Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question because she is speaking about the distinction-based funding. And once again, I hope my department is hearing me because I want to get an update on the working table between IRC and the Housing NWT.

What housing has done differently is they've repaired the relationship with Indigenous governments and with community governments as well. And the funding that the Member is speaking about, there was approximately $400 million that was distributed amongst the Northwest Territories to -- directly to Indigenous governments. My conversation with the federal government was if you're not going to fund the territorial government directly, please recognize our partnerships with Indigenous governments and, in respect, Canada had responded, and this is the response as to getting houses on the ground. We are working in collaboration with them as well too. There is an established working group. My apologies to the Member, I didn't get the update, but I will provide that to her separately. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question because this was a priority of mine as well too that I take right into my own riding.

We didn't have a very strong interest in people taking over their public housing unit and is not being able to afford those units as well too. I don't have the number specifically in front of me that, the amount of units that have been transferred over. But I know we did have some difficulty, and hopefully housing is listening to me right now so they can send that number over to me quickly so I could provide that to the Member. And also that, you know, I don't want to set people up for failure as well too, Mr. Speaker. I don't want to take too much of the Member's time but to be honest, a lot of our units are not in very -- in fair condition. We need to renovate them. We did get additional $60 million from the federal government, and in the next government we are committed to being repairing those units in the next Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. We did -- we do have a hundred-unit rollout that is currently underway right now.

Mr. Speaker, 47 of those homes in the communities are close to final inspection and would be available for occupancy. Another 14 of those units are being constructed and being delivered to various communities as well. And 17 are occupied today. 32 of those units are at various stages. And I would also like to include, Mr. Speaker, like, during the 100-unit rollout, we did have the supply chain issue, the delivery issue, our barge issue that has happened, COVID, and restrictions of people coming into the communities. Despite all of that, Mr. Speaker, we are still on time. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Tomorrow's a historic day in Canada acknowledging truth and reconciliation on Indigenous people across Canada and across our territory. Today I would like to recognize the Members in this House today who are the last residential school survivors. Yourself, Speaker Blake, MLA Jacobsen, MLA Semmler, my colleague Minister Archie, and myself Minister Chinna, and to our interpreters as well too that I could recognize, and I could just remember at the top of my head, is Sara Cleary, Therese Etchinelle, Lillian Elias, and Jonas Lafferty.

It's been a historic movement from our country, but I also want to acknowledge us as people, as Northerners, who are here today working to help and work towards the resilience of Indigenous people. I'm here today because my grandmother Jeannie Chinna survived, and my mother Martha Chinna survived, and also my foster mothers Peggy Day and Sherry Gordon both of Inuvik. As an Indigenous woman and a survivor, as to what the country calls us, we are here today.

We are healing. We are resilient. And I take most pride in this life and being a part of the opportunity to be a part of repairing us as a nation and as a territory. We are resilient. And to our grandmothers, we will make you proud. We are healing. We are still here. And when I show up, Mr. Speaker, I don't show up alone. I show up with the 10,000 Indigenous women that weren't here today. I speak for the ones that weren't able to speak for themselves. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, Housing NWT has been very successful in building strong partnerships with Indigenous governments over the life of this government, because we have cultivated collaborative relationships with them. This is particularly important with the large amounts of distinctions-based funding that flows directly from the Government of Canada to Indigenous governments for their housing priorities.

The Council of Leaders Housing Working Group, which played a significant role in the review of housing programs and policies as part of Housing NWT's Strategic Renewal has transformed into the NWT Housing Forum. The forum will be instrumental in moving the needs of Northwest Territories forward collaboratively. With Housing NWT, the Indigenous co-led forum has already met twice and is positioned to play an important role in promoting information exchange and cooperation between all types of Northwest Territories governments on housing priorities.

Mr. Speaker, another success that should be highlighted are the formal agreements that have been signed between our government and the Tlicho government, Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated, and the Deline Gotine government to address their housing needs.

These agreements are tailored to each Indigenous government and will build on existing intergovernmental agreements in place between the GNWT and those Indigenous governments. The agreements acknowledge the relationships and work already done and provided a framework for intergovernmental cooperation on the collaboration to develop and implement housing-related matters. Even if no formal agreement is signed, Housing NWT will make it a priority to engage and work with Indigenous governments across the Northwest Territories in collaboration is an approach to key priorities to providing better services to our communities.

Mr. Speaker, as a new way of doing business, Housing NWT recently collaborated with the Indigenous governments on the design of units for seniors and single-occupancy units, both of which have been in high demand. In November 2022, Housing NWT established a senior advisory committee through discussions with community leadership. The committee is comprised of seniors, elders, and those who have direct experience taking care of seniors. Meeting with the committee have provided excellent input on the design and improvement that can be made by Housing NWT to allow seniors to age in place in their communities. In units that better meet their needs, the highly collaborative process has allowed for input every step of the way. I want to thank everyone who shared their insight and experiences through this process.

Mr. Speaker, through the negotiated contract policy, Housing NWT has worked directly with Indigenous governments and businesses to construct energy-efficient housing units in communities across the Northwest Territories. Through this work, we are seeing more locals getting involved in construction, more businesses developing capacity in the residential sector, and more houses being built for residents.

Housing NWT, along with other GNWT departments, has approached all Northwest Territories Indigenous governments to discuss market housing opportunities. Our government conducted research to determine specifically the needs for each community, including the need for frontline workers such as teachers and nurses that presented their information to Indigenous governments as an opportunity to build units to support staffing in these communities.

With funding from the federal Urban Native Funding Program targeted at Indigenous clients, Housing NWT was able to provide the North Slave Housing Corporation with $600,000 for their repair program, supporting 75 units in Yellowknife that house Indigenous clients. The funding enables us to improve the quality of these units while also making them more energy-efficient.

Mr. Speaker, Housing NWT does not always have to be the lead in providing housing solutions. Over the life of the 19th Legislative Assembly, we have seen welcoming federal investment in direct funding to Indigenous governments for their housing and infrastructure priorities of more than $400 million. This funding, along with over $200 million that has been provided to the GNWT, will help address the overall housing infrastructure deficit in the Northwest Territories, and we are seeing Indigenous governments putting their funds to use across the housing spectrum, from home repair programs to market housing. Housing NWT will continue to support and coordinate with Indigenous governments as they put this money to use for their people.

Mr. Speaker, as I have said this before, no single government can address the housing needs of the Northwest Territories and communities. But by partnering and supporting other, Housing NWT can remain focused on improving the lives of residents most in need by using new approaches and finding new solutions.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank the staff of the Housing NWT for their collaboration and for their work on getting a lot of this work done in this Assembly. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

In favour.

In favour.

In favour.

In favour.