Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today the temperature in the Nunakput community of Paulatuk is minus 25 degrees. With that wind chill, it will feel like minus 35. I am giving this Assembly the weather conditions in the community, because some time today or tomorrow they will have a family being evicted and they will have nowhere to go, Mr. Speaker.
Every community in Nunakput is having major problems with the way housing is being evaluated and administered. I wonder if this government and the NWT Housing Corporation recognizes the impact they are making in my region.
In a small, remote community such as Paulatuk, the people have nowhere to go. There are no shelters, like Yellowknife, or service programs. You either stay with family or friends who are already overcrowded in the situation, or they stay in substandard buildings such as a shack, Mr. Speaker, and that is wrong. Also, I wonder if these evictions are being directed by the central offices and the local housing offices are being forced to do their dirty work for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Why is this government evicting people in the winter with only a few months before Christmas, being evicted from a house at minus 30 weather? That is wrong, evicting a family who has nowhere to go. That is wrong, Mr. Speaker. Just saying it is not the NWT Housing Corporation’s problem and those are the rules to be followed is wrong, Mr. Speaker.
People deserve more. They deserve the respect and our compassion. They stated, previously, overcrowding in housing units is a symptom of a much larger sympathetic problem and causes many community problems. Too many times I see 10 or 12 people staying in a small unit. I visit them in these units. They grow increasingly frustrated and concerned and wonder when will this government commit seriously to addressing these deficiencies.
This government must see firsthand the policies of the NWT Housing Corporation headquarters are affecting small, remote communities, Mr. Speaker. They must get in touch with the concerns of the communities. Until that happens, the policies will never truly recognize the housing challenges in small, remote communities, Mr. Speaker. I will have questions for the Minister of Housing at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Member for Frame Lake.
