Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Orin Gwiinzii. Good day, colleagues. Today I would like to give my perspectives on the 2024 2025 Budget of the Government of the Northwest Territories and how it will affect the residents of our communities. Although the government has to make some very difficult choices for the benefit of our immediate future and the continued lifestyle of all our residents who are dependent on the operation of our daytoday wellbeing. We, as a government, and the residents of the Northwest Territories, must play an important role in making this budget work for all involved. Myself, as a Member of the Legislative Assembly, has always and will continue to fight for communitybased programs where I feel fit. There are situations where I will have to side with regional or territorial decisions mainly for the fact that this is where some of these decisions have to be made. Mr. Chair, I will start with the department responsible for housing.
This, the 20th Assembly, has made housing its top priority. In 1967, the government came into our communities and stated that it would make our lives more comfortable and convenient to live. Although we did not find our lifestyle uncomfortable or inconvenient, we let the government of yesterday disrupt our traditional way of life. We have become too dependent on the government and we have to get away from this dependency.
It is evident that this government, or any government, cannot relieve us of the housing crises that we are encountering. The Government of the Northwest Territories cannot meet the housing needs of our communities now or in the immediate future. What we can do is work collaboratively with the Indigenous governments of our respective communities to try and come up with realistic solutions to this ongoing crisis. Financial resources should continue to flow to the communities because it is our community leadership who are the ones that are dealing with the housing issues on a daytoday basis. I would encourage the department to continue to work with the communities on a regular basis.
The renting formula has to be addressed as soon as possible. The current rent scale is not working for the tenants who reside in the public housing units because of the high unemployment rate within the Mackenzie Delta riding.
Most of the employment opportunities are seasonal. With the current rent scale, most of the seasonal workers are getting into arrears with Housing NWT. There are situations where some of these potential employees do not want to work because their rent will increase, or they will not qualify for income assistance.
Mr. Speaker, the health and social services department is also on the minds of all residents of the Northwest Territories and we have to meet the needs of the residents in order to have a healthy and vibrant family, community, and Northwest Territories as a whole.
Addictions is plaguing our residents and our communities throughout the North, and we have to address the crises head on. I have always stated that in order to combat the addictions problem, we must include the whole family in the treatment process because it is just not the addict who requires counselling services. When one person is addicted to a substance, it impacts the whole family and therefore we must help them to cope with the treatment process and be part of the solution.
Mr. Speaker, medical travel and medical escorts is an ongoing issue that needs special attention. We find that there are clients who are elderly, illiterate, or have English as a second language going to southern institutions by themselves. The financial resources surrounding this concern should not restrict the clients from having an escort to assist them in receiving the best care possible.
I know that we are in a nursing shortage throughout the North, and we all have to play our part in adapting to this shortage. In our smaller communities, we must utilize the community health workers so that the clients are given the best care possible and that starts with these local workers who are all well known to these patients. Being able to administer medicine that has been prescribed is very important to the healing process of our elderly patients.
Mr. Speaker, income support has been one of my more concentrated areas of concern. In no way am I trying to punish the recipients of this program. The aim of my concern is to have our residents become more selfreliant and less accustomed to free handouts. There are people who require the use of this program, mainly the elderly and disabled. This group of people are identified, and I will advocate for their continued benefit from the income assistance program. But there are individuals who are able to work or conduct some sort of productive choice in an effort to get them back into the workforce and be a positive example to their families and to their communities. I have been an advocate in trying to find positive measures where the Indigenous governments can assist the Government of the Northwest Territories in developing programs where we can educate our people in becoming less reliant on the government and help the economy grow.
I am enthusiastic in the approach that this government is taking in regards to education. Education is the fundamental part of our communities in having a sustainable economy, a healthy community, and a healthy Northwest Territories. If we can do away with socially promoting our students, we will have a brighter future and this government seems to be addressing this concern. Building the selfesteem of our younger generation will enable the future generation to be productive leaders in the coming years and that tasks starts today.
I have attended too many graduation ceremonies where the celebration is merely a celebration, not one of completing one's grade 12 where they are eligible to move on to postsecondary education, not where these misled students are stuck in our communities with low selfesteem. It is time for this government to honour our treaties that were signed in an effort to provide the best education to our children, now and in the immediate future.
Having a sustainable economy will benefit everyone in the Northwest Territories for years to come. We have to include the Indigenous governments and the grassroots people at the community level. What works in Inuvik, Hay River, or Yellowknife may not work in the community of Tsiigehtchic because the residents of Tsiigehtchic will have their own vision. What we can do as a government is provide the communities with resources to continue to move forward.
Public safety seems to be a concern to the residents since the inclusion of hard drugs coming into our smaller communities. The RCMP are reluctant to assist where assistance is needed because they may not have the resources or may not have the training to address the issue that comes with the criminal activity related to gangs and drug dealers from southern parts of Canada.
It has been over 40 years since the MLA's of the Mackenzie Delta riding have been advocating for a nurse and the RCMP to be stationed in the community of Tsiigehtchic, and I will continue to advocate on their behalf. This government is initiating a community policing program in a couple of NWT communities, and it is my hope that Tsiigehtchic will be considered for one of these pilot projects in the near future. It is very urgent that we see the presence of these resource people because Tsiigehtchic is right on the highway system and alcohol and drugs are already in the community with no preventative measures to keep the residents safe.
In closing Mr. Chair, I am confident that this government will indeed make these tough choices for the benefit of all Northerners. I have a 7yearold granddaughter and one day she may ask why I was a part of this process in trying to better shape her future, and I hope it was the right decision that we as a government are making today. We, as a government and MLAs, have to live with the decisions that we make today but it is the residents that we represent who will have to adapt to these tough decisions. I am confident that we can all work together as a government of this 20th Legislative Assembly for the residents of this great land we call home. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
