Frieda Martselos

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Health explain why the Department of Health is not renewing the current contractor and where they are not seeking any new contractors to keep the Trailcross Treatment Centre open? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I just want to thank Madam Chair, I just want to thank the Minister for her comments. I'm a big supporter of the Taltson expansion in the South Slave because it's good energy and it's going to be shared with also the residents of Yellowknife and other communities, and I look forward to a successful project. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, over the course of this term, I have spoken several times about a pair of constituents of mine who endured a natural disaster.

In June of 2019, a house in Fort Smith was destroyed and written off because a tornado had struck the community. Fortunately, the damage was not widespread; however, one elderly couple lost their home. This natural disaster has caused much stress and financial hardship for this family, and they have continued to have frustrating experiences in their dealings with Housing NWT.

Madam Speaker, I recently met with this family again...

Madam Speaker, will the Minister commit to initiate the process of an independent oversight into my constituents' housing situation, to understand all information regarding the rental agreement they have with Housing NWT, and fix this unnecessary situation for two elders who should not be penalized by this government? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker, can the Minister explain the reasoning why a destroyed and unlivable house would be used against someone who is applying to public housing? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker, I'd like to recognize two of the pages from Thebacha here today, whom I'd like to recognize. Their names are Bowan Kent and Noah LeroyGauthier. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker, can the Minister explain why Housing NWT had failed to reach out to my constituents once their destroyed home was sold and the property it sat on was sold so they could adjust their rental agreement and enter public housing? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, can the Minister of Housing NWT explain why constituents would receive inconsistent information from officials at the South Slave district office versus officials at the local housing authority in Fort Smith? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. 32 communities are not at this table to vote for this budget, though. Okay. It comes through us that and we represent the people out there. And, you know, I just want to make sure that those gaps are looked at seriously because when you go around the communities and regional centres, there's a lot of infrastructure that is lacking. The municipal funding gap is there in those 32 communities, and I want to know how you're going to address that. Thank you, Madam Chair.

So if you really want to think out of the box, Madam Chair, I think the Minister has to clarify what he just said because, you know, when you have a city of Yellowknife at a $58 million surplus and rising taxes for the residents, because I had a lot of people from Yellowknife tell me that the taxes were risen quite there was a big rise in taxes here, obviously the capital isn't suffering.

Whereas on the other hand, if you really want to address the municipal funding gap and the capital formula funding for communities and regional centres, we've got to reverse the way we think. And sometimes it...