Lucy Kuptana

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I want to thank the Member for bringing this motion forward today and acknowledge the importance of this topic. I understand it is a critical issue for many elders across the Northwest Territories.

Housing NWT will continue to work closely with the Department of Finance and other GNWT departments to consider the issues presented in this motion. We look forward to working with the Member and her colleagues on the issues identified in this motion.

Some of this work is already underway. Housing NWT has been reviewing all relevant government policies and considering the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding is that the topic has been raised at the Council of Leaders and not specifically the housing forum. I am not aware of any direction from that discussion to pursue a separate and distinct naming of this right in the Northwest Territories as it is already acknowledged federally. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Lot development is primarily a community government responsibility, and funding is provided to communities through their capital funding that can be used for this purpose. Housing NWT has engaged with Municipal and Community Affairs as well as Environment and Climate Change to work on the issue of land availability for housing in communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So with the information I've been provided, Housing NWT does not receive funding from CIRNAC every year. In the 2022fiscal year, the federal government announced a twoyear funding allocation for Housing NWT to invest in public housing. This budget announcement was separate from the funding announced as distinctionbased funding for Indigenous governments for housing. Housing NWT was very pleased to see that the funding going to Indigenous governments to support the housing needs in the Northwest Territories. Moving forward, though, Housing NWT intends to work in partnership with Indigenous...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And from our perspective, we have a good working relationship with NGOs that provide emergency shelter and transitional supportive housing to residents. We are always looking for new funding opportunities both within and outside the GNWT and provide pathfinding support to these NGOs to access additional funding resources. Additionally, Housing NWT's staff regularly speak to the NGO staff related to other issues that they may have, including safety concerns and educational opportunities. When speaking to longer term or multiyear funding agreements, that is a question...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So Housing NWT, as part of the GNWT federal engagement approach, will include housing as one of its top priorities for discussions on funding with Canada. Housing NWT will be focused on finding new sustainable longterm approaches to addressing housing needs. Housing NWT's supported by the other GNWT departments has begun preparations to engage with federal officials and will be doing so shortly now that the mandate has been finalized and released. The federal government, in its recent budget, announced a number of funding programs to address the national need for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Housing NWT has shared samples of formal agreements established with other Indigenous governments for consideration by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. Housing NWT is committed to work with Indigenous governments through formal or informal arrangements. Housing NWT continues to meet with IRC informally and is working with them, for example on specific partnership project ideas as well as supporting them in securing land required for their own housing investments. This includes reviewing all vacant land buildings owned by housing and determining if those properties...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In Inuvik, like many other communities across the North, we have a long waitlist. In Inuvik, we have a total of 80 families on the waitlist, one-bedroom 52 families; two-bedroom, 17; three-bedroom, we have 8 families, and the four-bedrooms, we have 3 families. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I want to thank the Member for bringing this motion forward today and acknowledge the importance of this topic. Meaningful partnerships with Indigenous governments are critically important in addressing the housing needs of NWT residents. Housing NWT will continue to work closely with other government departments as well as having a conversation with Indigenous governments about what is needed in their communities to ensure good data about the investments required for various housing needs.

In the Housing NWT business plan, Housing NWT intends to work with a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today we are celebrating 40 years of the signing of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement. This agreement is a culmination of many, many years of negotiations by Inuvialuit who sacrificed their lives, time away from their families, time away from the land, from harvesting, from work, to see this agreement through.

This agreement's negotiation was born at a time when industry was knocking on the door in the Arctic, and government was opening it up. To protect our rights, our land, and the ocean, the Inuvialuit developed a negotiating mandate based on evidence which included...