Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier this year in the House, I highlighted some of the housing challenges facing residents of Nunakput communities. But Mr. Speaker, housing is an issue that demands more attention. In my region, availability is a major obstacle. Lack of housing makes life hard for residents, especially those seeking singleperson homes for singleparent families and for women and children seeking emergency shelter. Lack of housing also makes it hard to attract and keep the expert staff that our communities need. Added affordability problems don’t make life any easier. In the past, communities like Sachs Harbour have had trouble keeping teachers, first, because they can’t find housing and because, when they do, it’s too expensive. Mr. Speaker, let’s use Sachs Harbour for an example. The community’s 40 households include 21 public housing units, and, between 2004 and 2009, there was a big drop in the number of homes in core need in this community. But then that rate began to climb again. In 2014, 29.6 per cent of homes were in core need. That may not sound like a lot, but in our smallest communities, small changes have big impacts, Mr. Speaker. That’s what makes it so frustrating when work falls behind schedule. In Sachs Harbour, a prefab duplex has been left uninstalled, waiting for a building pad. We know there is need. We know it is urgent. We know we must take action. When the federal budget was tabled earlier this year, it included $12 million for affordable housing in the Northwest Territories and another $15 million for housing in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, or the ISR, over the next two years. As we get into the nittygritty of our own territorial budget this week and in the weeks to come, I will be closely watching the government’s response to the NWT’s critical housing needs. Quyanainni, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members’ statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
