Lucy Kuptana

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I want to thank the Member for bringing this motion forward today and acknowledge the importance of this topic. I understand it is a critical issue for many elders across the Northwest Territories.

Housing NWT will continue to work closely with the Department of Finance and other GNWT departments to consider the issues presented in this motion. We look forward to working with the Member and her colleagues on the issues identified in this motion.

Some of this work is already underway. Housing NWT has been reviewing all relevant government policies and considering the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding is that the topic has been raised at the Council of Leaders and not specifically the housing forum. I am not aware of any direction from that discussion to pursue a separate and distinct naming of this right in the Northwest Territories as it is already acknowledged federally. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Lot development is primarily a community government responsibility, and funding is provided to communities through their capital funding that can be used for this purpose. Housing NWT has engaged with Municipal and Community Affairs as well as Environment and Climate Change to work on the issue of land availability for housing in communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So with the information I've been provided, Housing NWT does not receive funding from CIRNAC every year. In the 2022fiscal year, the federal government announced a twoyear funding allocation for Housing NWT to invest in public housing. This budget announcement was separate from the funding announced as distinctionbased funding for Indigenous governments for housing. Housing NWT was very pleased to see that the funding going to Indigenous governments to support the housing needs in the Northwest Territories. Moving forward, though, Housing NWT intends to work in partnership with Indigenous...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And from our perspective, we have a good working relationship with NGOs that provide emergency shelter and transitional supportive housing to residents. We are always looking for new funding opportunities both within and outside the GNWT and provide pathfinding support to these NGOs to access additional funding resources. Additionally, Housing NWT's staff regularly speak to the NGO staff related to other issues that they may have, including safety concerns and educational opportunities. When speaking to longer term or multiyear funding agreements, that is a question...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So Housing NWT, as part of the GNWT federal engagement approach, will include housing as one of its top priorities for discussions on funding with Canada. Housing NWT will be focused on finding new sustainable longterm approaches to addressing housing needs. Housing NWT's supported by the other GNWT departments has begun preparations to engage with federal officials and will be doing so shortly now that the mandate has been finalized and released. The federal government, in its recent budget, announced a number of funding programs to address the national need for...

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to acknowledge the Fifth Anniversary of the Release of the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The final report describes the dire situation faced by Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBPQIA+ people as genocide, and delivers 231 Calls for Justice directed at governments, institutions, social service providers, industries, and all Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, here in the Northwest Territories, where half of the population is Indigenous, we are all too familiar with the harmful effects of colonialism. From the era of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In speaking to this motion, I want to support my colleague, Minister Cleveland in this position, but I also want to support the remarks of the MLA for Monfwi how important this position is. It's a leadership position in this government, and I find it funny that we're having a motion on the floor of the House to talk about a senior leadership position in this government for language and culture, somebody that's going to lead the way for this government and provide the best expertise to the Minister for language and culture. So when we talk colonization, when we talk...

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize two pages from the Nunakput riding. Natalie Joss and Kianna Bernhardt who are both students at the Helen Kalvak Illihapaq in Ulukhaktok. Quyananni, and welcome to Natalie and Kianna for being here today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I apologize for my hand being late. You were pretty quick. I just want to have an opportunity today to recognize Beverly Amos. Beverly here is visiting us in the House. She's one of our very few Inuvialuktun language experts in the Northwest Territories. There's very few of them left, so I want to take this opportunity to recognize Beverly. Her hometown is Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories, and she now lives with her husband Lawrence at their cabin at Hans Bay on the InuvikTuktoyaktuk Highway. So welcome, Beverly.