Lucy Kuptana

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, homelessness is a complex issue that affects all of our communities. The rising cost of living, addictions, and climate emergencies have disproportionately affected our most vulnerable residents. The GNWT is committed to finding solutions that provides more homes for Northerners.

The GNWT continues to focus on a whole-of-government approach to address homelessness, following the development of A Way Home: A Comprehensive Strategy to Address Homelessness in the Northwest Territories.

A Way Home highlights the need for collaboration among government agencies...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, again, we are so fortunate that this Assembly approved $150 million over the next three years for housing and public housing replacements across the North. Inuvik is one of the communities that will see public housing replacements, considering many of their housing units are 50 plus years old and families are still staying in those units and struggling in those units. But I talked to Housing NWT about the opportunity to look at purchasing -- perhaps purchasing Nova. They're having ongoing discussions with the landlord to see what's possible and, hopefully, we'll...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Nova Apartments in Inuvik has been an ongoing issue over the last ten years. Both you and I know it, MLA Rodgers. Like, this is really important because these families that are living in these conditions are seeing ongoing violence and trauma every day. And the work that Housing NWT is doing is we're working with the landlord, the private landlord, to improve the conditions within Nova. It's difficult times, difficult conditions. We're see a lot of illegal activity. We're seeing drug busts on an ongoing basis. We're seeing crack being smoked in the hallways...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have asked the same question to Housing NWT, how can we relocate these families to get them out of Nova, to get them away from that situation. The problem is that we don't have any other units available in Inuvik at this time. We continue to push it. We try to move them out and move them to other locations that are safer within the community. We're looking at different security measures within Nova to beef that up. We are talking to the landlord. But at this time, we do have a lack of available public housing in Inuvik. That's the crux of the problem, Mr. Speaker...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I want to offer my sincere condolences to all who have lost loved ones over the last few months. Grief is uncomfortable and difficult, especially in trying times.

I rise today to speak about Nunakput, a riding and constituency that elected me to represent and advocate for those that live in the most remote communities in the Northwest Territories. Seeing people travel on the land with the return of spring and warmer weather brings me joy and hope as many families are harvesting geese and catching fish coming home with smiling faces and nice-looking tans...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think this question is important because the work they're doing in the Akaitcho territory, talking about the conditions of homes in their communities, this is something that housing is doing as well through our territorial housing needs assessment. Again, we've done the quantitative assessment and now we're wrapping it up with the qualitative assessment that's hoping to be done by fall of 2025. And with that engagement, we have reached out to all Indigenous governments and Indigenous leadership in communities asking if we can have conversations about this assessment...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I understand the question, what does a new home mean? A new home means a new build within Housing NWT and brought into a community as a new home. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud of Housing NWT's successful partnerships. Housing NWT works with Indigenous governments, the federal government, non-governmental organizations, municipal and community governments, and industry, to support more homes for Northerners across the Northwest Territories.

Today, I want to highlight Housing NWT's relationship with an important, but often overlooked group of frontline workers, who deserve recognition: The dedicated staff of our local housing organizations.

If you are from a small community, you already know who they are and what they do. Local housing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand core need is very high. We have over 900 families in the Northwest Territories that need homes. This is the waiting list across the North. We're doing a territorial housing needs assessment, and this is important work because it offers us both a qualitative look and a quantitative look. Right now we've done the quantitative, and we're working towards qualitative. We're working with the university of British Columbia, and they have a HART tool, it's a housing assessment resource tool. And this tool is working with Housing NWT to go across and engage with...

Mr. Speaker -- sorry, Mr. Speaker, I'm a little bit sleepy here. But I don't have those numbers on hand, but I can provide the Member with that information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.