Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Consideration for Elders and Seniors in Debt Elimination.
WHEREAS elders and seniors who are no longer working and only receive a fixed income have little ability to get out of debt once it has accumulated;
AND WHEREAS some elders and seniors in communities, who have accumulated housing debt, face extreme financial hardship to get out of arrears;
AND WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories should be supporting our elders and seniors to age in place and to age with dignity;
AND WHEREAS section 62 of the Financial Administration Act allows the forgiveness of debt to the Government of the Northwest Territories, or a public agency, where it is just and reasonable to do so;
AND WHEREAS the policy that guides the consideration on the forgiveness of debt does not clearly identify how the Government of the Northwest Territories determines a debtor to be indigent, or how a debt is determined to be unjust or unreasonable.
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the Member for Tu NedheWiilideh, that the Government of the Northwest Territories revise the Financial Administration Manual and related policies on the elimination of debt to provide specific provisions for forgiveness of debt owed to the Government of the Northwest Territories, or a public agency, for elders and seniors who are 60 years of age and older;
AND FURTHER, that the Government of the Northwest Territories review and revise the Financial Administration Manual and policies to define how it will measure and assess unreasonable or unjust financial hardship on elders and seniors.
AND FURTHERMORE, that the Government of the Northwest Territories review and revise the Financial Administration Manual and policies to ensure that elders and seniors who are on fixed incomes are not forced into undue financial hardship to pay debt to the Government of the Northwest Territories;
AND FURTHERMORE, that the Government of the Northwest Territories respond to this motion within 120 days.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The motion's in order. To the motion. Member from Monfwi.
Okay, Mr. Speaker, I know that we have talked a lot in this House about the needs for elders and seniors to age with dignity, and my motion that I put forward, it's actions behind these words. There are many elders in my ridings and other regions as well. There are many elders out there who are struggling to make ends meet. We know that the NWT is faced with high cost of living, the fuel price, the groceries. It's very difficult for people in the small communities, especially the elders, especially with children too as well because many of the elders are caring for their grandchildren. So it's difficult for them to make ends meet. And I met many elders in my ridings who, over the years, have accumulated many bills and debts, and there are many reasons why people go into debt with the government. Some elders, some people have bills piled up during the time when housing was limited in small communities and adult children were living with parents, and they were working and that's how a lot of these bills were accumulated. So as a result, I know that over the years housing made some changes to the policy that people who are living in the unit, they were on the lease, they were added to the lease that were, like, an adult. So that was okay. But before then, many of these bills were accumulated. So in other cases, people were desperate. And it's not just this. It was also for the mortgage as well. In other cases, where people were desperate to acquire housing back in the '90s that I know. And my colleague one of my colleague knows about this as well, you know, some people were given free houses. Other people were provided mortgages. And in many of these business dealings, language was a real issue because the mortgage term was new to many of my constituents or to many of the residents in the NWT, especially in small communities. So many of the elders they are elders now. So many of them signed on to mortgages not fully understanding what they were signing up for. So as a result, many of them fell behind with payments and some of them refinanced some of their housing and some of them was sent to the collections or they did a mortgage with the financial institutions and some of them lost their houses. And some of them went through foreclosure. So in either cases, I know that several people are still to this day try to pay off mortgages they signed over 30 years ago.
And my concern, Mr. Speaker, is that elders and seniors, once they age, once they have aged out of labour force, they have very limited financial resources. Many elders in communities live in great financial needs across the NWT. And when we went to Aklavik, we also met some people that were in that same situation. So the cost of living with their debt to the GNWT is beyond their means.
Mr. Speaker, this debt is a debt they will never get out of for the remainder of their years. So we need to do something about it. And this is why, Mr. Speaker, I am moving this motion, to ask the government to make consideration for elders and seniors over 60 years and older who owe housing debt to the GNWT. We need to be able to help and support our elders and seniors to age in place. We need to ease the financial burden for elders and seniors to allow them the dignity to live the remainder of their life in their homes, the place where they raised their families and built all their memories. And some of these elders have medical conditions that as I am currently speaking. Some of the elders have medical issues. They're on dialysis. Some of them are cancer survivors. Some of them have cognitive issues. There's all kinds. And, you know, and other illnesses that's relate to aging.
