Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS the right to have a home is recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as necessary for our health and wellbeing;

AND WHEREAS there are 15,000 houses in the NWT and one-fifth of them are unaffordable or unsuitable or inadequate;

AND WHEREAS this chronic deficit has not been reduced in the five years between the 2009 and 2014 NWT housing surveys;

AND WHEREAS the core housing need for Canada as a whole is 12 per cent;

AND WHEREAS Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation funding for the operations and maintenance of social housing is declining and scheduled to end in 2038;

AND WHEREAS there are 738 families and individuals on the waiting list for affordable public housing in the NWT;

AND WHEREAS our mandate for the 18thAssembly calls on Government to increase the availability of safe, affordable housing;

NOW THEREFORE I move, seconded by the Member for Deh Cho, that the Government of the Northwest Territories make a commitment to reducing the level of core need for all NWT housing by two per cent per year for four years so that we can meet the national average;

AND FURTHER that the government make investing in social housing a priority;

AND FURTHERMORE that the government increase lobbying efforts to restore CMHC contributions for operations and maintenance and that the GNWT organize its own spending to take maximum advantage of federal funds available;

AND FURTHERMORE that the government develop a comprehensive and fully costed strategic plan to achieve these goals and provide the plan to the standing committee on social develop at the earliest opportunity;

AND FURTHERMORE that the government provide a comprehensive response to this motion within 120 days. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.