Herbert Nakimayak

It's good to see that the Minister is looking into opportunities for Nunakput and the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, Tuktoyaktuk now has a highway, and, to me, it's an obvious candidate for a deep-sea port in the Arctic. Mr. Speaker, I am wondering: has the Minister of Infrastructure considered the construction of a deep-sea port in the western Arctic Ocean?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week I spoke about the widespread use of heavy fuel oil in vessels transiting the Arctic and the severe dangers that it poses in comparison to other types of fuel. I also highlighted the fact that, unlike Antarctica, the use of heavy fuel oil is not regulated in its northern counterpart.

Mr. Speaker, in February the International Maritime Organization approved a new two-way route in the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait, after accepting proposals by the United States and Russia. These routes take effect on December 1st. The approval of these routes...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have some friends who also asked about this. As the previous speaker said, this is something new going in. This is something that maybe should be looked at during a time of a review. I think right now, it would be so costly and so many things in the air that we would kind of be making false promises to people who don't understand as much, possibly.

I know a lot of people who wanted to travel to the States but are prohibited because of marijuana at the border. I think we may become flooded if something like this happens, and people may be flooding from provinces to come...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I won't reiterate what my colleagues have said. I know both committees have done a lot of good, hard work in the southern part of the territory as well as the northern part. I was able to travel to the northern part.

Being from a small community, growing up, you definitely see the effects of alcohol as they become more prevalent in those communities and more accessible. With marijuana, I believe that this younger generation that lives in the smaller communities and all over, I guess, across the territory, are pretty much adapted to it, and I think education on...

I appreciate the response. According to the federal budget, the Northwest Territories will receive $36 million over the next 10 years for housing-related matters. Mr. Speaker, how will these funds be used to address Northwest Territories housing needs?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, also, would like to recognize Mr. Ernie Bernhardt and welcome him to the Legislative Assembly. He has given a lot of useful advice and encouragement over the last few year, so welcome to Ernie. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I won't reiterate too much; we've gone through this a lot. I would like to think about the federal government and also Indigenous governments, as well, while this is being said. I think some parts of that are left out, so we need to look at those other entities, as well. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I agree with the previous speaker. I have a hard time supporting this, as this recommendation could be easily put into the following one, and it would take care of the same thing. I think the differences between the communities and the capital and other regional centres are very different, and I think we need to respect that there are many professionals who are working on this, I'm sure very hard right now, and I think mixing these two together would make more sense than having three and four together. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

That sounds promising, and I look forward to the Minister's work in the years to come. Mr. Speaker, there are NWT residents who have remained on waiting lists for public housing, sometimes for years at a time. It is essential that new units are built to meet these needs. Mr. Speaker, what plans are there to construct new units and expand housing options in Nunakput communities?

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Earlier I spoke about the housing issues and noted that CMHC will no longer be providing O and M funds to the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation by the year 2038. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if there are any plans to restore this funding or otherwise mitigate this loss so that we can maintain our public housing programs across the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.