Frederick Blake Jr.

I mentioned earlier today that ENR used to fund fire smarting in the NWT communities, but has since offloaded the burden onto the communities themselves. Why was this decision made?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize Rita Arey from Aklavik, my constituent and also vice-president of the Status of Women, also a retired social worker after many years of service. I thank you for that and all the work that you do. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources works with communities on plans to reduce the risk posed by summer wildfires. Implementing these plans is really important. We all know of communities where residents had to be evacuated when the fires were burning too close.

It is typical for communities to cut a firebreak around the community, which is a widely accepted way to reduce the risk to both life and property. Cutting firebreaks is especially important in our small communities, which have limited resources for fire departments, let alone capacity to take fast...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't think any of us here would like to see a carbon tax implemented in our territory as we have the highest cost of living in this country, alone. Mr. Speaker, I know that some of the Members are not supporting this. Like the Member from the Sahtu, I would like to see this proceed. This initiative, the federal government actually, I believe, sees that the territory has a small footprint on the carbon in our country, and they are willing to work with us. What is being presented is a far better deal than what will actually be imposed on us if we do not support this...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a couple of questions. I know the Minister had brought this issue up a couple of times, and the department has actually acted on it. The issue is landscaping around our housing units, mainly the driveways. A lot of these units, there's been absolutely no landscaping done since they actually built the units, which is sometimes 20, 30 years plus. Over time, there's been erosion to units, and it actually damages. Water and sewer trucks that have to deliver water, there are big pot holes, especially in communities like Aklavik, Fort McPherson, Tsiigehtchic. Especially in...

Will the Minister work with the housing Minister to hire staff to work in our elders' homes as a start?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our elders in the Mackenzie Delta are growing old gracefully. There is a high number of elders in our region, many of whom still live in their own communities. I would like nothing more than to have our elders reside at home in their elderly age, be taken care of, and have homecare when needed.

Mr. Speaker, we all know that there is a waiting list at the Inuvik long-term care. I can name many, many of our people who have gone there and suffered loneliness. Being away from their own home takes a toll on life. We need to have our own elders' care facilities in our...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a big list here.

---Laughter

No, that's good news, Mr. Chair. There are a number of units that come to mind, but moving forward, I will be sure to work with the department and get the ones that need it the most done, hopefully this spring. Thank you for that.

The other thing was, just under electrical, I know it has gone down quite a bit. I'm sure it's because of some solar power in cases like the Joe Greenland Centre, and I'd like to thank the department because our elders had to use heating, ceramic heaters, and any way to warm up that unit. I'd like to thank them...

That's good news. We are also looking forward to the opening of the elders' home in Fort McPherson, but we need a commitment. Will the Minister cost share with both ECE and Housing to ensure that we have a level of care on a daily basis in our elders' homes?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member's statement, I have a few questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. This issue is between many departments, and I think that it's time that we put all of our resources under one department. My constituents want to know why we can't have long-term care facilities in our smaller communities like we did in Aklavik at the old Joe Greenland Centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.