Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I told you in my Member's statement today that, you know, we have a 60yearold elder that's being penalized from CERB in regards to housing and income support. I only have my housing minister here today, Mr. Speaker. What is the Minister, can she confirm that the government's position on counting CERB and other emergency pandemic payments as income for the residents of the public housing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. In regards to Bill 60, the heating fuel and the gas over the last heating fuel and the diesel, gasoline has gone up in Nunakput. Heating fuel is up 25 percent. For automotive is 24. Gasoline is an average 12 percent. It's gone up to $2.75. Madam Chair, it's a rippling effect across my riding. Food prices are going up. We can't afford to buy food. Nunakput has the highest food price index in the Northwest Territories. Over 50 percent in Nunakput are worried about having enough money to buy food, and almost half the residents in Nunakput are worried that they don't have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, the state of our housing across Nunakput is in we're in pretty poor shape. We can't keep up with the, to get them retrofitted. We can't keep up with the windows, the doors, the appliances that they have to pay the power to. We have to get on top of that, Mr. Speaker, especially the overcrowding that we are going through, right across the territory right now. Especially in my riding.

Mr. Speaker, what has the the Minister done in regards to overcrowding, to lessen overcrowding in Nunakput communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's really good news because I will be reaching out to my constituent and getting him to do that.

Can the Minister advise the department and the residents in the public housing to make sure not only impacted during the tax season for the pandemic support payments, to make sure that the CERB is not being clawed back and being penalized elders being penalized in the housing system? It's not fair, Mr. Speaker, especially when we were told at the start that the Minister said that we weren't going to be taxed on it during the pandemic because it was monies needed because...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's good that the Minister wants to work together with the housing.

Mr. Speaker, we only have public housing in my communities. I also have residents that are on income assistance and I have spoken about this in the House many times. But our residents are not always on fixed, stable income, that means the housing can be impacted. I thought we dealt with this, Mr. Speaker. It's income tax season, CERB emergency payments, that was not declared, are impacting my residents and it is going to impact all the residents across the Northwest Territories soon. They are being told...

Thank you, Madam Chair. In regards to that, Madam Chair, with the water strategy, I guess with the spill that we had in Alberta last week that from that Esso site, was there any I guess flags raised in regards of doing more water sampling and checking of the sites for coming up in the upcoming like if not now, like in the near future? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Water quality down and saying some from spring I guess, until October on the river, how many times are those sites checked in regards to water testing on that river? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, like I said before, you know, we could get those portables brought up. You know, they're already premade in the south if need be. But the thing is the biggest thing it has a rippling effect on my students and the community. There's no gym. Mental health issues. It's ripples right across for the community as a whole having no gym. And I really wish that the Minister I know she will work with me to get it done but, you know, having a joint meeting with the Inuvialuit Development Corporation and the contractor, with myself and my leadership from Tuk...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that. Mr. Speaker, you know, four portables being brought into the community, I think that could be utilized as a when they're done with them, they could be put into the housing stock, something we all need, more houses.

Mr. Speaker, what support can the Minister of Infrastructure provide to the students of Tuk on temporary houses to students that construction is underway to make sure that we're trying to work with IRC and IDC to get these it should be the contractor's responsibility to get these portables, and I'm calling them out today. And I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to welcome back into the House Mr. Glen Abernathy. Both of us were elected in 2007 and we'd work here all day and then we'd go to his house and we'd play Xbox, so those were the good old days. And just welcome him back into the House; it's good to see you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.