Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. It raises an important issue worthy of careful consideration by this House. I don't think there's anyone in this Chamber who doesn't agree that we're in a housing crisis and that stable, affordable housing provides a foundation for people's well-being and participation in society. The right to housing is the subject of international treaties, including the universal declaration of human rights and the international covenant on economic, social, and cultural rights. These are international obligations that fall within federal jurisdiction. In section 4, the Canadian National Housing Strategy Act speaks to the progressive realization of the right to adequate housing, which is the acknowledgement first that the right to housing has not been realized and, second, that it takes significant time and resources to move toward that state. This federal Act already applies throughout Canada. The federal government is the only government in Canada with the fiscal capacity and resources needed to help realize a right to housing. Under the national housing strategy, the federal government has been making significant investments in housing across Canada to aid with the progressive realization of the right to adequate housing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that. Second question is can the Minister describe discussions that have occurred at the NWT Housing Forum to acknowledge housing as a human right. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding is that the topic has been raised at the Council of Leaders and not specifically the housing forum. I am not aware of any direction from that discussion to pursue a separate and distinct naming of this right in the Northwest Territories as it is already acknowledged federally. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have question 3, but I have some things that added underneath there. So can the Minister commit to providing more outcome based measures in NWT -- in the Housing NWT annual report -- commit to measuring and reporting on the number of houses in core need by community and the number of homes brought out of core need annually. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So Housing NWT acknowledges it does not have the adequate data and measurement. Due to the lack capacity and resources, Housing NWT has not historically tracked the levels of data that are required in today's world to demonstrate the needs required. Housing NWT is embarking on work that needed to complete a territorial housing needs assessment analysis in collaboration with the housing forum, which we seek to obtain a better baseline understanding of the overall housing statistics in the Northwest Territories and will then look to keep that data up to date on a regular basis. We expect to start this work and complete the work in 2025. The data will be important for the GNWT and communities to know where there are housing needs in the Northwest Territories. The data will help the governments focus their funding on where needs are and help demonstrate the need to federal government where data is currently lacking. We will take the Member's recommendation into account while we look at this analysis, what this analysis will produce, and what can be reported in Housing NWT's annual report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member from Deh Cho.

Just more of a comment, Mr. Speaker. I just want to thank the Minister for that, and I look forward to that information. Thank you.

Oral Questions. Member from Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to turn to the issue about the proposed closure of the Fort Smith Correctional Centre; no one is speaking about that. And I want to talk about the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre in Hay River. My understanding is the most efficient way to operate our correctional system would be to have one centralized facility, and the largest one is North Slave Correctional Facility. So why wasn't the South Slave facility considered for cuts, if we truly are committed to saving money? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I explained in Committee of the Whole when I got this question about the budget, which is actually before Committee of the Whole right now, I stated that what is going on at the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre is an attempt by the government to institute a program that is not just a correctional program. It is a healing program and it is unique -- I hear lots of comments in the House about the need to rehabilitate offenders, to give them the tools so that they don't return to jail, or to a life of crime or to whatever activity landed them in jail. And so we want to see that through, and hopefully build upon the successes that we are seeing in that program. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So why can't thta program be based out the North Slave Correctional Centre? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know there's a desire by some to shut down all of the correctional facilities outside of Yellowknife, but the fact is is that the program is existing in the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre right now. To be the North Slave centre is not -- it's a higher security facility. It is not designed in a way that would be conducive to running that program. Given the size of the facility, we could shut everything down outside of Yellowknife and centralize it. And attempt to run the program out of there. But that does not -- it has not been determined to be the best approach at this time. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the only person who wants to shut down correctional centres is the Minister of Justice. It's not this Member. In fact I would rather see all of our correctional officers keep their jobs and continue doing good work for the territory. Is the Minister not looking at SMCC because it's in his riding? Thank you.

Oh, colleagues, that's cutting kind of close. Can we be very specific to what we are trying to achieve here, please. Can you rephrase that question. Member for Range Lake.

Mr. Speaker, did the Minister consult with community leadership, including the Chamber of Commerce, town council, the First Nations in Fort Smith before they made this decision? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the Premier is aware of how important jobs are in regional centres and small communities. Especially centres that provide a lot of employment. How is the government going to make up for the loss of jobs and employment in Fort Smith as result of the closure of the facility?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Options have been presented in this House. The Member has asked me about this during Committee of the Whole, and I have responded with answers. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of justice. Oral questions. Written questions. Member from -- sorry, Member from Range Lake.

No questions.

Okay, close.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up on the questions raised by the Member for Yellowknife Centre on the Aurora College transition.

In the media, it has been reported, there was a very prominent headline, it is a concern of my constituents that the transition has been paused. There is some confusion whether it is a pause, if it's a delay, if it's still ongoing. Yes, there's a new mandate letter coming, but what is the state right now and why are representatives of the leadership of the college start like saying that this is paused, this transition is paused? Thank you.