More than anything, we are remembered for our smiles.

The ones we share with our closest and dearest, and the ones we bestow on a total stranger, who needed it right then, and God put you there to deliver.”

Rest easy P.R you will be missed

From Roger Pilling

Pat Rowe has had a huge impact during his 40 years on the Ft Simpson FD.

Bit of history:

The Dept was established in 1963 and Pat joined in April 1983 when he returned to Ft Simpson after 6 years in the navy.

In his first week he stated the dept had 5 working fires. Pat could exaggerate a little at times but even if it was 3 or 4 that is a lot ):

In those days, equipment was limited. 1 fire truck and old backup truck. There were just 2 bays in the fire hall.

In 1989 when I joined there were still just 2 trucks with 2 bays and for breathing apparatus there were just 2 of them as well. There were still a few long coats and hip boots still around as well. But Pat had his own bunker gear that he “borrowed” from his firefighting days in the navy. You will see in some of the pictures he has very light-coloured gear compared to others as it was from the navy.

In the early 90's the FD had a keen group of firefighters that wanted to do more:

• • More training
  • Better equipment - more breathing apparatus
  • Vehicle Ex

Pat was a big part of that drive

1994 Gerry McCowan retired after about 20 years as chief, and Pat became chief. Under Pat, the department advanced their skills further and moved into more offensive operations. - going inside.

1998 The FD took over ambulance operations. Initially about 120-140 calls per year. Ambulance call load slowly increased until 2021 when 337 ambulance dispatches were recorded. Fortunately, the Last few years calls have declined, but are still significantly higher than the early years.

2004 Pat received the Queens Exemplary Service Medal for outstanding service.

2006 was the year of the FD “misunderstanding”. As the result of a $75 bill for snow removal Pat had resigned and things snowballed rapidly until the village council was removed and an administrator took over. After that the Village seemed willing to give us anything we asked for.

2010 we received a new Pierce Pumper at the FD. This pumper was Pats pride and joy. To this day that truck is still a great piece of equipment that any dept in the world would be proud to own.

2012 Pat steps down as chief and I was “lucky enough” to take over that role. Pat stayed on as Deputy Chief until his retirement in 2023 after 40 years. The FD is only 62 years old now.

2013 Pat started his battle with brain cancer. Unfortunately, cancer rates among FF is significantly higher than that of the general public. WSCC has put in place presumptive legislation for compensating firefighters who develop cancer.

Pat often talked about how he'd be coughing and spitting up “black stuff” for days after a fire. In those days with limited airway protection is is not surprising. Also it was a badge of honour to have the dirtiest darkest bunker gear in the hall. Little die we realize that this badge was a heavy concentration of carcinogenic materials. Fortunately, the fire service has evolved a lot to reduce (not remove) this threat.

Stats and highlights

Pat was a great leader. He always led by example.

As an ambulance attendant he was an amazing caregiver. He was calm and cool and was fantastic at keeping his patients comfortable and relaxed as well. He had that special gift that not many people have at their disposal.

Pat was part of the GNWT core team that completed 11 or 12 weeks of training over about a year to get their 10.01 professional level fire training. As Pat was a private contractor, he took leave from his business to complete this training. It was a huge financial cost to himself and his company. Pat felt this was important to help move training ahead for himself, the FSVFD and the region as Pat travelled to other communities to help them as well.

When doing research for his WSCC claim we found that from 1999 -2013 Pat did 617 ambulance calls, 300 fire meeting and 114 fire calls. He would have done a few hundred more fire calls and rescues prior to this in his early career.

Pat went to National Firefighter curling 8 times. As a team we scored an 8 ender (like a hole in one in golf) against Quebec in Quebec

In the past we had an air raid siren to signify a fire. The siren would go, we'd respond to the hall and then hopefully figure where we were going. A few weeks before I was married the siren went off, we all jumped in the backup truck where we would dress enroute... scarry really and headed out of town. We ended up at Gerry McCowans ranch and had a little party to celebrate my getting married.

When Tyler was doing records for the FD 60th year last year he discovered that there had been over 250 members had passed through the FSVFD during Pats 40 years.

Mellissa Woods

Over my lifetime — and especially the last two decades — I was blessed to have a wingman of sorts. A constant source of encouragement and support. A logical and authentic sounding board and my mentor from firefighting to truck-driving — and oh, do we have stories!

Of course, there has also been a significant amount of cutting sarcasm and pokes at my expense — that duty bestowed upon him by his late father in 1988. In the mix of cruising around Simpson, craft Saturdays, ice road crossings, bus excursions, winter road phone calls, emergency calls, hospital stays, and as many visits as we could coordinate, we did have some serious conversations about life; what ifs and what shoulds, reflections and regrets.

He called me in March, to chat one last time. At the end of our conversation, he said “Well Liss, I'm going to have to ask you to look after the girls again”. I'm not sure what my initial reaction was other than tears. I know I said I didn't want to do it without him... we said our goodbyes, and within 15 minutes he texted me saying he just bid a job for $6,666.66.

Then I thought, two decades ago the stakes were higher. The girls and I were much younger (and not near as wise as we are today, I'm sure) we were preparing to leave our little Simpson bubble once high school was done. So many changes and adventures were in store for us. And now, I look at them in their mid-thirties, and I remember John, Connie, Anne, and Pat and I think... I wonder who does more of the looking after — me of them, or them of me?

As today unfolds exactly as it should, with a coming together of so many friends and family of Pat's, I'm a little sad to not be there with everyone to celebrate this great man, but I'm blessed to have been woven into the family in all the ways that I have. We will carry on with our memories and make many more together.

Here's to PR.

In closing

I still feel this statement does not do him justice. However, how can you try to cover 65 years of a person life.

Pat passed away peacefully in his home (as he wanted to) on April 26, 2024, after an eleven-year battle with cancer.

Pat is survived by his partner Lee Scobie, children Rebecca (Kevin) and Michael (Melanie) grandchildren Jason and Jaina, brothers Perry (Jacky) and Rick, nieces Keri-Ann and Jessie, brother in law Ernie and countless cousins and close friends. He is pre-deceased by his parents (John and Anne) and sister (Connie).

Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Replies to the Budget Address, Day 7 of 7. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was first elected on February 10th, 2022, in a by-election, and I came to the 19th Assembly midway through the four-year term. Prior to coming to the Assembly and the 19th Assembly, the priorities were already set. The mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories was set. The mandate letters were all publicized and so, anyways, so I came in and thinking that I am able to try to help my constituents in the Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh riding. And I looked at the issues and concerns, I met with local leaders, and listened to what they had to say.

So back in the day, I brought these issues up to the Premier of the day, Caroline Cochrane, and I told her. I told her that our riding is not mentioned anywhere in the 19 priorities -- or 22 priorities and the mandate. And she told me that well, the train left the station, it's going fast, and I'll try my best to throw your luggage onto the train. And so it was tough because, you know, we have a lot of problems in our community. And so at the end of the 19th Assembly, none of my luggage got thrown on the train and whether it be on housing or education or winter road or ice road or anything like that. So there were 22 priorities that were set in the 19th Assembly, and I would say most of them that were worked on were achieved and I had a hand in some of them. But going forward to today, Mr. Speaker, I got to remember when we first got elected back in November, in 2023 as the newly elected MLAs, we brought forward issues from our riding but we all got together with the MLAs with the Circle of Aboriginal Leaders here in the Northwest Territories. And we were able to listen to everybody's concerns and issues and from there, in February of 2024, we met again as MLAs here at the ski club here in Yellowknife and to talk about setting the priorities of this government, for the 20th Assembly. And so we did that, and we came up with four priorities; four from the -- or 22 from the previous Assembly. And I thought that we did a good job in trying to identify, you know, what the needs were from listening to everybody throughout the Northwest Territories and also the leaders. And sustainability, accessibility, and affordability of housing is number 1. A strong economic foundation was number 2. Access to health care and addressing the effects of trauma. And safe residents and communities. Those are the four that came out of our discussions when we got together as MLAs going in to the 20th Assembly.

