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. A member of the Executive Council, she is the Minister Responsible for Housing Northwest Territories and the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women.

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 previous, 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 husband and family in supporting her. She says she owes much of her success to 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
Lucy Kuptana
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

Question 408-20(1): Housing Arrears Forgiveness and Repairs for Indigenous Communities
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 36)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, another tough question. Thank you to the Member for that. I appreciate it, Rick. But these are some of the things that we have to do, the policies that we have to amend. Talking about this situation in one of the communities, these are tough discussions we have as Housing NWT. And sometimes policies don't fit but policies are rules and guidelines, and we have to look at those and see how we could make things fit for the community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 408-20(1): Housing Arrears Forgiveness and Repairs for Indigenous Communities
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 36)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this forgiveness arrangement has been an ongoing issue for a number of years. Housing NWT and this government's forgive hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars in housing arrears over the last 20, 30 years. We have to work with the clients at this moment. And we're working with a housing forum, which includes Indigenous governments, to review our policies to make these policies workable for the people of the Northwest Territories. Right now many of these policies are almost impossible for many to accomplish, so this is work that we're doing with...

Question 405-20(1): Winter Road Season Planning
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 36)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, again, much of this work is ongoing. We have an infrastructure team within Housing NWT that works on design and also the rollout of housing infrastructure projects within the communities. So a lot of this work is ongoing. There's a lot of internal work and a lot of discussions with local housing associations to make sure that these projects are delivered on time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 36)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize Major Tony Brushett from the Salvation Army, a partner with Housing NWT and with this government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 408-20(1): Housing Arrears Forgiveness and Repairs for Indigenous Communities
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 36)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I apologize, Mr. Speaker. I won't do that again. But, again, I commit to the work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 408-20(1): Housing Arrears Forgiveness and Repairs for Indigenous Communities
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 36)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member's asking some tough questions on the floor of the House. But, you know, commitments have to be made, but I -- at this point, I can't make commitments in terms of pausing evictions. Many of the evictions that are happening today are those from illegal activities in public housing units. And that will be my ministerial statement tomorrow. It'll describe some of the work that Housing NWT is doing towards illegal activities.

Much of the evictions that are slated towards rental arrears are slowed down, some are paused. I'm pressing Housing NWT to work with the...

Question 405-20(1): Winter Road Season Planning
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 36)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Something that Housing NWT does internally is work with communities on the loads going into the communities. I can have this discussion with the MLA, also with Housing NWT, to make sure that these loads going in are full loads and that we're utilizing all resources. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister’s Statement 80-20(1): National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 35)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to talk about gender-based violence.

Two out of 100 residents in the Northwest Territories have reported intimate partner and family violence to the police. As of 2019, Statistics Canada lists the Northwest Territories as having the second highest rate of police-reported intimate partner and family violence in Canada, and we know that not everyone reports these incidents to the police.

Women are disproportionally affected by gender-based violence. Gender-based violence comes in many forms, and some of the people experiencing this violence may not...

Committee Motion 47-20(1): Tabled Document 193-20(1): 2025-2026 Capital Estimates – Health and Social Services– Deferral of Department, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 34)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, vice-president of finance and infrastructure will reply to the question. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 47-20(1): Tabled Document 193-20(1): 2025-2026 Capital Estimates – Health and Social Services– Deferral of Department, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 34)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. CMHC and CIRNAC, we had a bilateral agreement signed with CIRNAC in 2020, and those agreements provide us operations and maintenance dollars to maintain the public housing units across the Northwest Territories. It's approximately $19 million combined, $18 million combined, something in that range. It's declining year to year. We have the bilateral agreement that will decline -- or will end in 2028, and the CMHC agreement will end in 2038. Thank you, Mr. Chair.