Lucy Kuptana

Member Nunakput

Minister Responsible for Housing Northwest Territories
Minister Responsible for the Status of Women

Lucy Kuptana was elected to the 20th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories in November 2023 to represent the constituency of Nunakput, which includes the communities of Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour, Tuktoyaktuk, and Ulukhaktok.

Immediately prior to her election, Mrs. Kuptana was the Senior Administrative Officer for the Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk. She was also a director with the Tuktoyaktuk District Education Authority.

For 22 years prior, Mrs. Kuptana was the Director of Operations, Communications, and Culture with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC). In a volunteer capacity, she has served as a director of the Inuvik Homeless Shelter Society, trustee of the Arctic Inspiration Prize, president of the Inuvialuit Communications Society, director of the Inuvialuit Investment Corporation, director of the Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik Community Corporations, and a committee member for the 2023 Northern Youth Games “Inuvialuit Piuyausiat” in Tuktoyaktuk.

Originally from Aklavik and raised at her family’s bush camp in the Mackenzie Delta, Mrs. Kuptana obtained a Level II and Level III Certificate in Community Administration from Aurora College in the early 1990s and returned to graduate with a Diploma in Business Administration and Management in 2013. Mrs. Kuptana is currently enrolled with Yukon University, where she is working towards accreditation in the school’s First Nations Governance and Public Administration program.

Despite a successful career spanning decades, Mrs. Kuptana credits her parents and extended family, her husband, her two sons, and her two grandchildren. She says she owes much of her success to her family, the Elders, and those who have fought – and continue to fight – for Indigenous and Inuvialuit rights.

Mrs. Kuptana’s guiding principle is to lead with respect, empathy, knowledge, and the willingness to work hard for the constituents she represents and all residents of the Northwest Territories.

Nunakput Electoral District

Committees

Public Accounts
Nunakput
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Email
Phone
(867) 767-9143
Minister
Email
Email
Minister Responsible for Housing Northwest Territories, Minister Responsible for the Status of Women

Statements in Debates

Minister’s Statement 57-20(1): Maintenance and Repairs
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 27)

Mr. Speaker, under the 1997 social housing agreement with the federal government, Housing NWT assumed responsibility for the ongoing operations and maintenance of the territory's public housing units. Many of these units remain in service and need significant renovation or replacement. Housing NWT continues to invest in maintenance and renovation on an annual basis to keep assets in good working condition. I would like to speak today on how Housing NWT manages its assets and the ways we are finding efficiencies and partnerships to improve the state of our units.

Housing NWT plans to invest over...

Committee Motion 31-20(1): Tabled Document 93-20(1): 2024-2025 Main Estimates – Industry, Tourism and Investment – Deferral of Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 25)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to note that it is the same timeline as the housing needs assessment. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 31-20(1): Tabled Document 93-20(1): 2024-2025 Main Estimates – Industry, Tourism and Investment – Deferral of Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 25)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, the members can access this program. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 31-20(1): Tabled Document 93-20(1): 2024-2025 Main Estimates – Industry, Tourism and Investment – Deferral of Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 25)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you to the Member for the question. I mean, housing always could use more money, but we do have a carry forward plan. MMI is part of that carryforward plan, and we got some a lot of work over the next year to catch up with that work. So our capital and our MMI budget is carried forward, and there's a lot of projects on the go. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 31-20(1): Tabled Document 93-20(1): 2024-2025 Main Estimates – Industry, Tourism and Investment – Deferral of Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 25)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Like I mentioned, we do have a $93 million carry forward plan in capital, which includes new builds and MMI projects. We also have the $13 million outlined in the 20242025 Main Estimates. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 31-20(1): Tabled Document 93-20(1): 2024-2025 Main Estimates – Industry, Tourism and Investment – Deferral of Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 25)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm pleased to introduce Eleanor Young, who is the president and CEO of Housing Northwest Territories. And to my right is Mr. Jim Martin, who is the vicepresident of finance with Housing NWT. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 31-20(1): Tabled Document 93-20(1): 2024-2025 Main Estimates – Industry, Tourism and Investment – Deferral of Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 25)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would encourage the elders if they're interested in inspections of their homes, that they contact the local housing authority and the local housing authority could work with program staff at the district office. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 31-20(1): Tabled Document 93-20(1): 2024-2025 Main Estimates – Industry, Tourism and Investment – Deferral of Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 25)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. For modernization and improvement of units, that is an MMI project, and that's under community housing services under expenditure category minor modernization and improvements. It comes through our capital plan. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 31-20(1): Tabled Document 93-20(1): 2024-2025 Main Estimates – Industry, Tourism and Investment – Deferral of Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 25)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And the waitlist, the housing waitlist, is something that is quite surprising considering the need across the Northwest Territories. And like the MLA mentioned, especially in regions like the Tlicho region, I look at numbers Fort Smith, Hay River, Inuvik, my community of Tuk, Yellowknife, the waitlist is long. Some of the work that we've done and that we're continuing from the 19th Assembly is addressing some of that waitlist. And then we're also looking at working with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, especially around income support clients, to...

Committee Motion 31-20(1): Tabled Document 93-20(1): 2024-2025 Main Estimates – Industry, Tourism and Investment – Deferral of Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 25)

Thank you. I am pleased to be here today to present the 20242025 Main Estimates for Housing NWT.

Overall, the corporation's estimates propose an operating budget of over $120 million, representing a decrease of $12.76 million from the 20232024 Main Estimates.

This decline in annual funding is primarily related to the sunset of shortterm funding from the federal government and funding for shortterm initiatives from the GNWT to assist Housing NWT in developing partnerships with others delivering on housing projects in the Northwest Territories by cost sharing on approved housing projects under...