Now that the mandate letters, I am assuming it's going to be coming pretty soon, it is going to be publicized and now that we are six months into our term. And I look forward to seeing those letters. But, anyway, I just want to briefly talk about that.

But what's going on now, Mr. Speaker, is that I wrote letters to the finance Minister outlining concerns and priorities from my riding during the March 15th, 2024, and I also further put together another letter addressing what I think needs to happen with housing in my riding.

As you know, the Minister for Housing NWT, they have a policy in place when dealing with communities and homeownership and repairs, etcetera. And I heard it from my community members that those policies really don't work for our people in small communities. Either you owe money, or you have land taxes, or you make too much money, or you don't make enough, you name it. And so that was the problem. So I was able to put together a letter to the finance Minister and hoping that I would be able to try to get some of the priorities from my riding into the 20th Assembly budget. And so anyways I went through the budget carefully. It's a big budget. It's $2.29 billion. We're $1.6 billion in the deficit. We are about $1.6 billion that's coming from grants and contributions from the Government of Canada. My riding, we have 2 percent of the overall population that is for -- just in my riding alone but yet at the same time, the budget overall, we are getting point 4 percent overall that comes to my riding, and that's a little bit concerning. So, Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to point that out because it's -- to me, when I look at this budget and now that we go through the, what they call the business plans for all of the departments, they go in front of AOC, accountability and oversight. And we had a chance to review all the budgets and almost line by line, and what I see here is that this budget is coming from all the departments in government and coming from the deputy ministers defending the budgets of their department. And so when I go through this whole thing in terms of what is needed for my riding, I don't see nothing in this business plan because the deputy minister knows best what's for my community. So, going back to the 19th Assembly, we get 23 priorities. The 20th Assembly, we got four priorities. And I sent letters asking that we get probably -- trying to get into the budget but I don't see it.

So the other issue that I have concerns with too, Mr. Speaker, is that this government also announced that there's going to be a reduction, about $150 million a year for the next four years. And already I think it is just over $8 million dollars in housing they are looking a reducing. And it's going to be very hard for me to trying to understand that because yet, you know, we got priority is number 1 for housing but yet we're reducing our budget but then they -- until I see the mandate letters coming from this government, it's going to be very tough for me to understand how are we going to deal with the housing crisis here in the Northwest Territories? We got about 10,000 homes short, and we are nowhere near trying to fix this problem that we have.

And so I have been raising this in the 19th Assembly and also in the 20th Assembly. So I do have questions for the Premier on the plan as to how we are going to deal with this issue, but I am hoping to talk to the Minister about this again.

But, anyway, Mr. Speaker, when I go through the budget, the future for my riding doesn't look good for this fiscal year. I am hoping that maybe over the next two or three -- well, the second and third and fourth year, I am hoping that the Government of the Northwest Territories and Cabinet could really take a look at -- look at the letters I put forward and based on the feedback I got from the leadership in my riding and see what we can do to try to get that onto the next year's budget because, Mr. Speaker, small communities do matter. And to me, when I read this budget, it's geared for, you know, the status quo, nothing's gonna change but, you know, I want to see this change for all the communities in the Northwest Territories, for small communities, because we have issues on alcohol, drugs, housing, homelessness, you name it. We have to figure a way around this.

So, Mr. Speaker, I just want to touch base on housing just a little bit more. Right now as it is, between the housing budget of what we have right now with the Housing NWT and of $121 million plus the shared financial directed contribution to Housing NWT of $76 million, that's $197 million for this fiscal year. That's just to maintain the status quo that we have. But at the same time, Mr. Speaker, you know, for the life of this government, for housing corporation, by 2036 or 2038, that's 14 years from now, at that rate it went to $197 million times let's say for 14 years, that's $2.7 billion. And when I look at that, for the next 14 years, that's just to maintain the housing corporation as is, as we know it today. It's not addressing the housing needs of the Northwest Territories.

So, I don't know how we are going to address this problem, but I am hoping that we could continue to work with Cabinet and Indigenous governments to figure this one out, because we're in big trouble.

And what I don't want to see anymore, as well, there was an article in 2022 where the GNWT -- Housing NWT got $60 million from CIRNAC and that was to deal with the housing crisis here in the Northwest Territories. Instead, they turned that around and fixed up public housing units. And I fwas concerned because when I go back to Fort Resolution, the leaders, the Metis leaders, the chief will come to me and say Rick, what's going on there? They say well, they're competing with us because we're trying to apply for money too to fix up our housing units. And so I say I don't know. I don't know why, or. But anyway that's a big concern. So I am hoping that, you know, we got to put that aside and I think that we need to start working together. That's the only way that we could do it. But overall in this business plan that was put forward by the Housing NWT is that they want to put $50 million for the next four years into fixing up public housing. And just on the operation and maintenance.

So, this budget that was put forward, it was based on the deputy ministers from all of the departments, and this one here stood out to me. And I don't know, like I don't know if -- I have no explanation as to when CMHC is going to be cutting off their funding to Housing NWT for operation and maintenance but at the same time while that is happening, we brought ten homes from CIRNAC into Lutselk'e but we can't even get money for lot development. And then I go to MACA and they tell me oh, you got to take it out of CPI dollars. But Dettah, N'dilo, Lutselk'e, are not tax-based communities. Fort Resolution is a tax-based community but yet we can't even afford to develop lots in our community. But fortunately Housing NWT has been really pushing housing in our communities the best they can. But, also, they are doing lot development. And I don't know if it's in your budget to do that. So, you know, and I compliment the Minister on doing everything they can to try to deal with this issue, but it's a problem. And something that we cannot overlook.

So the big question is that, you know, going forward, how's Housing NWT going to deal with their units over in the next 14 years, what is your plan? How are you going to work with Indigenous governments? And it's important because we need to know. And the people are asking.

And so, overall, Mr. Speaker, I want to try to keep it short, but we have big issues. Like for example this year, we have MTS, the water is so low that we might not even get the ten units back into Lutselk'e this year. And the high cost of living in my riding is high. And I talk about the solutions by saying let's do a feasibility study on the winter road. Let's do a feasibility study on the -- probably extending the airstrip, etcetera. But right now, the high cost of living in Lutselk'e is high. And all we're asking for is to be recognized and be included in your plan so that small communities do matter.

So, anyway, I want to just mention that because it's frustrating for me because I am bringing these issues here. I do letters. I put everything on the table, send it in, and then when I get the budgets back to me, none of my stuff is addressed. Or even looked at. So going forward, I am hoping maybe next year or the year after, this government will look at the priorities of small communities.

So Mr. Speaker, I will be bringing this budget back to my chiefs and the Metis leaders in my riding, and I want to get some feedback on that. And I just want to let the government know that it's a big budget, $2.29 billion, and the last Assembly I brought this issue up too, as well, and we had six MLAs stood up and supported me on this motion. Where I stood up and didn't support the motion because small communities weren't included in that budget. And there were a couple MLAs from Yellowknife and all communities. So I am not asking them to stand up and continue to do that. I am just saying that, you know, there is a time and place that in this government we have to start recognizing small communities. And it's important because we feel the impacts in the communities. And you could see it just here in Yellowknife now, in small communities we are dealing with drug issues that is confronting everybody in our small communities.

So I do have a motion that I will be talking about later today. But overall, Mr. Speaker, I will just continue to -- I just want to bring this up from my riding and continue -- I want to work with this government. I want to work with the Minister and the Premier and see what we can do to address some of these issues.

So I will leave it that there, Mr. Speaker, and I will say mahsi.

Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Replies to the Budget Address, Day 7 of 7. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, although I have felt a strong sense of responsibility since the day I was first elected, I must say, the weight of what our territory is facing in the near future has felt heavier still as I have been considering the 2024-2025 Budget and the new reality of the Government of the Northwest Territories. At the time when our territory is most in need of investment in housing, education, critical infrastructure, health care, and climate change adaptation, amongst other things, our government is at the cusp of hitting its debt ceiling and has little to spend on any new initiatives. Getting older seems to accelerate with every passing year, Mr. Speaker, but I am still surprised to find myself wistfully looking back on the good old days of four years ago when the government had money to spend. Alas, here we are.

I have shared a fair number of specific comments on the budget and business plans already and will continue to do so during our deliberations, so I will keep my response to the Budget Address to high-level commentary on how the budget relates to our priorities.

Mr. Speaker, when I look at the priorities that we set together as a group and at the proposed budget, I perceive a disconnect. My understanding of why we set focused priorities was so we could direct our energy to what we and the public have clearly communicated are the areas requiring the highest attention and resources. The other side of that council, of course, is that we may have to do less in other areas in order to ensure resources are directed at the priorities. This is the very essence and purpose of priority setting.

I think it's important to explore how we got to where we are with this budget and how this has contributed to the disconnect, I'm speaking to. As the budget was prepared, departments were given high-level direction to implement the Fiscal Sustainability Strategy. This applied to all departments, and I think we've seen all make attempts at following it to a greater or lesser extent. Departments also took the priorities and looked at how their existing programming, or even some proposed programming, would help us work towards them. This is a fair approach for the departments to take individually. But what I don't think got enough attention was the high-level government-wide view across departments to look at the overall list of programs and activities we are engaged in, and whether the priorities necessitate shifts in resources or direction in order to substantively achieve movement on the priorities we set. By not doing this, we have arrived at a budget which has somewhat successfully began to implement the Fiscal Sustainability Strategy, and has also resulted in reductions to funding for housing, which is our stated top priority; education, which I believe is integral to a strong economic foundation; and health.

Looking at it this way, it seems evident to me that the top priority of this government is not any of our stated priorities agreed upon by caucus, rather, the Fiscal Sustainability Strategy is the number 1 priority of our government.

This may simply be the reality we have to face, but I suggest that if we had given more thought or time to better align our resources towards the priorities that we set, we might be able to better move towards fiscal sustainability and the stated priorities of the Assembly.

I want to turn to speaking to the individual priorities, what they mean to me, and what shifting resources to them will look like in my opinion. I'll start with housing.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to see NWT Housing looking to do a territory-wide needs assessment for housing, which I understand will inform applications to the federal government and other potential funders for funding towards addressing this key issue. I support this item in the business plans and would like it to lead to long-term planning and costing towards fully addressing identified needs over time as I have discussed previously. Where I think we are lacking, is in addressing the growing O and M deficit for this department and the declining state of our existing housing stock in the territory. This gap is why Members have brought forward the proposal to add $200 million to NWT Housing's budget over the next four years so that we can address required maintenance and upgrading of existing housing stock. If we do not do this, Mr. Speaker, I fear we run the risk of losing stock over time as quickly as we are replacing it, making it difficult to ever get to the point where we are fully addressing needs.

The next priority item I'd like to speak to is the strong economic foundation. Recently, the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment received a presentation from Mr. Graeme Clinton on his Eyes Wide Open Report, which discusses the upcoming closure of the diamond mines, what this will mean for our economy, and encourages leaders to discuss and develop a vision for what comes next. I consider my thoughts on this priority item the beginning of my response to that report.

Mr. Speaker, mining has for many years formed the backbone of the private sector of the NWT's economy, as is highlighted in the Eyes Wide Open Report. I think it is true that private investment and industry in the territory are an important component of a healthy economy and agree that employment, poverty levels, and economic activity are closely tied to social and health outcomes. I agree with Cabinet's mandate item under this priority to strengthen and improve efficiency in our regulatory system and am happy to make contributions towards that item with the experience I bring from working within the system.

I also want to focus on another aspect of our territory's relationship with industry that is highlighted, perhaps inadvertently, in the Eyes Wide Open Report and that I think requires our attention. As noted in the report, of 3100 jobs associated with this sector, 1500 of them have been staffed by NWT residents. The rest are staffed from the south.

While we did get around to establishing a heritage fund in this territory, it has been noted in the past to lose money some years and has failed to maximize long-term benefit for our residents from one-time resource extraction. So I would argue that we have failed to fully maximize the potential benefits associated with this sector to residents of the NWT by not investing more in education and workforce development and ensuring that we are adequately capturing royalties and saving them so that future generations can benefit from resources that they won't have access to because they have been mined in the present. What I don't want to see us do is double down on a model that has gotten us into the scenario we are in now, where we are facing significant economic hardship whenever industry ebbs and flows, or that there is significant economic activity happening but, despite this, many people are not in a position to benefit directly from this activity.

This does not mean I don't want to see us develop our resources. What it means is that I want to ensure that we are working to ensure we can do so in a way that maximizes benefits to people. To this point, Mr. Speaker, when I think of a strong economic foundation, I want to focus on the fact that ultimately people are the foundation of a strong economy. I would also turn that phrase around and state that people are also the reason to build a strong economy, and outcomes for the people of the Northwest Territories need to be the focus of our government. For this reason, for a long time, I have been advocating for significant investment in education in the NWT. I believe that we need to take a holistic approach to this and focus on improving outcomes for JK to 12 students and also round out our academic system by building a world-class Polytechnic University to help develop our workforce and diversify our economy.

In response to Mr. Clinton's call for leaders to work to develop a cohesive vision for the future of the Northwest Territories, I want to point to the fact that a number of northern jurisdictions, which have previously largely relied on mining, are successfully diversifying their economies and that development of universities, and the knowledge economy is a key component in that shift. We only need to look next door to the Yukon, which is realizing economic and population growth through a diverse economy, to see an example of how this could work here. While post-secondary education is just one component of the Yukon's success, it is where I want the focus to be because of the status of our own post-secondary development project.

I look at our territory in comparison to the Yukon, and I am incredibly concerned about the troubling news that Aurora College's transition to a polytechnic is struggling to come to fruition. When I think of the Member for Inuvik BootLake's comments about us becoming a have-not territory, I worry that if we fail to adequately commit to invest in and ensure that this project succeeds, it will be yet another step towards economic and social downturn in comparison to our thriving neighbor.

We also need to consider the opportunities we are missing out on by not moving forward with this initiative.

The federal government has invested millions in infrastructure and program funding to support Yukon College's transition. It is also interesting to note that NWT diamond money has gone towards building and funding universities - in British Columbia.

Mr. Speaker, Chuck Fipke, one of the discoverers of diamonds in the NWT, has donated $17 million to UBC over the years for buildings, equipment, and programming. Stewart Blusson, his partner in business, has donated $105 million to BC universities. By not having an institution to capture these kinds of investments, we are missing out. I find it incredibly frustrating to say that, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we are in a situation where we have to tell residents that if they want to attain a high-quality education, they have to leave the territory. We are heading towards a situation where we will be telling residents that if they want to realize a good career in a range of sectors, they will have to leave the territory. At what point are we simply telling people they need to leave the territory? Let's not get to that point, Mr. Speaker. Let's look to our neighbor's example and invest in our people and develop the foundation for a strong economy so people can look forward to a bright future here.

We need to come together and work towards a collective vision which sets aside regional squabbling and seeks to work together to realize benefits for our territory as a whole. I heard Indigenous leaders making this call at the recent economic forum in April and was excited to hear their unity. Let's ensure the territorial government joins them and helps to coalesce around a vision we can all be excited about and work towards.

Lastly, I will speak to health. Mr. Speaker, as noted a few evenings ago, I am happy to see the health department speaking to evolving and investing in our primary care system to ensure better and more equitable access to care. I campaigned on making this shift and believe that while it may seem like a modest goal, it is integral and the key to ensuring better health outcomes in our territory. As noted previously in statements, the omission I see in health's business plans is addressing head on the workforce and management issues in the system which have been causing so many issues that we've seen in the news. For those reasons, I support the recommendations for change brought forward by Members in our budget report, which speak for themselves and don't need to be reiterated here. I also continue to advocate that the health Minister consider the recommendation brought forward by the Standing Committee on Social Development to pause changes to the extended health benefits program.