And I also talked to some of my constituents due to debt accumulated over the years. And what they did is that some of these elders an elder that I know, they consolidated all their bills with the bank. This is what they did with the bank and used their house as collateral. And these elders some of these elders, they don't understand the term. So it's added stress for some of these elders that are already living on fixed income. So for me, how I see this is that it is an abuse by the financial institution as well.
And I also met some people here, some elders living in Yellowknife who are living on the Gitzel Street in a townhouse. They must be Northern Properties tenants. They are paying over $3,000 for rent, plus utilities. And it is a disgrace because there's no cap, rent cap, on many of these residences. And there's no way anybody will get out of debt if you're paying over $3,000 for rent. And if this elder's going through that, it's more difficult for families with children. So with that in mind, so, Mr. Speaker, I'm asking this government to review the financial procedures for debt collections, and I am asking the government to think about elders and seniors, specifically the financial burden they carry as they age, and whether this financial burden is unjust or unreasonable.
We have responsibility to take care of our elders and seniors. We must be able to find a way to easy their financial stress so they can live the remainder of their days in peace, not forgive the debt when they're gone. Do it while they're still here so they can enjoy life, so they can do things that they want to do with their grandkids, spend more time with their children and grandkids. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. To the motion. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.
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 possible introduction of a new policy approach to further assist Housing NWT tenants and clients in addressing their arrears, including elders. I expect to be able to share this work with the Members this fall.
Cabinet will abstain from the vote on this motion and will provide a comprehensive response to the House within 120 days as requested by this motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing. To the motion. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to vote in favour. I just want to say that was one of the best answers that replies to a motion I've ever heard from a Minister. As a matter of fact, I'm overwhelmed. I don't know, I'm looking for the Kleenex box to cry.
That said, obviously I'll be voting in favour to support my colleague and my community members who face this challenge day to day. And that's all I wanted to say. Good job, Minister, on that response.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. To the motion. Member from Monfwi, you get the final say.
Yes, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just like my colleague said about the Minister of housing, that was a good response to our motion, and I'm looking forward to working with them. And then I'm looking forward to working with her, or all of us looking forward to working with her and then with Department of Finance to fix this. And can we have a recorded vote for this. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Member from Monfwi has asked for a recorded vote. Sorry, actually to the motion.
Question.
The Member for Monfwi. The Member for Frame Lake. The Member for Great Slave. The Member for Mackenzie Delta. The Member for Yellowknife North. The Member for Tu NedheWiilideh. The Member for Deh Cho. The Member for Yellowknife Centre. The Member for Range Lake. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.
All those opposed, please stand. All those abstaining, please stand.
The Member for Yellowknife South. The Member for Kam Lake. The Member for Hay River North. The Member for Hay River South. The Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. The Member for Nunakput.
All those in favour, ten. Opposed, zero. Abstentions, six. The motion has passed.
Carried
Motions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories holds significant authority over lands within community and municipal boundaries;
AND WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories could support the economic development of communities by enabling community control of community land via block land transfer;
AND WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories initiated a block land transfer with the City of Yellowknife in 2021, as a pilot project to guide the rest of the Northwest Territories community land transfers, and this block land transfer remains outstanding;
AND WHEREAS the delay of block land transfer to communities is delaying the development of communities and the implementation of urgent housing solutions desperately needed across the Northwest Territories.
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by Member for Frame Lake, that the Government of the Northwest Territories complete the block transfer of land to communities within municipal and community boundaries without delay;
AND FURTHER, that the Government of the Northwest Territories remove requirements from communities that are impeding this transfer, such as the requirement for surveying, community zoning and bylaw development for land that is under Government of the Northwest Territories authority.
