Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week, Members received a letter from the Family Violence Shelter Network seeking assistance to reinstate funding for the annual building shelter capacity fund in the 2025-2026 Budget. The network is a partnership between YWCA-NWT in Yellowknife, safe homes projects in Fort Good Hope and Fort Simpson, and family violence shelters in Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk, Hay River, and Fort Smith. The shelter capacity fund slated to be cut is in the amount of $100,000. These funds are vital to the work the network does to train and build capacity of shelter staff to meet GNWT service standards.
Mr. Speaker, as you might imagine, this kind of work is emotionally intense, and as such the sector deals with high turnover. Training of all kinds, from basic family violence 101 training to risk management to trauma informed practice, is a continual need of both the management and frontline level.
Mr. Speaker, when I was president of YWCA-NWT, getting safe homes out of the pilot project stage and into more of our smaller communities was a tangible way that NGOs and Indigenous governments are collaborating to help address the needs of family violence survivors and address trauma. Shelters and safe homes are a desperately needed service across the territory. We don't have cut a small amount of money that is an investment in positive outcomes and impacts for our residents up and down the Valley. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Members' statements. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
