Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Madam Speaker, today I spoke about sustaining and growing our population in the Northwest Territories, and a key tool to grow our population is using immigration. The GNWT currently does not fulfill its annual immigration quota allotted by the Government of Canada through the nominee program. This is a big concern especially within our business community.
So I'm wondering if the Minister can explain why we're not hitting our quotas and tell us what his department is doing to fill the quota and provide guidance if this week's newest immigration pilot will help us actually hit that quota? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister for Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. The quota, as dictated by the Government of Canada, was established years ago. I would have to assume it's based on our population. I would imagine that as soon as we hit that quota, that quota would be increased. We're never going to be continuously hitting the quota. We always want to strive for better. I will say that during the life of this government, we have done a lot in terms of immigration and increasing the population, you know, and I'm happy to announce that since I took office we've doubled the number of people coming in through our nominee program. Back in 2019, there was around less than 50, with their families less than 70. We're now up to 108 nominees; with their dependants, 140 individuals immigrated to the Northwest Territories last year. So we are making progress, Madam Speaker.
And to the other part of the question, what are we doing? Well, we have done quite a bit. We're developing resources. We've created a welcome to the NWT booklet for potential and actual immigrants to the territory. We've updated and modernized the nominee program website. We've made the application accessible online. We've introduced a Francophone stream recently. We've made changes to our nominee program. We continuously make changes to make it more accessible for employers. We are working to implement a new stream focused on in demand occupations. We are participating in an economic pathways pilot to attract skilled refugees from abroad.
And to the Member's third question in that series, we expect that there well, hopefully some modest increases, maybe five or ten applicants through that stream. But if we keep chipping away at this, those numbers will continue to go up. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the success that has happened over the course of this term, but there's still room for us to grow and there's still room for us to welcome more people to the Northwest Territories. One of the things that I like to do in this job is pick up the phone and call people. And I've had the opportunity to speak to people working in the immigration sector from other jurisdictions who have literally said, why aren't you guys getting closer to your quota? So I think there's room for us to grow.
Madam Speaker, the department's response to the Assembly's motion indicated that ECE's immigration strategy is up for renewal. The strategy concluded in December, and it's not clear what the next steps of this government are. So can the Minister tell this House the status of the review, including who will be consulted, what the scope is, and when it will produce a new strategy? Thank you very much, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. So the strategy was from 2017 to 2022. Part of that strategy or included with that strategy was a performance measurements plan. So the department is now reviewing the data, reviewing the administrative records and reaching out to stakeholders to complete that work and conclude that report. There have been discussions between ECE and ITI about the overall future of the program. And so those discussions, while they're ongoing, I expect that near the end of this Assembly/the beginning of the next Assembly, they will ramp up again when we have that capacity to do so. And a determination on, you know, perhaps how the GNWT internally deals with immigration will help inform a future strategy as well. So that work is on the way. I don't expect that we'll be seeing a new strategy during this term, but it is underway. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, this time last year when I asked the Minister to create an immigration advisory council, the Minister informed me that, quote, "ECE and ITI are proactively reaching out to businesses and people who are familiar with the nominee program to find out what we can do to improve the program."
So I'm wondering, Madam Speaker, since there is no intent to create a strategy in the life of this Assembly, where I can find that information that the Minister has been collecting with his department over the last year? Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. So we did reach out. The level of engagement wasn't what we would have hoped. Nonetheless, we did identify some areas for improvement. And so the Member can see the result of that engagement in the changes that were made to our nominee program stream, so changes to job advertising requirements and some other streamlining efforts. So that is where she can find those results. The proof is in the pudding. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, earlier this week I made a statement about Nunavut 3000, Nunavut's ambitious aim to build 3,000 new homes by 2030. Its ambition that we desperately need in the NWT but lacking sometimes, especially when it comes to creating new housing to meet our need. So I'm wondering because housing is such a huge barrier to sustaining our population, I'm wondering if this Minister will advocate for an ambitious house building and house repair strategy and action plan to support the sustaining and growing of our population, especially since he is the Minister who holds the immigration portfolio? Thank you.
Thank you, Speaker. I'm always advocating to increase our housing stock. It doesn't just have to be the Government of the Northwest Territories building houses. When I meet with other groups and with Indigenous governments, I often speak to them about the need for housing and the roles that they can play as well, so I do do that work on a regular basis. It doesn't just impact immigration. It impacts our ability to staff teachers in communities and nurses, and all of those other things. So this is something that is at the forefront of my mind and the department's as well, and I will continue to be an advocate. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