AND FURTHERMORE, that the Government of the Northwest Territories remove internal impediments that are delaying the efficient transfer of lands within municipal and community boundaries;
AND FURTHERMORE, that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide public updates on the status of block land transfer to communities;
AND FURTHERMORE, that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a response to this motion within 120 days.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, land is so crucial to the Northwest Territories. Land is life for the First Peoples who have called the NWT home since time immemorial. And for a modern economy or any economy really, access to land is at its core. We have a unique land management system in the Northwest Territories that stands alone. The Member for the seconder of the motion, the Member for Frame Lake, brought that up only recently, and it stands to reason why. You know, what is this achieving other than unreasonable delays in accessing land that's crucial for development. This motion speaks to the need for land for affordable housing. This motion speaks to the land to access to land for community development. Communities cannot master their own economic futures and pilot their communities forward without access to land within their boundaries. It's impossible. And it's been this way for far too long. This is not the first time a motion like this has come before this Assembly. There were similar motions in the previous Assembly, the Assembly that I served in. I believe our longest serving Member as well has seen more than a few of these motions. So that goes back a long ways. And I know that this is a frustratingly persistent problem.
I know this Cabinet has signalled that they are taking this seriously and does want to move forward, and this motion is designed to give that some push. The pilot project that has been initiated, we would like to see it move forward, and this motion contemplates that. But it's not just a Yellowknife motion. It's a motion for all communities.
I've spoken to colleagues from other regional centres and other places where this motion would benefit, and it would be very much a benefit. I want to point out that this call to action in no way impedes upon the sovereign rights of Indigenous nations to control their own land or to negotiate their own land rights agreements, as is in the case of the Akaitcho and Deh Cho First Nations which are still unresolved. We're very sensitive to that, Mr. Speaker, and we don't want to presuppose the outcomes of those land dispositions. This is specifically speaking to public land that is not subject to interim land withdrawal that's currently within these boundaries.
Excuses in the past have been well, the GNWT might need this land for a future purpose or, you know, there might be a coming claim or something like that. We need to work in the present and set people up for the future. And we can't do that if we don't give them the land in their own backyards. So if we're going to bring, in particular, the cost of housing down and make more housing affordable, which is the number 1 priority of this Assembly, we need to pass this motion. We need to make land available to communities, and it needs to start as soon as possible.
This is also something the standing committee on Accountability and Oversight has put in their report on the main estimates, that this is something they want to something the committee all supports. So this motion is reenforcing that message, that if we don't modernize our system of land management, ensure that communities have access to land so they can plan, then we will not move forward as a territory. We will not solve our housing crisis, and we will not unlock the potential economic growth in our communities, from our largest community here in Yellowknife to our smallest communities that could benefit from this, from access to their own lands. So I strongly encourage the House to support this motion, and I look forward to the coming debate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. To the motion. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just briefly, I support this motion. I've heard from Mayor Clarence Wood several times since I've come down, since I was elected, that it's been an issue for the town of Inuvik, whether it's for the expansion of the Inuvik satellite station facility or just accessed land for more R2 and R1 residential property which, as you know, is being scooped up right now by our Indigenous governments, which is great. So just wanted to reiterate my colleagues' echo my colleagues' sediments that, yes, it is an issue and we realize that it is being looked at by the government right now, and I think that it is in AOC's response to the address, but I do support this motion.
Inuvik Boot Lake. To the motion. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The mover of the motion, I want to thank him for doing that, and certainly the seconder. This is an important issue for all communities, not just Yellowknife. This affects all public governments, whether they're municipal or Indigenous governments. You know, it affects everyone to move forward on their plans, their growth of their communities, as well as the sustainability of their economies. I mean, if you cannot have land to plan with, you can't predict you can't plan for the future, whether it's housing or business interests. So there's no sense in repeating everything my colleague from Range Lake had said because I basically took the best of things to say about this motion, and I acknowledge that because he's absolutely right. This is critical. And it makes it very challenging. And if a city or a town or whatever community has to apply for land each and every time when they're wanting to do big and difficult initiatives that take time, the last thing you need is the municipal and community affairs to stand in their way, and that discourages growth of the community. So I'll be supporting the motion, and I think it's I think this is so critical for the government to respond on and finally show leadership on this initiative. Why hold land in this form when it's not needed? It's so unusual. I can't think of a single reason why we are so unique on this particular file. Thank you.
