Katrina Nokleby

Yeah, my question was is that southern firm still being contracted for this work, or has it gone back to a northern companies that don't have necessarily the same specialized training as that southern firm had? Thank you.

Yeah, I probably didn't maybe explain my question right; it's been a very long day. So I guess why would we not add more leases? I'm not talking about like so we would actually need more money, not saying that can we free up any money by doing this. More of a sense of, like, is there if there really is and I mean, I guess I'm answering my own question because I don't think you're really going to find any spaces so it's probably a moot point. But I think if we have people on a waiting list and we have the ability to enter into new leases, then we should be doing that to just get people housed...

Thank you to President Young for giving me four more seconds so I can ask one more question there. So, yeah, I do really appreciate that. And actually what I'm hearing, I'm hoping, is that this is now transitioning to more of a wraparound client service or focused thing. So I think that is great and sounds like people have been listening to our side of the House.

So my last question has to do with the Habitat for Humanity line item. There is no money, no contribution. I have only heard good things about this program. I'm assuming we've just sunsetted our contribution. However, can the Minister...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of MACA. Has the Department of MACA submitted, within the life of this Assembly, any forced growth submissions to increase the funding for our communities and, if so, were they successful? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't also really have a lot of questions but I think I'd be remiss if I didn't comment a bit on some of the concerns I also have in echoing my colleagues.

Over the last few years, I've had an opportunity to become more familiar with people that are experiencing homelessness and in particular the youth. I don't think that anybody on the social development committee would argue that that sort of has been one of the reoccurring themes throughout all of the conversations, the engagement, the people that come to us, is this huge gap for youth and housing. Personally, I've...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was thrown off by having to repeat myself for question number two. You know, I really find it quite disturbing that the Minister of MACA is passing off the responsibility to advocate for funding for communities, to not only us on this side but to his colleague the Finance Minister. Can this Minister commit to finding money to address the funding gap of $40 million? If that has to be a supplementary appropriation, I'm sure that Members on this side would be in support of that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad the Minister reiterated my Member's statement, but I've asked the question whether or not the department has submitted any forced growth submissions and, if so, were they successful? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, communities in the NWT have been chronically underfunded for years. Every community in the Northwest Territories has been challenged to manage basic services like water, infrastructure, waste management, and community development while also providing critical services like emergency response, community recreation and sport and cultural activities.

Mr. Speaker, the GNWT made a mandate commitment to reduce the funding gap by $5 million, and I acknowledge that the GNWT is on track to achieve this. However, Mr. Speaker $5 million does not go far enough. A 2019 report identified that...

Yeah, and I think that it's really one thing for the Minister to really keep in mind that if you do this piece now with these young people, you will reduce the number of people that are then homeless going forward in the future. So this is something where the return on investment here is so strong and so important and it's not just around housing; it's around mental health, physical health, all of that. So, again, just more of a comment but I do hope that the Minister recognizes that prevention is going to save us a lot more money than waiting for these kids to fall through the cracks. Thank...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I find that the Minister's comments to me are derogatory and offensive. It is not said with any sort of actual respect towards me on this side. I would ask that the Minister withdraw his remarks and apologize. Thank you.