Statements in Debates

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 84)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to make my statement. The Mackenzie River itself, Mr. Speaker, is 1,650 kilometres in length. In most areas, its 1.6 to 3.2 kilometres in width can present many logistical challenges, particularly during the later part of the low-water season.

I have seen it myself during my boat ride of last month between the communities of Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope. In particular, you have to cross two sets of rapids and, in particular, one just above Fort Good Hope, eight kilometres. There is a landmark rock on the outside of the boat route, the only route on that...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 84)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I, too, will support this bill. I totally agree with my colleague from the Mackenzie Delta here on the smaller communities. Because of the high unemployment here, not a whole lot of people have the front-end capital to fund and install solar panels and then get a rebate later. Hopefully, the revenue generated by this will take that into account.

Other pilot projects such as the one done by the Yamoga Land Corporation in Fort Good Hope where they bought over 50 of these secondary combustible wood stoves and install them, sent two young fellows out to do the installation or...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 83)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In reviewing the Minister's opening remarks, there were a couple of paragraphs that made me reflect on last year's occasions that I had to support industry, as well as keeping an open mind on the local concerns. More specifically, this is related to the Enbridge Pipeline 21 repair just a bit upstream from the community of Fort Providence.

As I listened to the presentations made at the National Energy Board, the NWT Land and Water Board, and the many engagements and correspondence that they had with the surrounding community groups, as well as site visits, having knowledge...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 83)

I will relay that message on to the regional leaders in utilization of their bilateral. My third question is: I know that there has been a lot of work on the community housing plans. Can the Minister provide an update on those plans and what is going on in the Sahtu riding?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 83)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further to my Member's statements on housing, my questions are for the Minister of Housing. We are now more than three months after the Northern Housing Summit in Inuvik. Can the Minister talk about what came out of the summit and what next steps might be? Mahsi.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 83)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to speak about the Northern Housing Summit that was held in Inuvik this past April. This summit was attended by over 100 subject matter experts and community leaders from across the Northwest Territories and beyond. The focus of the summit was on communicating housing investment opportunities to stakeholders, providing a collaborative forum for partnership building exempting community design and capacity building tools, and boosting community and stakeholder relationships, an excellent networking engagement.

Mr. Speaker, I recognize that this summit...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 83)

Thanks, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Minister for that information. My last question, Mr. Speaker, is: I understand that the Government of Canada has dedicated funding for Indigenous housing. Can the Minister tell us where we are at with allocations under this fund for the Northwest Territories? Mahsi.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 83)

Thanks to the Minister for the reply. We look forward to the information. My next question, then, Mr. Speaker: I certainly appreciate that the Housing Corporation did a lot of work organizing and bringing communities, Indigenous leaders, and other stakeholders together to learn of the opportunities at the forum, such as the co-investment fund. Organizations in my riding want to put forward proposals under the co-investment. How would they pursue this?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 83)

Mahsi, colleagues. Let's ensure we use this money to support the housing aspirations of all our communities, and let's ensure we start identifying and starting projects under this fund in the very near future. I also think that the community housing plans currently being undertaken by the corporation could provide a useful and helpful roadmap for communities in this regard.

Later, Mr. Speaker, I will have questions to the appropriate Minister. Mahsi.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 82)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. To this motion here, I am of the opinion that, if you are going to make an attractive investment environment for players such as the oil and gas community, which have 100 times more the budget that we operate in 12 months, you are going to have to make it regulatorily attractive. Yet, on the hand of balance, ensuring that there is protection for our pristine environment and having experienced many projects within this sector, I am of the opinion that it is not only in our best interest that the developer acknowledges the terms and conditions of the licence issued as well...