Member from Yellowknife Centre. To the motion. Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly won't need 20 minutes to speak on this one.
Mr. Speaker, I'm also rising to speak in favour of the motion. Mr. Speaker, when I served on Yellowknife city council, the issue of access to lands was on ongoing frustration. When I asked staff at one point, you know, in a particular moment of frustration, whether any other jurisdictions in Canada have systems like this where lands within municipal boundaries have multiple layers of jurisdictional management? The answer that staff gave me at the time was no, that the NWT is unique.
Mr. Speaker, I understand that we have outstanding land claims and certainly support excluding lands under interim withdrawal from consideration for transfer, as spoken to by the Member from Range Lake. However, I don't otherwise see why municipalities shouldn't be managing lands within their boundaries as most municipalities do anywhere else in Canada.
If the departments implicated in this motion are concerned about certain implications of granting communities this responsibility, I ask could those be addressed in ways which don't impede access to lands for municipal development which aren't of concern?
I spoke to priorities in my Budget Address earlier today, Mr. Speaker. Duplication of land management in municipal boundaries, where municipalities have been devolved responsibility by the territorial government, is not something which strikes me as being a high priority. I don't think the territorial government would or does appreciate when their federal counterpart overly involves itself in governance of the territory. The reason authority is devolved is to ensure local oversight and appropriate levels of governance, whether that be from the federal government to the territory or from the territory to municipalities. Where possible, Mr. Speaker, I don't want to unnecessarily impede communities from developing their lands to increase access to housing, which I see as being the primary reason for this motion coming forward. Let's find a way to move forward on this which works for municipalities and do what we can to ensure that whatever concerns exist on increasing municipal autonomy are addressed with reasonableness, fairness, and consideration of the top priority of this Assembly, which is development of housing. Sorry, I don't have the off the top of my head. But that wraps up my written comments on the motion, Mr. Speaker. I just think that we should be prioritizing where we can, not getting in the way of municipalities developing their lands. I think my colleagues have spoken to this already; I won't repeat what's been said. So that stand as my list of reasons for supporting this motion. And I'm certainly interested to hear the government's response. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. To the motion. Mr. Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the motion calls for block land transfers. I believe what was intended was bulk land transfers. The block land transfers were the historical process of the transfer of administration of lands from the Government of Canada to the Government of the Northwest Territories. And so perhaps the Member would like to amend the seven instances in the motion that say "block" and change them to "bulk" so that it's accurate for they're going for, if that's what they are going for. But regardless, the government will be abstaining from this vote and will be providing a response within 120 days if it passes. Thank you.
To the motion. To the Member from Range Lake, final say.
Thank you. Yeah, I think the Honourable Premier is however it works out, I think the intention is clear. We'll allow the government to respond to this motion, but the intention is, of course, land held by the GNWT to move towards municipalities, one government to another.
And in cases where there's designated authorities, there would be a conversation with bands that manage their communities as with municipal powers.
So I'm sure the Minister of Environment and Climate Change probably has more a technical response that will be forthcoming if this motion carries, and it sounds like we have good support, and we'll be able to have a conversation or be able to consider the full information. But a lot of this motion what this motion contemplates is work behind the scenes, work with municipalities. I'm sure we will bring this back to the communities we represent and make sure that their aspirations for access to their own land is brought forward to them. So with that I will ask, again, that the House support this motion and we move forward into a future where municipalities have control over their own economic destinies through adequate access to their own lands. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you, Member. To the motion.
Question.
