Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of this 19th Legislative Assembly's priority was to increase the number of affordable homes and reduce our core housing need. The mandate said it would increase the stock of quality energy efficient and affordable housing, especially for vulnerable persons, by 100 units over four years, and it would transition 100 individuals and/or families to homeownership. I think we can all agree in this House that housing is a crisis in our country and especially in our territory.
Lack of affordable housing for people throughout the territory hasn't gotten any better even with this as a priority. I cannot speak to the details in all the communities, but I will bring up again what I do know in Inuvik. There are many vacant units, and they have been vacant almost the entire four years that I have been an MLA. Mr. Speaker, why do we still have these units sitting empty?
We approved money for renovations, major and minor retrofits, and we have never seen them worked on. There are units the Minister said that they were going to sell to make room for new units on those lots. This has not happened. We have a waitlist of people that could benefit from these homes but yet they sit empty. Even sit empty, heated, with no tenants. I know this, Mr. Speaker, because I pass them every day when I'm at home.
I am pleased to see that we have one unit being constructed by Housing NT other than RCMP units that have been completed pretty much in our community. And I am sure the two families that will move into this duplex will be very happy as well. However, Mr. Speaker, one duplex in four years is not going to fix the current waitlist of the single and the family units that are waiting for homes in my community. I will have questions for the Minister of Housing NWT. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.
