Herbert Nakimayak

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's good to see that we are having meetings and having discussions about these issues. You know, action plans and follow-up as we move into the next government is very key. It's more of a comment than anything. I am just wondering what the Minister's plans are as we close up these last five days of this Assembly.

Look at my region. I believe there's at least one community that has a contract for the LHOs. I think programs like that seem to work for smaller remote communities. My second question is: how does the Government of the Northwest Territories implement services that are funded directly from the federal government to Indigenous governments across the Northwest Territories? I am going to use IRC and Housing, for an example.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have often spoken about the critical need for housing in my region. Today I would like to focus on a particular need for transitional housing.

Historically, transitional housing has been focused in our larger communities through organizations like Inuvik Transition House or the YWCA here in Yellowknife. Homelessness isn't a problem limited to the regional centres. Residents themselves have made their voice heard, calling for more transitional housing with options spread across the Northwest Territories.

The NWT Housing Corporation responded with the Northern Pathways...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. This motion looks good on paper, but, you know, given the information that we have here, I am just going to read a sentence here: "failure to complete the process will require us," which is like the feds put in place the federal backstop on September 1st. Mr. Chair, we had discussions about this earlier, and I will not really reiterate too much. As the Member for Nahendeh mentioned, this is about elders and it's about remote communities. I for one come from a remote community, and this is one thing that definitely has an impact, a negative impact, on the cost of...

I appreciate the response. I am a strong believer that, when Indigenous governments get funding directly from the federal government, I think we need to work with Indigenous governments and the Government of the Northwest Territories to ensure that we implement that funding properly so that it is not lopsided. There are a few examples out there, but I won't dig too far. Can the Minister give an update on the community housing plans, and will the idea of tiny homes be a discussion during these planning sessions?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We don't know what the priorities of this government are going to be or who is going to be here in five or six years. Mind you, we haven't even moved on to the next government. We have gone through mid-term reviews during a very busy time at this Assembly and noticing other Assemblies going through the same thing. We have four years to conduct our work.

At the same time, too, we are putting this on a government who will likely have very different priorities. Our situation with climate change and all that will be totally different then. I wouldn't say I guarantee, but I am...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to welcome former Chief Felix Lockhart, as well. I know Sandra was a good friend of ours, and thank you for being here, as well as my friend Arlene Hache. We've all had some good interactions in the 90s working together. Also to my high school friend Lesa Semmler. I'll maybe say this to both Lesa and Arlene. You know, Mr. Speaker, there are times when individuals help with the progress of government and self-governments, whether it be in health and wellness or other departments of the government, and in Inuvialuit, I'm speaking mainly, Lesa has helped...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. I am sitting here and I am reading this, and I am thinking: what about forest fires or other types of emergencies that will occur around the Northwest Territories? I am just using that as an example. I think adding something like this would just be another layer and likely slow the process if it involves infrastructure around some sensitive areas. I have an issue with this. For that reason, I won't support this. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. It might be a good idea to look into buying an airplane, now that we have barges.

---Laughter

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Speaking about the report, we travelled around the territory. Obviously, the issue was the cost of living, the cost of transportation. In my region, we rely a lot on gasoline for harvesting, for country food and things like that, transportation for airplanes, which we see there will be exemptions. I just want to say, Mr. Chair, I won't be long, but if we went with the federal backstop, we would definitely be paying more, and we would definitely feel it further in the territories. I think that this is probably the best way forward for now as the legislature and the...