Mr. Speaker, finally, I would like to speak briefly to a part of how we got to the fiscal situation we are in and its implications on our ability to realize our goals for the Northwest Territories.

Over the years, GNWT workforce growth has significantly outpaced that of the population growth of the Northwest Territories. This trend became particularly acute most recently. In the short span of the past four years, the GNWT workforce grew by 25 percent. Coincidentally, and perhaps it is fair to say consequently, we seem to be less able than ever to provide adequate funding to our NGOs, to infrastructures, to programs which support our residents most in need. Mr. Speaker, I think we need to consider a shift away from answering the problems we face by growing the government and take a more holistic look at how the government can best achieve results for our territory by working with and funding partners, particularly our NGOs.

I do not think we need to take a draconian approach to this conversation and certainly do not advocate for one. Rather, I suggest we consider long-term planning which seeks to minimize impacts to individuals but also seeks to ensure our resources are used strategically and effectively and not continuing to grow the workforce exponentially as we have been. I want to see us investing in long-term sustainability in our NGO sector, to realize the benefits they can help bring. Let's invest in the arts, Mr. Speaker. Let's invest in tourism. Let's invest in diversifying our economy so that we are not in a situation of fiscal uncertainty whenever the sole industry that we're relying on ebbs and flows.

In closing Mr. Speaker, if I can share one overarching message in my reply to the Budget Address, it is that I would like to see us to truly seek to put our resources behind the priorities we have set. As I have said before and as stated in the mandate, we need to challenge the status quo and be bold and decisive. We need to make a plan for what we are going to do in the short-term future to address the most immediate risks we are facing, make some decisions about what we're going to set aside for now, or not do anymore considering these priorities, and take swift action on implementing this plan. We can move quickly when need be, Mr. Speaker.

This government has demonstrated this ability in the face of several crises in the past four years. I think it would be ambitious to expect us to work as quickly as private industry but how about we shoot for significantly quicker than having plans in place two years from now or goals like developing a plan at some point within the term of the Assembly. Let's move quickly and let's be ambitious. Let's invest in our people, Mr. Speaker. They are the foundation of our economy, and they are the reason we are here. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Replies to the Budget Address, Day 7 of 7. Member from Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Orin Gwiinzii. Good day, colleagues. Today I would like to give my perspectives on the 2024 -2025 Budget of the Government of the Northwest Territories and how it will affect the residents of our communities. Although the government has to make some very difficult choices for the benefit of our immediate future and the continued lifestyle of all our residents who are dependent on the operation of our day-to-day well-being. We, as a government, and the residents of the Northwest Territories, must play an important role in making this budget work for all involved. Myself, as a Member of the Legislative Assembly, has always and will continue to fight for community-based programs where I feel fit. There are situations where I will have to side with regional or territorial decisions mainly for the fact that this is where some of these decisions have to be made. Mr. Chair, I will start with the department responsible for housing.

This, the 20th Assembly, has made housing its top priority. In 1967, the government came into our communities and stated that it would make our lives more comfortable and convenient to live. Although we did not find our lifestyle uncomfortable or inconvenient, we let the government of yesterday disrupt our traditional way of life. We have become too dependent on the government and we have to get away from this dependency.

It is evident that this government, or any government, cannot relieve us of the housing crises that we are encountering. The Government of the Northwest Territories cannot meet the housing needs of our communities now or in the immediate future. What we can do is work collaboratively with the Indigenous governments of our respective communities to try and come up with realistic solutions to this ongoing crisis. Financial resources should continue to flow to the communities because it is our community leadership who are the ones that are dealing with the housing issues on a day-to-day basis. I would encourage the department to continue to work with the communities on a regular basis.

The renting formula has to be addressed as soon as possible. The current rent scale is not working for the tenants who reside in the public housing units because of the high unemployment rate within the Mackenzie Delta riding.

Most of the employment opportunities are seasonal. With the current rent scale, most of the seasonal workers are getting into arrears with Housing NWT. There are situations where some of these potential employees do not want to work because their rent will increase, or they will not qualify for income assistance.

Mr. Speaker, the health and social services department is also on the minds of all residents of the Northwest Territories and we have to meet the needs of the residents in order to have a healthy and vibrant family, community, and Northwest Territories as a whole.

Addictions is plaguing our residents and our communities throughout the North, and we have to address the crises head on. I have always stated that in order to combat the addictions problem, we must include the whole family in the treatment process because it is just not the addict who requires counselling services. When one person is addicted to a substance, it impacts the whole family and therefore we must help them to cope with the treatment process and be part of the solution.

Mr. Speaker, medical travel and medical escorts is an ongoing issue that needs special attention. We find that there are clients who are elderly, illiterate, or have English as a second language going to southern institutions by themselves. The financial resources surrounding this concern should not restrict the clients from having an escort to assist them in receiving the best care possible.

I know that we are in a nursing shortage throughout the North, and we all have to play our part in adapting to this shortage. In our smaller communities, we must utilize the community health workers so that the clients are given the best care possible and that starts with these local workers who are all well known to these patients. Being able to administer medicine that has been prescribed is very important to the healing process of our elderly patients.

Mr. Speaker, income support has been one of my more concentrated areas of concern. In no way am I trying to punish the recipients of this program. The aim of my concern is to have our residents become more self-reliant and less accustomed to free handouts. There are people who require the use of this program, mainly the elderly and disabled. This group of people are identified, and I will advocate for their continued benefit from the income assistance program. But there are individuals who are able to work or conduct some sort of productive choice in an effort to get them back into the workforce and be a positive example to their families and to their communities. I have been an advocate in trying to find positive measures where the Indigenous governments can assist the Government of the Northwest Territories in developing programs where we can educate our people in becoming less reliant on the government and help the economy grow.

I am enthusiastic in the approach that this government is taking in regards to education. Education is the fundamental part of our communities in having a sustainable economy, a healthy community, and a healthy Northwest Territories. If we can do away with socially promoting our students, we will have a brighter future and this government seems to be addressing this concern. Building the self-esteem of our younger generation will enable the future generation to be productive leaders in the coming years and that tasks starts today.

I have attended too many graduation ceremonies where the celebration is merely a celebration, not one of completing one's grade 12 where they are eligible to move on to post-secondary education, not where these misled students are stuck in our communities with low self-esteem. It is time for this government to honour our treaties that were signed in an effort to provide the best education to our children, now and in the immediate future.

Having a sustainable economy will benefit everyone in the Northwest Territories for years to come. We have to include the Indigenous governments and the grassroots people at the community level. What works in Inuvik, Hay River, or Yellowknife may not work in the community of Tsiigehtchic because the residents of Tsiigehtchic will have their own vision. What we can do as a government is provide the communities with resources to continue to move forward.

Public safety seems to be a concern to the residents since the inclusion of hard drugs coming into our smaller communities. The RCMP are reluctant to assist where assistance is needed because they may not have the resources or may not have the training to address the issue that comes with the criminal activity related to gangs and drug dealers from southern parts of Canada.

It has been over 40 years since the MLA's of the Mackenzie Delta riding have been advocating for a nurse and the RCMP to be stationed in the community of Tsiigehtchic, and I will continue to advocate on their behalf. This government is initiating a community policing program in a couple of NWT communities, and it is my hope that Tsiigehtchic will be considered for one of these pilot projects in the near future. It is very urgent that we see the presence of these resource people because Tsiigehtchic is right on the highway system and alcohol and drugs are already in the community with no preventative measures to keep the residents safe.

