Debates of Oct. 29th, 2025

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. I know this has come up a number of times on the floor of this House, and I'm very happy to speak to it. It's certainly one of my more passionate areas that I'm trying to advance.

So to date, we have -- you know, we've proposed an amendment to the NWT land regulations to reduce the rent rate down to a dollar. We're currently working with the Intergovernmental Council Secretariat and Indigenous governments on this process. As recently as a week or two ago, there was a meeting of the technical working group where GCC took part in that discussion to ensure that, you know, we're trying to pursue this. And I've said on the floor of this House before, this is really a collaborative effort between the GNWT as well as all of the Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations and certainly want to respect that process, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I certainly appreciate the Minister is passionate about this. We've had obviously several conversations around this, Mr. Speaker. But when it comes to working shoulder to shoulder, when it comes to reconciliation, Mr. Speaker, this is low-hanging fruit. We should have this work done. This is now the second Assembly, and what I don't want to see is this moving into the 21st Assembly. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister give me a timeline on when we anticipate this work will be done and ready to proceed? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know this is going to be hard for the Member to hear. You know, I can't commit to a timeline because I really have to respect the collaborative protocol that guides this work. And, you know, it's recognized of value in achieving this work, but we can only get there through a collaborative process that ensures that we're respecting all parties, and there's not always necessarily perfect alignment amongst -- we have a number of Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations at the table as we go through this work and, you know, we want to ensure that we're respecting everyone's independent position and that we're collaborating and working together for results that are, you know, action-oriented at the end of the day and that meet everybody's needs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of ECC. Oral questions. Final supplementary. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Certainly, you know, the Indigenous residents and Indigenous governments I speak to are ready to get this work done. As I said, it is low-hanging fruit. Can -- you know, whether the Minister can commit to this but what I'd like to know from this Minister, are we working towards zero or nominal leases for Indigenous rights-based cabins and camps for harvesting in the Beaufort Delta? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, I think I've said this many times. My goal here is to have the Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations come forward with paths forward that work for everyone. And my goal at the end of the day is to have a zero-dollar fee attached to this. I think, you know, in the interim, we have the ability to move down to a nominal fee, which is as low as we can go, down to a dollar within the legislation. And I think that's our interim target as we work together collaboratively to find a solution to this once and for all and get that fee down to zero dollars. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of ECC. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is good to hear Housing NWT will accept all recommendation made in housing audit. Mr. Speaker, I assume accepting recommendation means commitment as well. With that in mind, Mr. Speaker, many of my constituents have asked about the possibility of having ownership of their market rental unit transferred to them. Has Housing NWT conducted any assessments or consultation with residents in small communities to determine interest or readiness for ownership transfer of market rental units? And if not, will the Minister commit to initiating this engagement? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the last year, Housing NWT has conducted a territorial housing needs assessment going into community to look at the quantitative portion but also the qualitative portion of housing units. We also follow the unit condition rating, and we do assess the market and public housing unit stock within community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my region market rental unit, despite the condition of the unit, tenants are paying $1,900 monthly in rent. So I want to ask the Minister what step is Housing NWT taking to support homeownership in communities where private housing market are limited or nonexistent and how will the department ensure that Northerners in these areas are not left behind in housing policy decisions? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. This question in her riding is a question in many other ridings because people want to be homeowners, they want to contribute to their household, and they want to stay in that community. So this is the conversation I'm having with housing, and I'm happy that the Office of the Auditor General raised this in their report because it provides us even more of an urgency to get this done. Homeownership program is going to have a fulsome review with Housing NWT and how we deliver that, and especially in small community, small and remote community, is really important. We need to provide them the same access to the ability to buy a home as any other larger centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I'm speaking I'm not only speaking for my region, but I'm speaking for the rest of the Northwest Territories. So there's a lot of people that are in the same situation. I know that.

So with all the recommendation made -- or with accepting all the recommendation, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to exploring a policy that allows long-term tenants in market rental unit, especially in small communities with no housing market, to transition into homeownership through a formal transfer of ownership? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, again, a really important conversation that we're having at Housing NWT is how we're supporting small community, how we're supporting people to remain in their community and to live within their community and providing those supports, and I do commit to working with Housing NWT to provide a good, solid review of the homeownership program and how we can deliver positive results. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For my first set of questions, I want to ask the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

Now, we know that a significant problem holding back the development of land and new housing in the city of Yellowknife, as well as broader economic opportunity, is the lack of an arrangement for timely and efficient transfer of Commissioner's land to the city of Yellowknife. The Minister mentioned earlier this sitting that there's a memorandum of collaboration in place with the city that allows this transfer to go ahead, but there remain a number of barriers that make it, practically speaking, impossible. So is the Minister pursuing targeted amendments to the Land Titles Act and related legislation that would simplify surveying requirements since this is currently a barrier that makes it prohibitively expensive? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of ECC.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, amendments to the Land Titles Act are not being considered by the Department of Justice for the remainder of this Assembly; however, we are working at the department and pursuing amendments to the Land Titles Act for the 21st Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I'd like to point out that the rules for transferring land from the Government of Canada to the GNWT are much simpler, and they still do require surveying, though, before municipal disposal. So what exactly is preventing the GNWT from using a similar model for when it transfers territorial land to municipalities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, devolution was a delegation of administration and control of Crown land from the federal government to the GNWT. Land administered by the GNWT is not titled to the GNWT but titled to the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, and that is federally appointed. Also, the GNWT is an arm of the Crown. A municipal government is not. And the devolution of administration and control authorities is not something the GNWT can further devolve. And I just wanted to point out as well that plans of survey are a functional requirement of the land title system, and that is mandated by federal legislation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of ECC. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So aside from legislative change, can the Minister commit to establishing a dedicated project manager within ECC to at least help coordinate interdepartmental and intergovernmental land transfer since even under the current rules, capacity constraints seem to be slowing down land transfer? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, ECC has a dedicated senior land administrator for land transfers and given the demand for land, ECC is increasing its capacity in this area to support this important work. And I also wanted to mention that -- and I didn't mention in my first two answers, but consultation is a big part of this as well. We do have a consultation requirement in this process that I was remiss in not mentioning earlier. You know, this is consistent with the government -- our mandate to support land for housing, and I think we're working toward that. And prioritizing all land applications for housing is an initiative all across the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.