Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 23, An Act to Amend the Public Utilities Act, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill amends the Public Utilities Act to:

prohibit a public utility from disconnecting a residential customer's electricity service during the period of October 1 to April 30 or when the temperature is forecast to be below 0 degrees Celsius because an amount payable is overdue;

require a public utility to reconnect a residential customer's service, which was disconnected during the period of May 1 to September 30...

I thank the Minister for that, for reaching out to Mr. Okheena. I really think the demographic size of a community or distance from Inuvik to Ulukhaktok or Ulukhaktok to Sachs Harbour or to Paulatuk or Tuktoyaktuk, it shouldn't matter. It shouldn't matter for the money that we are spending. These elders were here first, born and raised. We have to take care of our elders. Money shouldn't be the main issue. I know we are stretched like a rubber band, but the thing is: my elders deserve this. My elders need to stay home. Our families need to be kept together because you know it as well as I do...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I brought up my Member's statement in regard to elders staying home. You know as well as I do: we take care of our own, and we take care of our elders. I want to know: what care facilities are currently available in our communities of Paulatuk and Ulukhaktok right now? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, again. Bill 3 had second reading in the House and was referred to the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment on June 23, 2020. On August 25, 2020, and on October 15, 2020, committee's review of the bill was extended. On August 19, 2020, the committee invited comments and proposed that amendments from the communities across the Northwest Territories, Indigenous governments, and businesses involved in the use of the construction of roads. The committee received a written submission from the City of Yellowknife. The committee held a public hearing on Bill 3 on...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just for the record, will the Minister and her colleague in housing commit to working with myself, the community of Paulatuk and Ulukhaktok in my Nunakput riding, to work together to try to see if we could get long-term facilities? Would she commit to that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The next steps are working with our housing Minister and Health Minister in regard to getting elders facilities in both Paulatuk and Ulukhaktok, which we need. Like I said before, flying to Inuvik is over $1,000 to go see one of your loved ones. The only time you'll get to go there is if you are going there for medical. It really hurts and impacts families deeply when they are sending an elder to Inuvik for long-term care. We need to fix this problem. We could find money for anything when it comes to bigger projects and stuff like that, but something like this, working with the Inuvialuit...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I am glad that Minister Green brought this up, with elders aging in care in their home communities. Elders' facilities in Paulatuk and Ulukhaktok and keeping our elders home, Mr. Speaker: our elders have these facilities in Ulukhaktok and Paulatuk. These are small communities that would not take much to care for elders, but here in our six-bed long-term care facility, we would not have to send them to Inuvik to be away from the family, which is so tough on our elders right now. Our elders in our communities are very active. Our elders work to keep our culture...

Are there any plans to replace the old Weber units that were built in 1970 in communities? Like, take them off the books and be able to bring in new builds in regard to the community, for each community in my riding, and be able to bring in new units for the people, and maybe even more complexes?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I bring up housing units in the riding of Nunakput. Mr. Speaker, we have the longest and coldest winters in my riding. We're the furthest north. Again, I've brought up in this House, again and again, how the housing units are in need of repair. The Nunakput community, Sach's Harbour, Paulatuk, and Ulukhaktok, we have housing units that were built in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and then we have one or two units that are fairly new.

Mr. Speaker, some units have been repaired, retrofitted, even been renovated, but in fact, the majority of them still require...

No. Thank you, Madam Chair.