In closing Mr. Chair, I am confident that this government will indeed make these tough choices for the benefit of all Northerners. I have a 7-year-old granddaughter and one day she may ask why I was a part of this process in trying to better shape her future, and I hope it was the right decision that we as a government are making today. We, as a government and MLAs, have to live with the decisions that we make today but it is the residents that we represent who will have to adapt to these tough decisions. I am confident that we can all work together as a government of this 20th Legislative Assembly for the residents of this great land we call home. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Replies to the Budget Address, Day 7 of 7. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the ideas and intentions behind this budget really resonate with me. Practical and realistic - that certainly is my style of doing things. I agree we need to pay down more of our debt and live more within our means.

We heard from the finance Minister that this budget is about value and efficiency, not just reductions. I do appreciate the thought that has been put into streamlining efforts of departments where there was previously overlap such as merging responsibilities for immigration and arts funding that were previously split between ECE and ITI and merging the technology services centre with information systems shared services. I am also excited about centralized mobile fleet management -- i truly am, yeah, okay. So we can make more efficient use of our large fleet of vehicles. I also agree that it's not sustainable or wise to tackle every problem by adding another GNWT position. We cannot solve our economic problems, including low employment in some communities, by hiring everyone to work for the government. Where I start to get nervous is when I get the feeling that each department is being asked to do more with less.

Now, some people imagine that the government is made up of lazy office workers so of course we should be asking them to do more. They just need to learn how to hustle like their counterparts in the private sector. But in my experience, when we ask everyone in every department to do more with less, the burden usually falls disproportionately on the shoulders of those who are already doing the most; those who are the most dedicated and motivated, who will always take on more because no one else will do it. And most of the burden ends up falling on the frontline service providers that we often take for granted, as well as the non-profits who take on some of the hardest frontline work that, frankly, no one else will do.

We demand more from our nurses and doctors who take on more and more patients in an emergency room that's bursting at the seams, who cover more and more shifts, and on top of this are expected to train a revolving door of locums and agency nurses.

We demand more from our teachers, who we expect to somehow improve attendance rates and graduate more kids even when facing classrooms where 80 to 90 percent could have language or learning disabilities.

We take for granted that the frontline workers at our non-profits, our shelters for example, will just keep taking more and more people into the shelters, well beyond their capacity, because they don't want to leave anyone in the cold. Meanwhile, many of those seeking shelter these days are under the influence of harder drugs than we're used to seeing before, there is more lateral violence, and yet shelter workers are supposed to manage it all with the same resources as before, or bounce people over to the emergency room or the police, which are also overwhelmed.

Now we see in the business plans that this government states it will help non-profits by pointing them towards funding from elsewhere. I suspect that might lead us to hiring another GNWT employee to write funding proposals for non-profits, which I would note is an example of exactly what we have pledged not to do, trying to solve each problem by hiring another GNWT worker. When the money that would have gone to a salary could just as easily have been given to the NGO to do the work themselves.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that this government is not a money tree. I understand that it is our role to make tough choices as the finance Minister has emphasized. But, Mr. Speaker, our frontline workers in many areas are reaching a breaking point. We talk about the fiscal cliff that we're trying to back away from but what about the cliff that our social services are teetering on the edge of? I am concerned this budget does not lead our health system or our shelter system away from that cliff.

Now, the message from the finance Minister was that this was never intended to be an austerity budget or cuts for the sake of cuts. The problem is that in each department's scramble to find things to cut, we tend to reach for the things that might ruffle the least feathers, the opportunities where we see vacancies or retirements. And that's not necessarily making the tough choices. It gets really tempting to scrap the things that haven't worked out yet, the programs that have turned out to cause frustration and conflict, things that now feel really annoying and we just want to be done with them. The problem is that in some cases we're giving up on important things that we actually need in the long-term even if we haven't yet realized the vision of what they are supposed to be.

A prime example is the transformation of Aurora College into a polytechnic university.

The money seems to have dried up for continuing the transformation process. And this budget is letting the Centre for Learning, Teaching and Innovation fade away even though that was where accredited programs were being developed, and we're reducing general Aurora College funding as well. Now I understand that everyone is frustrated that this project hasn't worked out as hoped. But this territory needs a high-quality post-secondary institution for so many reasons. We cannot let this vision die or get distracted by conflicts and rivalries between different communities. We absolutely need an institution where young people from the North can get recognized degrees in anything from teaching, environmental science, trades, Indigenous governance, film - things that would open up a world of opportunities for our people. We need an institution where we can do world-class research in northern issues like permafrost thaw, mining innovations, climate change adaptation, Indigenous culture and language revitalization, remediation. We need an institution that can attract students from around the world because we have something unique and valuable to offer.

This kind of institution can be an economic driver for the territory, both as a source of direct revenues in the form of tuition and research dollars, and as a way to produce a high-quality labour force. Mr. Speaker, we are so far from achieving that vision, and it's so tempting to put it on a back burner during a time of fiscal restraint, but it's now more than ever we need to make significant progress towards realizing the vision of a polytechnic university.

Another example of where we are scrapping something with an absence of vision is the proposed elimination of the Office of the Children's Lawyer. I understand there has been frustration with this office and uncomfortable relationships with other government agencies, but I would argue we need to step back and think about why we established this office in the first place. Our system does not always make decisions that are in the best interests of children, especially children in care, and we need to change that about our system. Now, there may be different ways to accomplish this so let's talk about that and get going. But this budget, unfortunately, creates an even bigger vacuum that takes us further from that goal.

We are trying to scrimp and save in health care but without a clear overarching vision of what we're trying to achieve, I believe that if we invest more now in staff retention and in health care workforce planning, we may see an increase to our budgets upfront during these main estimates but we will save vast amounts of money in the long-term because we won't see the huge deficits piling up and the constant requests for supplementary funds. We're failing to properly cost out our needs, failing to determine the right number of positions, the right composition of professionals to make up our primary care teams, but we hang over everyone's head in the system this scolding that they should be saving more money, that our system is too expensive. So managers try to skimp and cut corners, perhaps on staff benefits or not giving people the vacation time they're allotted, or we allow shifts to go unfilled, but then we lose our staff and then we scramble and then we end up paying far more by the end of the year for the agency nurses and locums to fill the gaps.

So this myth that we start out having no money is a dangerous trap, and it can lead us to these costly and short-sighted decisions. So instead our focus needs to be on building up value in the system, and the most valuable thing we have is our human resources.

Now, over the past few months, I had the privilege and chance to tour a number of facilities, the new Liwegoati Building in Yellowknife, the Children's First Child Care Facility in Inuvik, the Gwichin Wellness Camp, and I've been reflecting that we have invested a lot in truly impressive, state-of-the-art infrastructure. But have we remembered to invest enough in our human resources? Because we are struggling to sustain programming and actually staff these state-of-the-art facilities.

Now in terms of energy solutions, we are still all about the mega-projects. And then we encounter debacles like the insanely expensive Inuvik wind turbine system with its ballooning costs. And this might be enough to make us want to give up on renewable energy solutions entirely. Yet the most cost-effective steps are often the incremental ones, the small retrofits, switches to wood stoves and biomass heating. And I would propose a pilot project on renewable diesel, which I'll be speaking about later this session. But these are not the exciting mega-projects, so they're easy to ignore or reduce because few will notice that they're gone. The problem is we have failed so far to articulate a coherent energy vision. It just seems too overwhelming and expensive. And yet we always find money at the end of each year to subsidize our power corporation, to subsidize diesel through supplementary funding when our use skyrockets due to low water or the price of diesel goes up.

The common theme that I'm trying to point out here is that when we lack a clear vision and clear plans, it costs us more in the end. We need a clear vision for economic development, and I believe it needs to be centered around the how, not the what.

I do not think that it is government's role to pick which is the next industry that's going to save us all. The goal is to reduce dependency, to build up our human resources, and to ensure we don't have so many jobs and contracts going south.

Now, we've talked a lot lately about ending the dependency that stems from colonialism. It's important to remember that we need to both avoid dependency on government and avoid dependency on any one industry. We cannot hand over our fate to a handful of multinational corporations when their decisions are ruled by global commodity price fluctuations, boom and bust patterns, not to mention geopolitical games with China. I'm not saying industry is bad; I'm just saying we have to focus on things we have the most control over, and that is our own human resources.

