Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a few questions for the Minister responsible for MACA as follow-up to my Member's statement. Although MACA did not play a lead role in creating our cannabis legislation, the department's role in working with communities is going to be critical if we want the NWT to respond successfully to legislation. I would like to ask the Minister: what is the department doing to support community governments as they navigate this changing legal landscape? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We have some time here, as we are not doing the O and M right now, but in my Member's statement I talked about the need for more resources for enforcement in our small communities. Can the Minister commit to reviewing the funding his department provides to small communities for enforcement purposes and to increase it where needed to tackle cannabis legislation?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it can sometimes feel like we've been seeing wall-to-wall cannabis coverage for months now. Following the federal government's decision to legalize cannabis, and then the GNWT's creation of its own legislation, Regular Members had a whirlwind seven months to review the proposed laws, research best practices, talk to residents, hold public hearings, and work on making the legislation the best it could be.

Mr. Speaker, I'm grateful that so many Northerners shared their views, values, and recommendations with us. Today, on the legalization day, we are breaking...

The Minister touched a bit on my next question, but I would like to ask: in the past, residents were able to put in sweat equity. Would the department continue with their past practices?

The Minister touched a little bit on the national building code, and, Mr. Speaker, because we have Wood-Mizers in both Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic, we have the capability of doing log homes in line with the national building code, so will the Minister support this initiative to provide log homes in our communities?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a few questions for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. Mr. Speaker, in the past, we have had some successful projects in the Mackenzie Delta, mainly Tsiigehtchic and Fort McPherson, with the building of three log homes, two of which went to private homeowners and one is now an RCMP residence. I would like to ask the Minister: is the Housing Corporation open to pilot projects in the Mackenzie Delta to build log homes? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, next month, after we have all gone home to our communities, we will see communities, provinces, and territories across the country recognizing National Housing Day. Since 1998, this has been considered a day of action on the urgent housing needs of many Canadians.

On November 22nd, Mr. Speaker, I hope you will remember this statement because, like so many northern communities, housing needs in the Mackenzie Delta are urgent, also.

I am talking about families on the waiting list for three years or more, with no end in sight, even with letters of support from...

I know we will see a number of changes over the next year, as I know there are a number of units that have not been completed yet but that are being built at the moment, but I would like to ask the Minister, Mr. Speaker, we need to represent these residents stuck in the housing limbo with some viable options. How will the Housing Corporation take action to rescue these residents from the waiting list?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in follow up to my Member's statement, I have two questions for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister: how is the Housing Corporation planning to increase housing stock in the Mackenzie Delta communities over the rest of the 18th Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My next question asks maybe a little too much detail, but I will ask it anyway. I am a Member of the Standing Committee on Social Development, and that committee has often spoken with the Minister of the territory's long waiting list for housing. I want to ask the Minister: how many people have been on the waiting list for more than two years?