Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister consider using the Trailcross building as a territorial aftercare and detox centre for the people of the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to speak again about the need for more aftercare and detox services within the NWT. This is an issue that I've spoken about several times throughout the 19th Assembly because this is an issue that touches everyone in the NWT in some way.

Mr. Speaker, I cannot speak to the subject without also bringing into the conversation the old Trailcross Treatment Centre for youth that recently closed in Fort Smith last October. As I've said previously that building is well-suited to be converted and repurposed to be used as some other wellness-based facility. We all agree that there needs to be more aftercare and detox services made available in the NWT, right? So given the strong necessity for that, why not consider the availability of that building as an opportunity to fulfill some work on the aftercare front as well?

Mr. Speaker, I believe it is in the best interest of all the people of the NWT for that facility to continue to be used as some sort of health-based or aftercare and detox facility. Overall, it's a great location and there's nothing physically wrong with that building that's preventing it from being used further.

I know that back in March the Minister of health said her department has done a preliminary assessment of Trailcross which, she said, had determined it did have some viable some life in it. I have yet to hear more details from the Minister about that.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I know that the Minister and I can agree on the fact that more needs to be done in providing additional supports to vulnerable residents in the NWT. And I know that there are many options that can be done with the old Trailcross Treatment Centre to ensure its continued use by the Government of the Northwest Territories within the community of Fort Smith. I know there's great potential to convert that building into a territorial aftercare facility. I still believe that is a good idea for all of us to consider because, once again, given the way that building was structured, it makes an ideal location to house both men and women clients separately under one roof. I will have questions for the Minister of health later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If a natural disaster occurs but only one house sustains damage from it, does the Minister believe it is okay to exclude the household from recovering any disaster assistance funds? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't think the Minister answered about the second part of that question; I'd appreciate an answer. It was especially in non-reserve circumstances, was the ending of the question. Mr. Speaker, could the Minister explain why under the new Disaster Assistance Policy, eligibility for assistance is excluded for an event affecting a single sector or property? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, if the home experiences two different types of natural disasters and sustains damages in both times, does that still limit that household to accessing disaster assistance one more time? For example, the people of KFN experienced a flood last year and now wildfires this year. How does this policy apply to situations like that, especially in non-reserve circumstances? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, under the new Disaster Assistance Policy, if a home was built in an area after it was designated as disaster prone, unless mitigation measures were taken to reduce the risk then disaster assistance is not eligible.

Can the Minister explain how many NWT residents live in a disaster-prone area? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'd like to recognize Dr. Sharma's Indigenous and global health research group with the University of Alberta. They're doing community visits in the North. And especially my friend of that group, Rachel Austry, Indigenous community project lead. And I'd like to say hi today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for my statement today, I want to speak once again about the Disaster Assistance Policy under the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, last May the Government of the Northwest Territories completed a comprehensive review of MACA's Disaster Assistance Policy following the NWT flooding in 2021. I initially agreed with that review primarily because the policy was outdated and needed to be modernized to account for the changing nature of natural disasters within the context of climate change. I hoped that the review would produce new results addressing some of service gaps that the old policy did not cover. But I was disappointed with the end result that came out last May.

First, Mr. Speaker, I suggested to the Minister of MACA on many occasions that the updated policy must be expanded and eligible to more people during unique natural disaster occurrences. I urged that the new policy must account for novel and extraordinary events that may occur in our communities, especially given the ongoing effects of climate change that brings a greater livelihood of extreme events. However, Mr. Speaker, I was disappointed when I read the updated policy which did not go far enough to help victims of natural disasters.

The first red flag was the definition of disaster, which read: An emergency caused by a natural phenomenon of unusual proportion affecting a large number of people which threatens loss of life, injury, property damage, and economic disruption.

The second red flag was the list of emergencies that may be eligible for assistance, which had no reference of tornados, which was odd because by now I'm sure everyone recalls the tornado that struck Fort Smith four years ago.

The third red flag was a section on excluded situations where disaster assistance is not eligible, which includes an event affecting a single sector or property. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to state that I believe it's been both MACA's policy, and lack thereof, combined with ineffectual policies within Housing NWT that have indirectly contributed to the housing crisis which is only being compounded by recent natural disasters in the NWT. Because if a wildfire burns down only one home in one community, then under the disaster policy they will not be eligible for disaster assistance. And the same goes for replacing or repairing a home built in a designated disaster-prone area and help will only be provided to a single property a total of three times.

These are facts that most people do not know about and should be aware of, and the Government of the Northwest Territories needs to make that very clear to communities and people who experience multiple natural disasters. I will have questions for the MACA Minister later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to begin today, I want to acknowledge all the residents of K'atlodeeche First Nation, KFN, and Hay River, who had to evacuate their homes due to the wildfires over the last couple of weeks. On that same note, I want to thank all the leadership and staff at the territorial fire centre, the Department of Economic and Climate Change, and all personnel involved in keeping our communities safe with the wildfires.

I also want to recognize all elected leadership in and around Hay River and KFN, which includes both MLAs Rocky Simpson and Minister Simpson, Mayor Jameson, Rest Point First Nation Chief Cayen, Hay River Metis Council Government President Trevor Beck, as well as my friend and a very strong chief, April Martel.

Similarly, Mr. Speaker, I want to strongly encourage all Fort Smith residents and all South Slave residents to remain vigilant. The NWT and much of Canada is experiencing extremely dry conditions and will likely be all summer long. So people must be very cautious as they light any type of fire, even cigarette butts. People must safely dispose of those and don't forget the South Slave has the largest trees and the thickest forest in the NWT. So we must care for our lands, our children, and communities, and take precautions this summer.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge the ongoing search efforts that had taken places in Fort Smith over the last two weeks in search of Frank Gruben. I want to recognize and thank the acting Salt River First Nation Chief Brad Laviolette who opened a search centre for Frank at the Salt River First Nation Conference Centre. I also want to recognize mayor Daniels and the officials at the Town of Fort Smith, and a thank you to the grand chief of the Gwich'in Tribal Council, Ken, for contributing funds to help in the search.

I also want to thank all volunteers who helped the search over the past two weeks, as well as the Minister of finance for granting approval of emergency leave for all Government of the Northwest Territories employees in Fort Smith to help with the search. And a thank you to the Minister of MACA for helping cover some of the costs of the search.

I also want to thank the off-duty RCMP officer and his wife who had helped search almost every day, along with the staff of the Aurora College who have helped with the search of Frank Gruben. As well as Northwestern Air Lease in helping Frank's mother and son get flown to Fort Smith at no cost. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize the graduating class of 2023 of PWK High School. Yesterday was convocation and tonight is their grad dinner. On behalf of Fort Smith, congratulations to all the grads.

I also want to thank all the amazing constituents of Thebacha for their continued support as their MLA. And I would also like to thank my family for always supporting me in my work, specifically my husband Peter, my sons Mickey and Jerry, and of course my dog Rambo. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.