Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a friend of mine, Blake Noksana asked me to recognize his daughter here in the House today, Laila Noksana, who is one of the Pages. Also, I'd like to thank all the Pages for helping us through our session.

WHEREAS, Rule 89(2) requires that Members be appointed to the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Nunakput, that the following Members be appointed to the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures.

Mr. Kevin O’Reilly, the Member for Frame Lake;

Mr. Tom Beaulieu, the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh;

Mr. Shane Thompson, the Member for Nahendeh;

The honourable Louis Sebert, the Member for Thebacha; and

Ms. Julie Green, the Member for Yellowknife Centre;

AND FURTHER, that the following Members be appointed to the Standing Committee on...

I give notice that on Monday, February 22, 2016, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nunakput, that the following Members be appointed to the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures:

Mr. Kevin O’Reilly, the Member for Frame Lake;

Mr. Tom Beaulieu, the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh;

Mr. Shane Thompson, the Member for Nahendeh; and

The honourable Louis Sebert, the Member for Thebacha; and

Ms. Julie Green, the Member for Yellowknife Centre;

And further, that the following Members be appointed to the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures...

I don't think the Minister realizes the amount of money that's not staying in the community. Mr. Speaker, we're talking in the neighbourhood of at least $100,000 worth of employment that's being taken away from our communities. Usually when we have contracts like this we have, like, five people that are working in the community. Right now, the Minister is talking about one person that's probably needed five years down the road. What is the department’s plan, in the future, for our communities?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member's statement, I have questions for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. Through my last constituency meeting in the community of Tsiigehtchic, my constituents wanted to know why the Housing Corporation is planning to start bringing in modular homes. For many years, our residents in our communities have built the units in each community, so my question to the Minister is: can the Minister explain why the Housing Corporation has chosen to switch to the shipping modular housing units instead of building basic homes in our...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Tsiigehtchic is scheduled to receive two new public housing units. These units are much needed in the community as always. We are glad to see investments in adequate, affordable housing in our region. But community members are asking, where are these houses? There are only a couple of crates and blocking, and no one in the community has been offered a chance to work on these units. In recent years, the housing corporation has shifted away from stick-built homes to modular housing units that are constructed in the south and trucked or barged into our northern communities...

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice of earlier today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister mentioned about multiplex units. I hope they don't plan to ship these in as well. We have a lot of positive multiplex units that have been built in the communities over the last few years in our last government. I hope that the department stays on course on those multiplex units. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It sounds to me like the department is supporting taking jobs away from our communities, and that's exactly what is going on here. My question is why is the department not building these homes in our communities instead of shipping them from Alberta?

What will the Minister be recommending to the 18th Legislative Assembly to improve support and funding daycare centres and family day homes, especially in our small communities?