Thank you to the Member for his question. I will have to work with my department in order to make this decision, and I would like to work with each of the clients in the local areas and try to recover the debt that is required and try to understand why the eviction is taking place, but I would like to go forward and like to deal with these evictions on a case-by-case basis. I am open to further discussion.

In regard to the eviction process that we currently do have, I really would like to acknowledge the safety that is among the units, the public housing units, and the activity that carries on, but then, yet, we do have a high rate of outstanding debts that are carried by the public housing tenants. I am wanting to work with the tenants and wanting to work with the eviction notices and try my best to really exercise my department to use that as a very last resort.

Mr. Speaker, the Housing Corporation, eviction is the last resort. It could take about a year for an eviction to process, so the tenant has numerous chances to change their behaviour that is causing the problem. In most cases, evictions occur because tenants have been warned but continue to make disturbances that affect the other tenants.

Also, we carry a large, I don't want to use the word "debt", a large debt, I guess, like the return of income for our housing clients, and I am wanting to work with our housing clients, wanting to work in the regional levels, to recover that outstanding debt that our current public housing clients hold. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, the Housing Corporation will commit to working with Indigenous groups. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, I am committed to work towards our rental scale and looking towards to get people into their own housing units but also working in partnership with Indigenous groups. I am new to the position, but I am really for Indigenous partnerships and would like to see community-owned infrastructure.

The Northwest Territories alone has a majority of the housing problems and a majority of the housing issues in our territory. Right now that I have been through the briefings, I have looked and met with the department, a lot of the infrastructure that is there, the houses that are there, are not 100 percent owned by the NWT Housing Corporation, but then, going forward, I want to work with the report that has already been completed in the last sitting, and then I want to start working with the regions to establish a stronger front to come forward and to start working with our Indigenous groups, partnerships, and to see what the needs are, the core needs, in each of our regional centres.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The majority of our budget currently goes towards supporting one of every six households in the Northwest Territories with quality affordable housing through our public housing programs. One of our major challenges is to find funding so that we don't lose the units that we currently have. In our regional centres like Inuvik, we will need to work collaboratively with the municipal government and majority landlords in order to develop more affordable housing.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to rise today to provide an update to the House on the launch of the territorial-wide 911 system. On November 4^th of this year, the new NWT 911 service will enhance our ability to connect residents and visitors with emergency services such as police, fire, and ambulance.

NWT residents and visitors are now able to use the universally recognized number, 911, to access the existing emergency numbers in 33 communities of the Northwest Territories. NWT 911 is fully bilingual in French and English, and callers can be connected with interpretation services for NWT Indigenous and other languages. For callers who have hearing or speech communication impairments, technologies are available to ensure the service is accessible.

Mr. Speaker, the NWT 911 program service includes over-the-phone pre-arrival emergency medical instructions such as basic first aid. I can confirm NWT 911 has already provided life-saving medical care over the phone on a number of calls, including:

• instructions on what to do for a heart attack;
• how to address CPR;
• how to stop the bleeding from a serious wound; and
• telling callers how to administer Narcan for drugs and overdoses.

Mr. Speaker, since the previous government committed to implement 911, a great deal of work and collaboration has gone into making NWT 911 a reality. In 2019 alone, there have been several important milestones, including:

• the establishment of new legislation and regulations;
• the creation of an emergency communications centre;
• meeting with all community governments on emergency response plans;
• the recruitment and training of 911 staff; and
• the launch of a public awareness campaign to inform residents and visitors that 911 is now available in the NWT.

I want to thank all those involved in putting the program in place, especially the community governments, for their commitment to improving public safety and security across the NWT. Now that we have launched 911, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs will continue to monitor this initiative. The Northwest Territories 911 program includes ongoing quality control procedures, such as improvement and program evaluation to ensure the program continues to meet national standards and accreditation.

Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that NWT 911 is part of an integrated system that includes community dispatch services, first responders, organizations in communities, and volunteers across the territory. I wish to commend all officials and first responders for their work in keeping our residents and visitors safe.

Mr. Speaker, I am looking forward to speaking to the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight to provide a full briefing and update on the implementation of the NWT 911 program. I will be inviting all Members of the House to the 911 call centre for a tour of the facility.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, we will be lobbying. Thank you.