Frieda Martselos

Mr. Speaker, would the Minister consider a territorial aftercare facility in the old Trailcross building because of the drastic needs that are required in addressing the state of mental health and wellness in the NWT right now because the building is sitting empty right now? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This facility can easily be converted into a facility used by all genders for an aftercare and detox facility. Does the Minister agree with that idea? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to speak again about the need for more aftercare and detox services within the NWT. This is an issue that I've spoken about several times throughout the 19th Assembly because this is an issue that touches everyone in the NWT in some way.

Mr. Speaker, I cannot speak to the subject without also bringing into the conversation the old Trailcross Treatment Centre for youth that recently closed in Fort Smith last October. As I've said previously that building is wellsuited to be converted and repurposed to be used as some other wellnessbased facility...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't think the Minister answered about the second part of that question; I'd appreciate an answer. It was especially in nonreserve circumstances, was the ending of the question. Mr. Speaker, could the Minister explain why under the new Disaster Assistance Policy, eligibility for assistance is excluded for an event affecting a single sector or property? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, under the new Disaster Assistance Policy, if a home was built in an area after it was designated as disaster prone, unless mitigation measures were taken to reduce the risk then disaster assistance is not eligible.

Can the Minister explain how many NWT residents live in a disasterprone area? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for my statement today, I want to speak once again about the Disaster Assistance Policy under the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, last May the Government of the Northwest Territories completed a comprehensive review of MACA's Disaster Assistance Policy following the NWT flooding in 2021. I initially agreed with that review primarily because the policy was outdated and needed to be modernized to account for the changing nature of natural disasters within the context of climate change. I hoped that the review would produce new...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If a natural disaster occurs but only one house sustains damage from it, does the Minister believe it is okay to exclude the household from recovering any disaster assistance funds? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, if the home experiences two different types of natural disasters and sustains damages in both times, does that still limit that household to accessing disaster assistance one more time? For example, the people of KFN experienced a flood last year and now wildfires this year. How does this policy apply to situations like that, especially in nonreserve circumstances? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'd like to recognize Dr. Sharma's Indigenous and global health research group with the University of Alberta. They're doing community visits in the North. And especially my friend of that group, Rachel Austry, Indigenous community project lead. And I'd like to say hi today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to begin today, I want to acknowledge all the residents of K'atlodeeche First Nation, KFN, and Hay River, who had to evacuate their homes due to the wildfires over the last couple of weeks. On that same note, I want to thank all the leadership and staff at the territorial fire centre, the Department of Economic and Climate Change, and all personnel involved in keeping our communities safe with the wildfires.

I also want to recognize all elected leadership in and around Hay River and KFN, which includes both MLAs Rocky Simpson and Minister Simpson, Mayor...