The Member for Range Lake. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake. The Member for Monfwi. The Member for Frame Lake. The Member for Mackenzie Delta. The Member for Yellowknife North. The Member for Tu NedheWiilideh. The Member for Deh Cho. The Member for Yellowknife Centre.
All those opposed, please stand. Those abstaining, please stand.
The Member for Great Slave. The Member for Yellowknife South. The Member for Kam Lake. The Member for Hay River North. The Member for Hay River South. The Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. The Member for Nunakput.
To the motion. Those in favour, nine. Opposed, zero. Seven abstentions. The motion has carried.
Carried
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Maintaining Northwest Territories' Housing Stock.
WHEREAS in 1993, the Government of Canada cancelled social housing programs in the Northwest Territories, which built significant local economy and created multiple housing units;
AND WHEREAS the Homeownership Assistant Program resulted in the construction of many new homes across the Northwest Territories, but these homes were built without the required operation and maintenance funding to maintain these homes;
AND WHEREAS the state of the Homeownership Assistant Program units in the Northwest Territories are reaching the end of lifecycle and need complete emergency retrofit;
AND WHEREAS Housing Northwest Territories acknowledges nearly one in four households in the Northwest Territories are in core housing need, and the cost of addressing core housing is estimated at $300 million in capital and $18 million in ongoing operational funding;
AND WHEREAS home inspections are urgently needed to determine the actual costs to address housing repairs and to plan for bringing homes across the Northwest Territories up to National Building Code standards;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by Member for Yellowknife North, that the Government of the Northwest Territories immediately provide funding grants to Indigenous governments that wish to complete home inspections in their region.
AND FURTHERMORE, that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide financial support to Indigenous governments to assist in data collection to support opportunities to leverage federal government funding;
AND FURTHERMORE, the Government of the Northwest Territories provide funding to Indigenous governments in alignment with the Mandate of the 20th Legislative Assembly to ensure sustainable financial resources for housing programs and projects;
AND FURTHERMORE, to facilitate this financial support, the Government of the Northwest Territories enter into a memorandum of understanding with all interested Indigenous governments and bring forward necessary appropriations by the end of the 20242025 fiscal year;
AND FURTHERMORE, that the Government of the Northwest Territories respond to this motion within 120 days.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The motion is in order. To the motion. Member from Tu NedheWiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I brought this motion forward as a result of when I was first elected in the 19th Assembly and one of the things that came out of my riding is that housing was a problem. To qualify for a housing corporation program, you pretty well had to shoot an arrow from Yellowknife to hit a board in Lutselk'e and if you hit the middle of the bull's eye, then you could qualify for a program. Well, Mr. Speaker, the policy of the Government of the Northwest Territories just doesn't work for our people in small communities. And as a result of the demand from and hearing back from my constituents in small communities, they've asked me to put together a letter to the housing Minister in the 19th Assembly, and which I did. I put in a letter of about over 120 homes that needed urgent repairs, and I never got a reply back for about three or four months.
And at the end of the day, the letter that I got back was that they're saying that this issue is going to be addressed by the Circle of Aboriginal Leaders. And so that was a response to me. So when I go back to my constituents in Fort Resolution who are the elders are asking for help, I had to tell them that, sorry, the response this is my response back from the Minister, and this is what I had to tell them, what the results were.
But regardless, Mr. Speaker, in the Northwest Territories, prior to 1993 the housing corporation did a really good job in getting money from CMHC and the federal Government of Canada, and they built anywhere from four to 500 homes a year and throughout the Northwest Territories, and that included Nunavut prior to 1999. And so what's happening now, the average life cycle of a house is about 50 years, and before it needs work. But right now, in small communities, we have a lot of houses that are 30 plus years old and in dire need of complete retrofit.
If we don't address this issue now, then the problem is going to come is when these homes is going to be condemned. And they could be condemned by the fire marshal. And if that happens, then it only adds to the overall housing crisis we have here in the Northwest Territories.
