Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I am going to talk about the past, the present, and what the future may hold for trades in my community.

As far back as grade six, I can remember being introduced to the trade of carpentry. I can remember Mr. Gordon teaching us the basic skills in our options class. As I moved through the grades, I remember shop, automotive, and other trades offered to students. There was even a stream in our school for those who were more interested in the trades to focus solely in this area. It was a practical program within the senior high school.

Today, if we are lucky to have...

Can the Department of Justice let me know how they categorize urgent and non-urgent cases when assigning Legal Aid?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Justice. We are going back to my Member's statement. Can the Minister tell me: have the two vacancies at the Legal Aid Commission been filled, and, if not, where is the department currently in filling these positions? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for her answer. Can the Minister provide me or the Members with any information packages that we can keep in our offices for when clients do come to us? When we go to the websites, sometimes it is not as clear. If we have easy-to-read stuff, whatever issue that they are dealing with, we would be able to provide them with assistance.

Can the Minister tell me: how will the department ensure that the region's needs are met now that these services have been centralized back to Yellowknife and we have vacancies?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to talk about legal aid. In 2016, it was decided by the government at the time that budget cuts needed to happen, according to a CBC article that I found, which stated: "The budget proposes closing the town's legal aid office, which specializes in family law, and moving the sole lawyer position from Inuvik to Yellowknife. The office's administrative worker position would be eliminated." Mr. Speaker, that did happen.

Since being elected, I have heard from my constituents that, once applying for legal aid, they wait months for a family law lawyer. That would...

Mr. Speaker, what changes to the GNWT housing strategic or plan that they currently have is the Minister looking at to deal with this issue as the current strategy plan clearly is not working to improve the housing situation? As the study has shown, it has gone backwards in the last ten years.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As you are aware, housing is a basic necessity that everyone needs, especially here in the North, where temperatures swing dramatically. Recently, we received the NWT Bureau of Statistics 2019 Housing Indicators Community Survey. Shortly after that, CBC released a new story in which it was outlined, and some have called housing here in the North a crisis. This is not the first time in recent memory that this term has been used or hinted at to describe our housing situation. Last year, a housing summit was held in Inuvik where similar issues were raised.

Housing in every...

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to being bold and lead her department to try and find new ways to increase the total number of housing units and get people off these waiting lists and into actual housing?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As mentioned in my Member's statement, my questions today are for the Minister of Housing. The housing situation and supply in the NWT is getting worse. How is the department planning on dealing with our housing situation that is on the records of getting worse in Inuvik and the rest of the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.