Michael Nadli

Mr. Speaker, earlier, the Minister unveiled plans for senior care facilities. Besides that, does the department have a policy to ensure that elders will be able to access long-term care services as close as possible to their home community?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the NWT, healthcare services for seniors are classified according to the level of care required by the patients. This ranges from homecare and supported living to long-term care for elders with complex needs.

The Deh Gah Got'ie senior's home in Fort Providence isn't really part of that spectrum. Although it has been renovated in the past, it is designed for independent living. It is meant for people who do not require regular support at all. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health and Social Services and the NWT Housing Corporation visited the facility during...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I wanted to highlight just a couple of perspectives in terms of thoughts on the Infrastructure Acquisition Plan for this year.

The riding that I represent, of course, is four communities, and mostly small communities that are situated in the southern NWT. We realize that, people who come up here by vehicle during their summer holidays, we are the first communities that they see and visit. At the same time, when people travel up here, we are the first government infrastructure that they see.

It is very important that the government ensures that the facilities and...

On the reserve, too, aside from the 10 houses that have been the focal point of this government and the federal government to try to get them to a point where they could be accessible and liveable by people from the reserve, there are other units on the reserve that are abandoned and unoccupied. At the same time, their existence is to the point where they are derelict. What is the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation's plans for those houses?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Earlier, in my statement, I made an attempt to try to outline the progress of the housing issue on the Hay River reserve. A term that I use to describe the sense of despair that the constituents feel, in my language what it means is that there is a sense of futility, the acceptance that nothing will be done in regards to housing. That is how some people feel on the reserve. My question is today, Northwest Territories Housing Corporation Minister: would the Minister advise the House on the progress that has been made on the 10 units on the Hay River reserve? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on the reserve, and like the whole of the NWT, there is a shortage of housing. How is the department working to address people who are waiting for housing? I understand, in some communities, the waiting list is pretty long. How is the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation addressing people who are seeking to get into housing off the waiting lists? Mahsi.

I would like to thank the Minister for providing that update. The Minister had stated that there is one occupant one of several houses that had been focused on in terms of getting them ready for people to access them, and they are being renovated. Can the Minister advise what progress has been made on the remaining six homes? I understand there are six other homes as well.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, [no translation provided].

Mr. Speaker, those who have housing are worried about overcrowding and its impact on family relationships, unmanageable arrears, debts carried over from family members who have passed away, and the difficulty getting repairs and maintenance done.

Those who cannot get housing wonder why vacant houses on the reserve have not been put to good use. Young people who want to live on their own have no choice but to live with their parents or leave the community. If they choose to leave, families are separated and traditional ways of life are...

It is pretty clear that there might be a strong case for us, perhaps, from the GNWT's perspective to make a trip to Ottawa and ask for more officers here because we have a big land mass, 1.3 million square kilometres, but also just fresh from the devolution experience. Are we contemplating the idea of more control and authority for the NWT? With that in mind, has the ENR Minister met with his federal counterpart to discuss our needs in terms of ensuring that we have additional officers for the NWT?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier, my statement was in regards to the Department of Fisheries and the responsibility of water and its resources. My question is to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, and the question is basically founded on the reality that, here in the NWT, we have about 1.3 million square kilometres to watch over. Can the Minister inform the House of how many DFO officers actively work in the NWT to enforce federal and GNWT laws respecting water? Mahsi.