So I took it upon myself to recognize that the housing corporation doesn't have the money today to address these homeownership repairs in small communities throughout the Northwest Territories. And so what I did was I put together an idea, thinking outside the box and trying to figure out a way how I could work with Housing NWT and the Minister, trying to figure out a way to resolve this issue. And the only way I could think of it is because I know that they don't have the money to deal with this issue, I thought maybe okay, well let's try something different. I got about 540 homes in my riding, and there's about 200 public housing units. And so the rest is we could call them private homes. Those are the ones that I want to look at. And if I'm able to get some SEED money from the housing corporation to undertake the inspections of these units and determine the actual cost to bring up these units to National Building Code standards and then put it all together. And if I'm able to work with the Minister of housing corporation with the Akaitcho Territory government and the NWT Metis Nation in Fort Resolution, we could do this collectively.
And I got support letters from them already. My letters are sitting in the Minister's office right now for support to undertake a project like this. But this motion that I have in front of us now is going to be identical for other regions in the Northwest Territories to step up and maybe work with the Housing NWT because this problem in my riding of Tu Nedhe is no different than all of other five regions in the Northwest Territories. It's the same issue. So the housing issue's not going to go away.
So speaking to the motion, this is something that is needed. When I put my letter together on March 15th, 2024, outlining my priorities for my riding, again housing is still the number one issue. And it turns out now that the priority of this government is housing is the number one issue. So I'm being proactive, trying to think outside the box and put together if we work with the Housing NWT in partnership with Indigenous governments, then we all can hit the bull's eye together. So that's something I'm thinking outside the box. So, Mr. Speaker, to the motion, that's why I brought this forward. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Tu NedheWiilideh. To the motion. Minister of Housing NWT. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And just briefly here, I want to thank the Member for Tu NedheWiilideh for bringing this forward. I think it really aligns with the Assembly's priorities and some of the intentions stated in the business plan, and I just wanted to bring up those.
So something that was pointed out by one of my colleagues, as we discussed this, that I think is a good thing to consider as we move forward with trying to get more, you know, home inspections, really understand the need for housing repair and maintenance and take that to the federal government, but was she was saying that the danger of providing home inspections or audits, if there is not an intention to actually make sure that those repairs get fixed, then you might be raising people's expectations or sort of giving them false hope and, you know, they're opening up their homes and their privacy to have someone go in and go through and decide what all the repairs are needed and then might get very disappointed if those repairs don't happen. So I want to make sure that we put the control in the hands of community governments, Indigenous governments, and ensure that people are aware of what we're trying to understand better the need and take those funding requests to the federal government, or wherever funding might be available, and just make sure that people are fully on board and understanding what we're trying to do. And I do hope that we can make significant progress in addressing the repairs, the maintenance that does need to be done. There's a huge need, as my colleague from Tu NedheWiilideh was talking about, so I do hope that we can really make significant progress on that but that we also don't give sort of unrealistic expectations to people everywhere that they're immediately going to get everything fixed. I want us to chart out a plan and make sure that we are doing it thoughtfully and diligently in setting out the pathways or the funding that will help us get there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. To the motion. Minister of Housing NWT.
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 nationallyaccepted housing needs assessment template to complete an assessment of all housing needs throughout the NWT and do so in partnership with Indigenous governments, community governments, and in addition working with the Member and his colleagues. Noted in the meetings in the MLA’s riding, Housing NWT will commit to working with Indigenous governments to assist them in securing funding to address housing priorities in their regions.
I look forward to providing an update on all these efforts as part of our written response to this motion. Cabinet will abstain from the vote on this motion and will provide a comprehensive response to the House within 120 days as requested by the motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Housing NWT. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour oh sorry, Member from Tu NedheWiilideh, you have the right to conclude the motion, sorry.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I want to thank my colleagues and also the Minister for your response, and I think this is a good opportunity to understand that working outside the policy of government and coming together on a common issue, especially if it's a priority of this government, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to look for solutions, and I thank you for giving me your support on this motion. Mahsi. And I'd like to ask for a recorded vote too as well. Mahsi.
