Herbert Nakimayak

Quyanainni, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories' liquor operations in Inuvik is contracted to Stanton Distributing, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Inuvialuit Development Corporation. Mr. Speaker, that means that every Inuvialuit within the Inuvialuit settlement region, inside and outside, are registered shareholders.

The Inuvialuit Development Corporation, in collaboration with Stanton's management, decided not to add the sale of licensed marijuana products to its contract between Stanton and the GNWT. Mr. Speaker, due to borders and customs laws...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the response. Mr. Speaker, you know, it sounds like somebody was asleep at the wheel somewhere along the way. In this case, it's the wheel house in this area for MTS for them to wake up into freezing ice and not be able to move anywhere.

I appreciate the work that the Minister is doing, and I appreciate his work all around. However, somebody needs to be accountable somewhere and we cannot deflect this any further. My question to the Minister is: with this air-lift affect the future rates to be paid by MTS customers? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the response, and it's good to see. I looked on the website this morning. There were no tenders awarded, and hopefully that process can start soon.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister stated that this error for not delivering fuel was due to ice. However, will the Minister commit to ensure that petroleum products are inspected and meet the requirements before allowing onto any MTS barges so that this doesn't happen again or commit to other shipping methods?

Partnerships are essential, especially when it comes to housing. Partnerships can possibly eliminate some of the errors that have happened in the past, where homes have remained unfinished.

Mr. Speaker, with the cancellation of the MTS shipments to the region, MTS has declared that only essential equipment, gear, and dry goods will be delivered. Mr. Speaker, there are building materials that are stuck in Inuvik.

Homes are essential to the region. Mr. Speaker, will the building materials that were scheduled on MTS barges be delivered to the communities in Nunakput region on the upcoming airlift?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier I spoke about housing issues in Nunakput, and my questions are for the Minister of the Housing Corporation.

Mr. Speaker, with the agreement between the GNWT and IRC being a step in the right direction, my question is: will this agreement bring up the number of housing units needed in Nunakput in 2018? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, housing continues to be one of the biggest contributing factors to social ills within the Nunakput region. Although $15 million was delivered directly to the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation from the federal government, the need for more homes to be constructed is bleakly felt by those who continue to remain on the waiting list. With the cancellation of MTS barges, this means four homes aren't being built to completion this winter.

Mr. Speaker, housing can be more than just a building; housing can be an opportunity for social progress. The communities have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that. Mr. Speaker, they mentioned that they are replacing homes, and hopefully the four homes that are being replaced are not taken offline before completion of this, which may be next year if we don't get the materials.

Mr. Speaker, my final question: with the population growing in the Northwest Territories and in Nunakput, how many more homes will this open up, specifically in Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour, Ulukhaktok, and Tuktoyaktuk, with the agreement between the IRC and the GNWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the response, although, with the population rising in all of our regions in the territory, I think housing needs to grow as well with the population.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister give detail to the agreement and the importance of hiring local subcontractors in the four Nunakput communities and the need to grow local capacity?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too, have a constituent from Tuktoyaktuk, Ms. Sandra Elias, who is one of the directors for the family violence shelters in the Northwest Territories. Welcome, Sandra. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that, you know, having an RV park or some sort of infrastructure like that should fall on the departments of the GNWT and ITI and maybe other departments within the government. I think it's only fair, given that Tuktoyaktuk used a lot of their capacity to do what they can to ensure that they did their best, Mr. Speaker. I don't know if I got a solid answer there.

Mr. Speaker, my second question is: will the GNWT fund a full-time tourism coordinator so that additional capacity can be provided?