Now, my colleague from Inuvik Boot Lake spoke to us passionately about being resource rich and cash poor. So we need to turn some of those resources into cash.

Now diamond mines were likely the best cash cow we could ever wish for, one of the few types of resource extraction that doesn't require shipping out massive amounts of material, which is obviously extremely expensive in the NWT due to our transportation and infrastructure challenges. Diamond mines were our chance to finally lay the foundations for real social and economic progress. But we have fallen short. We largely failed to seize the opportunity to make lasting investments in our children, in our education and health systems and, as a result, in our workforce. We cannot afford to keep making this mistake.

I also don't believe that economic diversification is the magic bullet that will save us, at least not when it means sprinkling seeds in every direction, hoping that something will bear fruit if we keep pumping government funds indefinitely into every sector.

I am encouraged that in this budget and business plans we will be developing a Macroeconomic Policy Framework, that the mantra now is not to pick the winners but to create an environment where northern businesses can flourish and be competitive. That includes ensuring housing availability for workers. It also means changing the way we structure our contracts, using our procurement power to help incubate northern solutions and innovations. The big picture of the economy basically comes down to what can we offer that the world is demanding? What can we offer that has a higher value and lower cost than anyone else?

I can't help but think that our best bet is to invest in our ideas, our cultures, our stories, which can attract investment in the form of a university, film, art, tourism. The areas where we face our biggest challenges in terms of our remoteness, the climate change threats to transportation and infrastructure, these also make us unique and so they present opportunities to come up with northern solutions, northern innovations, in partnership with researchers from around the world, and it's these kinds of ideas and innovations that we can be exporting.

So instead of starting by picking an industry, above all I believe we need to cultivate excellence in everything that we do so that we can develop things to offer and sell that are competitive not just in the North but in a global environment. The only way forward is to move away from dependence, from crutches, from excuses about how we can't expect the NWT to really thrive because of all the special challenges that we face. I do still have hope, Mr. Speaker, that we can cultivate a culture of excellence in government. That's how we will develop value and efficiency. So when things are going sideways, instead of making the easy cuts we need to go back to the drawing board, figure out why things have gone wrong, refocus our vision and redouble our efforts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Replies to the Budget Address, Day 7 of 7. Acknowledgements. Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm excited and proud to acknowledge Frame Lake resident Morgan Stabel who recently won the national youth bowling championship while representing the NWT in the senior girls division. Morgan is the top Canadian five-pin bowler in her category, and she is the first NWT resident to win gold at a national bowling event in Canada in 22 years.

Mr. Speaker, that is an incredible feat and an inspiration for all NWT athletes. Congratulations, Morgan, on your big achievement.

Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Acknowledgements. Member from Range Lake.

I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to acknowledge the incredible career of Range Lake's Jeff Seabrook who is set to retire after nearly three decades of inspiring and guiding northern students through his tireless service with Yellowknife Education District 1. Currently serving as principal of Ecole William McDonald Middle School, Jeff is known for his passionate support for French language education and has developed many outdoor student programs such as winter camps and canoe trips. In 2019, he was named as one of the country's best educators when he won that year's Learning Partnership Canada's Outstanding Principal Award. I know I speak for this entire Assembly when I congratulate him on his achievements, and we wish him all the best as he concludes that final stretch of his career and heads into retirement. Thank you, Jeff, for all your hard work preparing generation after generation for their lives ahead. You deserve all the best. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Acknowledgements.

Colleagues, recognizing the time, we will have a brief recess. A brief break.

---SHORT RECESS

Colleagues, oral questions. Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said in my Member's statement, violent crime in the Northwest Territories is on the rise as is drug crime. Drug seizures are up a hundred percent, I believe, and homicides are up more so than that. This use -- when I was growing up here, this was a very peaceful place. You know, we didn't see anything like this at the scale that it's happening now. Does the Premier agree that this is a crisis that needs to be resolved? Thank you.

thank you, Member for Range Lake. Minister responsible for Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't like to use the term crisis but, in this situation, the influx of drugs, the increase in violent crime, the influx of handguns, I think that we are facing a crisis. The reason I kept the Justice portfolio this term is because I've seen what happened in my community of Hay River, and I wanted to make sure that I was able to follow through on some of the initiatives that we began to start addressing this because it is a deadly serious issue. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Premier for his leadership on this. It is something I very much support, and I want to commend him for bringing new resources to bear. Can he just let us know how this new crime reduction unit is going to make a difference. The RCMP say it's a game changer. Can he speak to that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, you know, we see RCMP around the community. We see them around town out on patrol. They're responding to calls. And that's what they do. They don't necessarily have the time to go out and conduct investigations, to do surveillance, to focus on some of these drug-related issues because they are out doing their day-to-day work. And so the crime reduction unit is able to work in those areas where the other constables just don't have the time to do it and aren't mandated to do that type of work. So they will be focusing on drugs, bootlegging, which often go hand in hand, and working with the federal unit as well in terms of dealing with organized time. So this is a unit that's being put together to address the issues that we are facing in the Northwest Territories right now. It is being tailored to the issues that we're facing. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are expending the resources in this budget. We are committing to legislation in the future, but I think there are people worried about it now. When will they start seeing a difference in crime rates? When will they start feeling safer communities? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I wish I had an answer for that. This is a tough situation. Everywhere that I'm aware of, where there's a demand for drugs, there's an influx of drugs. There's a flow of drugs. And so until we address that demand, it's going to be very difficult to stop the increases in crime. But that being said, the Member noted that there have been significant increases in drug busts, in charges, in seizures of handguns, so we are seeing the impact of enhanced enforcement. Unfortunately, there's also enhanced crime. So it's a bit of a -- it feels like a bit of an arms race right now. And we are making an impact. And I appreciate the Member bringing this up and actually all the Members in this House, it's one of the few things that we can all agree on is the need for more enforcement in this area. And that's really a sad comment on the state of things, but I think that it shows how important it is that we do continue this enforcement and these enhanced efforts. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Justice. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, these efforts are largely designed, I think, to combat organized time. What are we doing about community policing to make sure there's, you know, reassuring community safety officers on the streets, providing that support at the local level, connecting with people, especially the unhoused population that make a big difference in Yellowknife. We have a pilot in Fort Liard. Is the Premier willing to bring that pilot into Yellowknife and into other centres, like his community of Hay River, so we have more presence on the streets keeping people safe? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ultimately, I would like to see an expansion of the community safety officer program. I can't comment on where such a program might be most effective. Right now it is being piloted in Fort Liard. And the program will be evaluated, and that evaluation will inform the types of communities where such a program would be the most effective. So we want to make sure we're getting the best bang for our buck. And so maybe it is a small community type of program, maybe it's for regional centres, it could be for Yellowknife. So that remains to be seen, but we are continuously lobbying the federal government for support for these types of initiatives. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Justice. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

All right, mucho gracias, Mr. Speaker. All right, Mr. Speaker, the Minister of education had mentioned in one of her comments yesterday that the most significant tool at her fingertips is the mandate that is issued to the board. And so the board I'm referring to is the Aurora College board. And she said the next letter is coming out approximately July and even the interim letter may or may not -- regardless, we're almost at July -- have the direction of the mandate of which tells the college to work towards switching to a polytech.

