Debates of Feb. 6th, 2026

Thank you, Minister of Justice. Final supplementary. Member from Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These agreements are all good but being implemented is another thing. The community of Tsiigehtchic is holding meetings on their safety. They want to know what can be done. They're trying to work with each other to see how they can make this happen. Will the Minister commit to visiting the community of Tsiigehtchic and answer questions on the status quo decisions for a permanent RCMP presence within their community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to commit to visit the community of Tsiigehtchic to meet with the residents and the Member to discuss the policing challenges that they're facing. It would be my great honour. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Justice. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this time health and social services does not explicitly track that data, however, we are anticipating -- you know, and I think this is one of the areas that we struggle with within our system is that we're not able to pull that data, and we're hoping that -- well, you know, with the new electronic health record, that is an item that's been designated that needs to happen, is to be able to extract data from the electronic health medical records. So until that happens, then we'll be able to better track different types of data within our health system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that. It gives me all the more reason to ask for questions about electronic health records.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of health tell me if her department is studying the Yukon's approach to medical travel supports for NWT residents seeking fertility treatment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this time we are not contemplating that. The reason what we're doing right now is we are -- we are doing a system review of a lot of our health services and our insured services, our non-insured services that we are providing through the health sustainability unit, and so we need to complete that task before we decide to -- you know, to implement new services. Right now, the health and social services every year has a deficit and so trying to review and implement something new at this time is not something that we are looking at. However, we do provide medical travel. And I think I've mentioned this before, that we do provide the medical travel when it covers the insured services, like the diagnostics that need to happen that may be causing the infertility. And if there's insured services, if there's procedures that they may have that might be caused by this; however, it doesn't cover the treatments themselves at this time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Great Slave.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, yeah, I recognize going down the road of trying to capture all fertility interventions as insured services is not one that the health Minister is willing to do at this juncture. So I guess I am just asking her to be bold and in her process can she identify the potential costs for providing medical travel for a non-insured service and if that is, indeed, something that she will be looking at. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, you know, and I appreciate the questions on these, and I do have a running list of things that I have that I would really like to look into and to add to our system; however, the things that we are currently providing we do not even -- in some of the areas that we're providing them, we do not have the right amount of funding to do those programs as it is. And I know that this is important to many residents in the Northwest Territories and, like I said, I have a list of things that I would like to be able to bring forward; however, at this time, you know, all I can commit to is adding this to that list and making sure that it's on that list and that the department is aware that as we finish the health sustainability work and we look at how we're funding our programs and services and what programs and services that are important to the residents of the Northwest Territories that we can take a look at, you know, the other lists that the residents need. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Monfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for housing. Mr. Speaker, GNWT received various auditor general's reports, education, social program, and housing all gave a failing grade. With that in mind, Mr. Speaker, Tlicho region is in housing crisis with severe overcrowding in Tlicho communities. What immediate steps is the Minister of Housing NWT taking to build new houses in the Tlicho region rather than relocating families to Yellowknife. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. I think in terms of housing in Northwest Territories, again the concern in the Tlicho region is a concern throughout the Northwest Territories. We have 32 communities that we're providing housing for, public and social housing. We have over, like almost 3,000 units that we're providing supports to. With $150 million investment over the next couple of years, we're going to have a significant new build throughout the Northwest Territories and also mentioned in the capital statement we are repairing over 600 homes throughout. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware in all the NWT but the auditor general's report did mention Tlicho region with the highest need. We're in housing crisis. I am going based on the report that's before us.

So with that in mind, Mr. Speaker, the homeownership program is intended to help residents achieve stability yet many homes are in poor conditions and require costly repairs that low income families cannot afford. What changes will the Minister make to ensure this program supports success instead of setting people up for failure. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is an important program. We provide $10 million a year throughout the Northwest Territories for home repairs, seniors home repair, senior aging in place, emergency home repair. And, again, this is a program that's fully subscribed. With the auditor general's report and the notes in the auditor general's report, the recommendations with the report, I've asked Housing Northwest Territories to do a fulsome review of the homeownership program to see what we can do and how we can deliver this better because within the report, it talks about some caution and recommendations and some services that we need to do better. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the auditor general's report shows that housing issues have persisted for over a decade with little progress. How will the Minister ensure accountability and deliver a clear, measurable plan to address overcrowding, improve housing quality, and prevent this crisis from continuing for another generation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Work that Housing Northwest Territories is doing at this time, again like I mentioned a fulsome review, but we also need to look at all the programs we're offering in the Northwest Territories, in our communities, and with our local housing organization who are integral to housing in the community. So we need to provide them updated systems, more training, more monitoring, how are we allocating units, how are we working with the tenants to make sure that we have tenant succession plans in place, the work we're doing with our territorial housing needs assessment. Because we need to base this on data and statistics and also visits into the community to see the housing conditions ourselves. These are really important tools that we need to put in place. But there's an opportunity, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we have proposal that will go in with Build Canada Homes. And that's probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with the federal government, and it could change housing in the Northwest Territories. We could add more units, and we also could repair what we have. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions will be directed to the Minister responsible for the power corp. Does the Minister acknowledge that the three-and-a-half hour power outage at minus 25 poses a serious risk, an impact on families, public safety, and businesses? And if she does recognize this is a serious issue that has serious impacts, can she be specific as to what she's directing the power corp to do to mitigate these risks and impacts? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister responsible for NTPC.