Alfred Moses

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was very proud to hold this summit up in the community of Inuvik, only because we have looked at some new initiatives and the way we do housing in the Arctic, especially with discussions around climate change. I think that this was the first one of its kind, in terms of where we had a lot of leadership right across the territory. We invited leaders to come to the forefront and discuss the issues.

We have identified four key outcomes in our report on the summit. I can, in due time, make sure that I can give the Members and the committee -- we did have committee there...

As I just previously said, we have a target of addressing 250 households every year, and we work with our local housing organizations to address any inadequacies, whether there are repairs, maintenance, as well as suitability and any issues that do come up. I know because I get those questions from Members almost on a daily basis. At this point, I think we are addressing the affordability, adequacy, and suitability problem. Being in the Legislative Assembly for the last two terms, the last eight years, I think we have made a very big impact on addressing core needs across the Northwest...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When the Member did make his statement, I was waiting for some questions earlier this week. I want to let the Member know and all Members that have an interest in housing, which is every Member in this building, that the NWT Bureau of Statistics has been conducting the 2019 core needs survey, and it should be ready for release in November of this year. In the past, I have given updates in how we are addressing the core need with various programs. Looking at the target of 250 per year, I can share with committee and I can share with Members that I believe we are...

I don't want to single out just the SPCA, here. There are a lot of NGOs across the Northwest Territories that do a lot of really good work on behalf of the residents and work on behalf of government. That is something that I think, because we are nearing the end of this Assembly, that the new government that comes in in the 19th is going to have to take a hard look at and see how well we fund our NGOs and our partners and stakeholders moving forward.

At this time, I can't make that commitment to say that we are going to be looking at any kind of core funding or ongoing funding. I think that is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ensuring that housing programs and services reflect community values and priorities has been a key commitment of this government. Implementing Northern Solutions for Northern Housing also means working in partnership with other orders of government to develop more affordable housing. To meet these commitments, we have been working hand-in-hand with local governments to develop community housing plans that will guide and support their housing aspirations.

Mr. Speaker, the community housing plan process is well under way, with 12 communities across the Northwest...

Yes. You know, you have got to look at the priorities for each community. Do you want sewage and water, or do you want a nice gym? You know, we are all elected leaders here across the Northwest Territories. Do you want safe water, or do you want a nice swimming pool? If I can put it in that context, then I will. You know, do you want a nice track and field, or do you want people provided with the essentials? You know, we talked about housing earlier today, and we just want people to have a roof over their heads, but, when we have municipalities that are asking for above and beyond what the...

I do apologize. You know, I did laugh, but, at the same time, it does not fall only on us as a territorial government. There has also got to be responsibility in terms of the priorities that our municipalities have in their communities. We made some big announcements today. We made some big announcements yesterday with the federal government, and we are addressing some of these issues, and they are big issues. In terms of the funding gap from our territorial government, we will continue to work with our partner, which is the NWT Association of Communities. You know, like I said, I do apologize...

We have had meetings with various federal Ministers across the board on funding for on-reserve, off-reserve. In terms of housing, we have worked with, I have said in the House before, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. They were successful working with ITK to get funding to do some work, and then they partnered with us to look at our capital planning and our strategy, and that came right from the federal government. That went to the national Indigenous organization. One of the, I won't say the "priorities," but focuses out of that summit that we did up in Inuvik was to bring all of our...

As I mentioned in a Member's statement in the House during a previous session, we did negotiate a $60-million carve-out of the co-investment fund. I would like to let all leadership across the Northwest Territories and other partnerships know that we can go above and beyond that and still put in an application to the federal government to access more dollars.

We also have a strong partnership with the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. We have been working with them to work with our local leadership and our Indigenous leadership to access that funding. We have been pushing that during...

I can't make that commitment at this time; however, I can let the Member know and interested stakeholders know that we have had these discussions with the City of Yellowknife and their officials, as well as the Chiefs of Detah and N'Dilo, and let the Member know that these are discussions that we are going to continue to have. In terms of the community land use plans under section 35, that is something that we need to get out there to make sure that everybody is on board should the boundaries change for this region or any other communities throughout the Northwest Territories. I want to assure...