Tom Beaulieu

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Unanimous consent granted.

Mr. Speaker, I’m not sure if this budget is worse for anybody else in the House than it is for the Tu Nedhe residents. Nothing was really taken away from the Tu Nedhe residents, because there is nothing really there to take. The budget didn’t provide anything additional.

So I, too, will stand up today and say that I will support this budget to a point where I will get it into the House to get it through second reading. Again, I’m hoping that Cabinet is listening. I know that to this point they haven’t listened to me at all. I had a whole bunch of initiatives on the table, lots of capital...

This is a territory-wide problem that demands immediate attention. Later on today I will follow up this statement with questions for the appropriate Minister. Mahsi cho.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister commit to a continued dialogue with the DEAs on housing teachers and report back to the House within six months so that we can get an update on any progress on housing for teachers?

Can the Minister advise the House if there is any dialogue that’s tied to developers as far as providing private market housing in non-market communities?

I’d like to recognize a long-term Housing employee, Mr. Jim White, of Yellowknife Housing Authority.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to talk about the serious issue that is affecting many of our communities: a lack of adequate housing for teachers.

This is not a new issue. As a matter of fact, it’s been making headlines for some time now — headlines like: Teachers’ Housing – Headache for Education Body; Frustrated Teachers Quitting Beaufort Jobs; High Rents, Housing Crunch Drives Teachers from NWT Communities; Five Beaufort-Delta Communities Losing School Principals.

Mr. Speaker, this is a very serious issue for many communities. Things are no different in my riding. The district...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This written question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Can the Minister of Health and Social Services provide me with statistics on the number of people in Tu Nedhe, specifically Fort Resolution and Lutselk’e, who are suffering from asthma and other lung diseases that can be affected by dust?

Can the Minister advise the House of anything specific that he can mention in the House about what type of work has occurred between ECE and the Housing Corporation in this area?

Mr. Speaker, earlier in my Member’s statement I spoke of the serious issue of lack of housing for teachers, and I’d like to ask the Minister of ECE some questions.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister advise me if the department has any strategy for providing teachers’ housing in smaller non-market communities?