My question for the Minister is will the new mandate letter, issued in July or thereabouts, provide direction and instruction for the college to follow through on the transition so Aurora College becomes a polytech? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the interim mandate letter that was issued in the last Assembly by the previous Minister of education expires in July. So that's where the July timeline comes in, is that the existing one expires in July. So that project has been jump started by letter from myself to the board of governors, and that project is currently underway between myself and the board. And it is the intention that, yes, it will continue to outline intentions for the board of governors and Aurora College to continue along with their transformation efforts, but it is really a collaborative process that is done between myself and the board, and so we have to ensure that we are both in alignment on that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister define the difference between intentions and direction? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I could definitely provide a difference of definitions of the two. But the reason that I am saying that there is an intention rather than a direction is because I am reminded it is a collaborative process. I want to ensure that both of our voices are in it because we are both agreeing to something in it. But from myself, I do have an expectation that transformation is part of that mandate letter and is part of the marching kind of direction of the Aurora College as well. I think that this -- I agree with Members, this is a very important project. It has a tremendous amount of opportunity for the territory, not only to attract new students and new Northerners but also to ensure that we are continuing to build a skilled workforce for Northerners. Thank you.

All right, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that answer. According to Global University Systems Canada, it says Canadian universities represent a formidable economic force with far reaching impacts. Mr. Speaker, we can only get to that and achieve those types of things if this mandate for the transition portion is funded. Therefore, if it's going to be part of the marching instructions and directions, will it be supported with some type of financial support specific to transition? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to start off by just first thanking Members for continuing this conversation on the floor of the House and out in public as well because I do think this is a very important project, and having their voices lent to it is very important.

Mr. Speaker, while I am not responsible or accountable to the operations within Aurora College, I am accountable to the dollars that we as an Assembly approve for Aurora College for their running of their programs. When transformation was underway in the previous Assembly, it was agreed by senior management of Aurora College, as well as senior management from Education, Culture and Employment, that the funds for the Bachelor of Education and the diploma of social work would be repurposed for the purposes of transformation to be able to continue to fund that project to go forward. And so if those funds are not enough and are not being used for that purpose, then I would also have -- because of my responsibility to the dollars that are spent through my department, have the responsibility of going back to the college as well to ensure that they have the dollars that they need but that they are also spending the dollars that they have been provided with a form of accountability and, of course, positive return on investment for Northerners. So that is definitely a conversation that has to happen between myself and board of governors. And less than a week ago, it was the first ask for additional funding that I received from Aurora College. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Member from Yellowknife Centre. Final supplementary.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if I heard that correctly, that was the longest yes I've ever heard, or we'll find a way if it's not available. And the Minister's welcome to correct me if yes wasn't in there but that's certainly what it sounded like. It was difficult to follow, but I think I got it.

So, Mr. Speaker, once the mandate letter is drafted and sent, obviously in agreement -- I've listened to how the Minister chooses to proceed on this one -- would she be willing to make that mandate letter public? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Absolutely, subject to legislation, I'd be more than happy to make anything public to make sure that I am following the rules of the Northwest Territories but certainly I definitely agree in transparency, and I want to encourage and support the Member's desire to continue to stay afoot on the happenings over at Aurora College, the direction they've been provided, and also the timelines that they intend to adhere to.

Mr. Speaker, the reason why yes, was a little bit longer is because I've answered this question numerous times and want to ensure that I'm getting all the information out there because this is, I know, a subject of great interest to Members. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, before I give my question, I do want to have a quick congratulations to Minister Semmler and Minister Kuptana and their Member statements today and congratulate them on this special day as well.

Mr. Speaker, I spoke about the waiting lists and the issues around housing in my community. My questions are for the Minister of housing. The first question is how many vacant units are there currently in Inuvik, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Member from Boot Lake. Minister responsible for Housing.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently in the town of Inuvik, there are five units for occupancy that are in the process of being allocated, seven units with repairs in progress, and 14 units requiring repairs that have not yet begun. While officially we have 26 units vacant in Inuvik, five will be shortly occupied. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I thank the Minister for that information and hopefully we can get those repairs done sooner rather than later and that we have the funding certainly allocated to do that.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister provide the current number of clients on the public housing waitlist in Inuvik?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In Inuvik, like many other communities across the North, we have a long waitlist. In Inuvik, we have a total of 80 families on the waitlist, one-bedroom 52 families; two-bedroom, 17; three-bedroom, we have 8 families, and the four-bedrooms, we have 3 families. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, Minister Kuptana. Obviously, that speaks to the need, Mr. Speaker, that we need, you know, additional housing not only in Inuvik, and I'm sure that's, as the Minister says, throughout the territory, especially in our regions, smaller communities.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister commit to prioritizing housing for the elderly and disabled? I'm not sure how many of those families or how many on those lists for the one-bedroom are elderly or have disabilities, but can the Minister commit to prioritizing for disabled residents on the waitlist and elderly residents, please?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And this subject, with elderly and disabled residents, it's become a discussion item, a discussion point, throughout the Northwest Territories and with the Council of Leaders. So as part of the strategic renewal, Housing NWT has committed to ongoing policy and program improvements and will work with NWT Housing Forum to consider additional changes to the point rating system that may be needed. Housing NWT works closely with the Council of Leaders housing working group to update its policies in the 19th Assembly as part of the Housing NWT Strategic Renewal.

The current point rating system, after input from the working group, includes considering suitability, adequacy, and affordability of the individuals' current housing arrangements, as well as considering social factors such as victims of family violence, individuals with disabilities or medical conditions aggravated by their current living conditions, or those individuals who are homeless.

Housing NWT does design and maintain some homes that are designated for seniors or those with mobility/accessibility requirements and is currently delivering five duplexes to five communities across the Northwest Territories designed for specific clientele. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister. Again, it's important that we get this information out there and that residents understand, because myself as well, as I'm sure as many other MLAs, do get a considerable amount of phone calls on the issue and to get this information out there, I think is great.

One final, Mr. Speaker. The Minister signed a collaborative agreement on housing with the Gwich'in Tribal Council, which I think is amazing and it's the kind of work we need to be doing. Can the Minister describe how the department is also working with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and the Inuvik native band? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Housing NWT has shared samples of formal agreements established with other Indigenous governments for consideration by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. Housing NWT is committed to work with Indigenous governments through formal or informal arrangements. Housing NWT continues to meet with IRC informally and is working with them, for example on specific partnership project ideas as well as supporting them in securing land required for their own housing investments. This includes reviewing all vacant land buildings owned by housing and determining if those properties could be released to IRC in their communities or for their use. Housing NWT has signed a collaborative agreement with the Gwich'in Tribal Council and will work with them as well as the Inuvik native band and the Nihtat Gwich'in Council on housing priorities in their communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Housing NWT. I got it finally right. I said NWT Housing. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of housing explain what efforts Housing NWT is doing in working with communities to help curb homelessness across the NWT? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Minister for Housing NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Homelessness is a complex issue that requires an interdepartmental approach to provide a range of housing and health related wraparound supports. A Way Home, the GNWT's Homelessness Strategy, acknowledges this truth and has set us on a path towards integrated service delivery. Currently, Housing NWT operates two homeless shelters in Inuvik and funds shelters in Fort Simpson and Hay River as well as funding NGOs such as the YWCA, the Yellowknife Women's Society, and the Salvation Army, who provide services directly to the homeless population. Housing NWT also coordinates frontline training to NGOs and the GNWT Inuvik shelter staff to help build capacity for frontline staff who assist people that are experiencing homelessness. In addition, Housing NWT has also provided funding via the Northern Pathways to Housing for individual cases with wraparound supports. As the GNWT implements integrated service delivery, we anticipate enhanced collaboration and coordination with other government departments and agencies and eventually non-GNWT partners. Implementation of the integrated service delivery will include establishing five integrated co-located teams across the Northwest Territories that will initially be focused on supporting residents experiencing or at the risk of homelessness. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that answer.

Mr. Speaker, in the 19th Assembly, there was a commitment to create a hundred units for vulnerable persons in the life of that Assembly, which was noted to be the first expansion of public housing stock in decades. I thank the Minister for clarifying this past February that those units should be completed this summer.

