Kate Reid

I just thought it might have some interplay with MACA due to your assessments. But what input will you be providing? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thanks. Well, I'm hoping that's hinting at more collaboration, more ability to be locally appropriate for Housing NWT and the LHOs. But I -- again, I don't want to preclude those conversations; I just want to sort of understand the vision. So unless the Minister has anything further to add, I'll leave it there. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, in the Housing NWT business plan, on page 36 of their business plan, there is a discussion around investment in security measures at $250,000 over three years. I assume that's for the public housing program, which is why I bring it up here. Madam Chair, can we please get a status update on all 11 multifamily dwellings in Yellowknife and what security measures are underway. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Infrastructure.

Very similarly to the Minister of Health and Social Services just earlier, will the Minister please work with her colleague at ECE to make sure that folks with expiring work visas can have an extension on their driver's licenses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

Mr. Speaker, expiry dates of health care cards for temporary foreign workers are tied to their work visa expiry dates. So if a work permit expires, so does a health care card. So how many compassionate extensions of health care cards have been provided since the pause to the nominee program in July of 2024? I realize this is quite a lot of detail, but maybe the Minister could speak to it broadly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know they're getting a lot of calls. They're not returning all those calls. But I am worried that more people will find themselves in limbo waiting on work visa renewals and paperwork headaches that are associated with territorial services, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, can the Minister speak to what work she is conducting with her Cabinet colleagues and federal counterparts to ensure that folks who are classified as implied status are allowed to extend their health care coverage or driver's licenses, for example. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to help people who want to make NWT their home. And who can blame them? It's one of the best places on earth as far as I can tell.

Since 2009, our nominee program has supported over 1100 foreign nationals and over 660 of their dependants in accessing permanent residence from the federal government. Since its inception, over 200 different NWT employers have accessed the nominee program to assist them in filling their workforce needs in every region of our territory.

Mr. Speaker, our territory has a tremendous amount of hard-to-fill roles. From a purely...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for that. So maybe my request to the Minister could be to sort of get a fulsome picture of what the security breakdown looks like for units both owned and leased in Yellowknife. Thank you, Madam Chair.

And I guess I have one final question sort of for this section while I still have time on the clock which is it's much more of a larger territorial scope question, but could Housing NWT advise as to how many new units they anticipate to enter their stock by the end of the Assembly. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah, no, that's great to hear, and it's increasing. As the Minister knows, there are security concerns in a lot of rental units that are in my riding in Yellowknife at large, and it's good that Housing NWT is working on that particular item. I'm hoping that maybe the department or Housing NWT, I should say, could return with a detailed breakdown for Members at a later time. But I'll leave that there for now.

When it comes to the units that they rent, is there not a removal of security coverage for public housing tenants in private properties that they rent in...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, although I can appreciate what my colleague from Yellowknife North just said and I also appreciate the intent of this motion, so I've heard my colleagues, the Regular Members' side, especially our -- my colleagues with CLCs in their communities. I want to support their frustration, their constituents' frustration. And in discussion with my colleagues and staff, I understand that this funding can be restored in a sup should the briefing with Aurora College coming up prove fruitful. And in that regard, I am comfortable with supporting this motion which, to my...