Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on Friday evening, our Inuvik volunteer fire department responded to a fire at the temporary location for the Inuvik warming shelter in Veterans Way. All staff and residents got out safe but due to the damage, they were relocated to a new location a newold location I should say, on Berger Street. And as per the fire chief's public update, it was stated that it was an electrical issue.
Mr. Speaker, on Saturday night, they then responded to another second fire at the same location, and this ended in a total loss of the building.
Mr. Speaker, I want to take this time to thank the Inuvik fire department and all its volunteers who went out and fought this fire in the minus 30 temperatures. Your service to Inuvik is extremely valuable.
I also want to thank the Northwest Territories Power Corporation staff that restored the power to our residents as quick as they did. I would also like to make a note that my constituents were after the Minister of NWT Power Corp.
Mr. Speaker, the residents in this facility are our most vulnerable, especially during these winter months, and I'm thankful for the quick action on the Housing Department that got the residents into their temporary location right away. But, Mr. Speaker, moving our most vulnerable from an old vacant building to another is not a solution. We have been told that we are to receive a GNWT homeless strategy, yet we have not received this.
Mr. Speaker, in our territory we have many under housed residents in all of our communities. In the smaller communities, we tend not to know that they are there. However in our regional centres, and the capital, we see many residents that tend to move to access some of these important services they cannot get in their home community.
Mr. Speaker, this crisis is more than a shelter. It's the services and the support that these residents require, as well as the shelter, to be able to begin assisting our underhoused residents of the Northwest Territories. I will have questions for the Minister responsible for Homelessness and Housing Corporation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.