Can the Minister please explain if Housing NWT intends to seek further federal funding to make similar investments into our public housing stock during the life of this Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So Housing NWT, as part of the GNWT federal engagement approach, will include housing as one of its top priorities for discussions on funding with Canada. Housing NWT will be focused on finding new sustainable long-term approaches to addressing housing needs. Housing NWT's supported by the other GNWT departments has begun preparations to engage with federal officials and will be doing so shortly now that the mandate has been finalized and released. The federal government, in its recent budget, announced a number of funding programs to address the national need for housing. A key interest of the GNWT and Housing NWT, in particular, is to understand these funding opportunities and how they can be maximized for the Northwest Territories for the benefit of the residents, Indigenous governments, and the GNWT. As has been stated previously, Housing NWT needs partnerships to address the housing crisis and that includes partnerships with both the Government of Canada and Indigenous governments as well as NGOs and other housing stakeholders. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I look forward to hearing more about that engagement once it gets going.

Mr. Speaker, I know the previous Assembly also worked with Housing NWT to review their policies in an all-encompassing way. Can the Minister explain if Housing NWT is considering the contemporary issue of homelessness through the lens of the ongoing effects of colonialism given that Indigenous people are disproportionately represented in those experiencing a lack of housing? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So Housing NWT did review policies related to homelessness and the disproportionate representation of Indigenous people experiencing homelessness in the 19th Assembly. One example of the changed included a homelessness assistance fund policy which now provides an extension for those requiring assistance more than once in their lifetime.

Approximately a year ago, the scoring criteria for public housing was adjusted to include a higher rate for those that are experiencing homelessness. We are currently reviewing other policies to see what changes are required and welcome any feedback Members may have. Under the Homelessness Strategy, other GNWT policies and processes will be reviewed with this important lens in mind. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that. I'm hoping maybe she could share some of that so we can give the feedback.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain what Housing NWT's relationship is in the day to day with NGOs who provide emergency shelter and transitional supportive housing to residents and whether any permanent funding arrangements or partnerships can be made between such organizations and Housing NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Member from Great Slave, two questions. Minister for Housing NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And from our perspective, we have a good working relationship with NGOs that provide emergency shelter and transitional supportive housing to residents. We are always looking for new funding opportunities both within and outside the GNWT and provide pathfinding support to these NGOs to access additional funding resources. Additionally, Housing NWT's staff regularly speak to the NGO staff related to other issues that they may have, including safety concerns and educational opportunities. When speaking to longer term or multi-year funding agreements, that is a question that requires an all of government response, not just Housing NWT. A Way Home recognizes the importance non-governmental partners have in addressing homelessness and specifically including measures to strengthen partnerships with this sector to ensure their sustainability and success.

In the business plan, Executive and Indigenous Affairs is committed to working to improve the relationship between the GNWT and NGOs and to working to better support the non-profit sector as a whole. There is much work to be done but we have reports like the 2023 advisory reports to build upon. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT.

Colleagues, we just went through 25 minutes of question and answer, and we've only gone through four people. Can you please keep your answers a little more succinct moving forward.

Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

I got 34 minutes. Thank you. No, I just wanted to maybe just ask the Minister that Housing NWT, the funding from CMHC's going to end in 2038, I just want to know what the housing corporation's planning to do between now and then in terms of their plans to deal with this issue on the decline of budgets.

Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister from Housing NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, yes, this is an issue that Housing NWT is concerned about. We have declining funding from CMHC. That's concerning. And basically this fund provides preventative maintenance on all houses across the North, Housing NWT units across the North. So in 2019-2022, Housing NWT entered into a multi-year bilateral funding agreement with CMHC that provided an ability to offset the annual decline of CMHC operating funding for the public housing program up to 2027-2028. Housing NWT will continue to work with the GNWT in engaging with the federal government on this important issue with the aim of securing long-term, sustainable funding certainty for the public housing program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we -- the Indigenous governments conclude their claims here in the North -- and there's still two outstanding and one being close to getting an ARP signed -- would the Minister on the interim start working with Indigenous governments to start making application to CIRNAC in partnership to address the housing crisis in our communities. Thank you.

So with the information I've been provided, Housing NWT does not receive funding from CIRNAC every year. In the 2022-fiscal year, the federal government announced a two-year funding allocation for Housing NWT to invest in public housing. This budget announcement was separate from the funding announced as distinction-based funding for Indigenous governments for housing. Housing NWT was very pleased to see that the funding going to Indigenous governments to support the housing needs in the Northwest Territories. Moving forward, though, Housing NWT intends to work in partnership with Indigenous governments when talking to Canada about funding for housing needs. Housing NWT will continue to work with each Indigenous government to make determinations about roles and responsibilities. Not all Indigenous governments are interested in taking on public housing, and they see a continued role for Housing NWT in their regions. Housing NWT recognizes the need to work with Indigenous governments and take their lead in terms of their role with housing in their communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister commit to working with the federal government to get more money for Indigenous governments to address their own housing needs? Thank you.

Housing NWT intends to work in partnership with Indigenous governments in advancing our mandate in priorities related to housing in Canada. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, as mentioned earlier, we got ten homes provided in Lutselk'e, and we're having issues with lot development. I'm wondering if the Minister of Housing NWT could look at that so that we are able to address the housing needs in our small community of Lutselk'e. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Lot development is primarily a community government responsibility, and funding is provided to communities through their capital funding that can be used for this purpose. Housing NWT has engaged with Municipal and Community Affairs as well as Environment and Climate Change to work on the issue of land availability for housing in communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Oral questions. Member from Monfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is for Minister of Finance, and I think Minister of housing can answer this as well, but due to FMB, I'll stick with Minister of Finance. The Financial Administration Act allows the financial management board to forgive debt owed to the government or a public agency where it would be just, unreasonable to do so. Can the Minister agree that it is not just or reasonable to require repayment of debt to the GNWT for elders that cannot afford their housing. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can agree because that is one of the considerations that is within the Financial Administration Manual that if an individual is indigent or in other words is unable to repay, then that is one of the considerations and could be one of the reasons for forgiveness or remission of a debt. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. Can the Minister commit to taking special consideration for elders specifically when reviewing GNWT policies that guide forgiveness of debt. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I did note before, again, that there are some considerations already listed, including the inability to pay. With respect to elders broadly as an individual category, that is not currently a consideration and would probably be difficult because of the multitude of circumstances that elders may find themselves in and defining who may railroad may not be an elder. I can say, Mr. Speaker, being a whole of government, I know there is the policy review going on over in housing that you've already heard about, and to the extent that there may be an opportunity to build in what appropriate considerations are when an agency as housing brings forward debt for management to the financial management board, then that may be an opportunity to see if we can better define what it is that the Member's hoping to see. That would be an opportunity for that. Thank you.

Yes, thank you. Can the Minister commit to reviewing the information bulletin 640.01, forgiveness and remission under the Financial Administration Manual to deal with this circumstance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is the document that guides what happens when first an agency or other department identifies a debt for repayment and then brings it forward for consideration. As I noted, the consideration does already include circumstances where an individual's indigent, so if there's a disconnect happening, if there's someone who's in those circumstances and is not finding their debt forgiven, I am going to commit that myself and my colleague Minister of housing will work together to make sure that if there's a -- something -- if there's disconnecting, we could speak to the Member about what's -- if there's something that's not achieving the goal here that we can in the course of work that's already happening in housing make sure that we fill that gap. There's been over $20 million already forgiven with respect to housing debts as well as other debts of this nature. And, again, with the indigent portion already there, I am concerned we're missing something, so I will speak to the Member further and my colleague and fill that gap. If you

Thank you, Minister of Finance. Final supplementary. Member from Monfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have any more further questions, but I will talk and meet with the Minister of Finance and housing later on. Thank you.

Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So my questions today deal with housing, but I'll direct them to the Minister of health and social services as they relate to a program that is split between the two departments. So there are really encouraging plans to develop a transitional housing program for those returning for addictions treatment, and the pilot will involve one in Inuvik and one in Yellowknife. So does the Minister know, first, how many spot are needed in Yellowknife as in how many folks in Yellowknife do we generally have at any given time who are returning from treatment and need somewhere to live to get back on their feet? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.