Alfred Moses

The Member is correct. We are bringing two market rental duplexes, which equates to four units. These should be ready for occupancy hopefully by March of 2019.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, it would be inappropriate for me to discuss any specific application and information on our residents here, but if there is no program demand for a particular unit and it does remain vacant, the NWT Housing Corporation can re-profile a HELP unit into a market unit or vice versa. You can't turn a market unit into a HELP unit, but it would be inappropriate for me to discuss any specifics on any kind of application information. Like I said, if there is no program demand, then, we are able to re-profile those units. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, six community governments in the Northwest Territories had an election on October 15, 2018. These elections took place for all of our communities with city, town, or village status, including the city of Yellowknife; the towns of Hay River, Fort Smith, Norman Wells, and Inuvik; and the village of Fort Simpson.

There were 87 candidates in total, vying for 52 available seats. The large number of candidates shows that there was keen interest in the local level of government and that individuals want to serve as leaders and decision-makers for their community.

M...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 31, Northwest Territories 911 Act, be read for the second time.

The bill directs the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs to establish the NWT 911 service, a service for receiving and transferring emergency calls within the NWT. The bill binds the Government of the Northwest Territories and mandates the participation of telecommunications carriers, local authorities, and emergency service providers in the NWT 911 service.

The bill establishes a 911 cost-recovery fee and requires every...

Just for the record, I did not say the Member had said anything bad about our regional district offices, so I do not know where he got that from. Secondly, we continue to promote our programs in the Housing Corporation that have been having an impact in all of our communities across the Northwest Territories. In terms of HELP units, I answered the question earlier. It's based on demand for the program, and, if the demand is not there, then we are going to turn it into a market rent unit and vice versa. If the market unit is there and it's not being used, we will turn it into a HELP unit. Some...

At this moment in time I do not have a timeline for when Fort Simpson will get on that list. We have put it out there. As I mentioned in my statement, we have Indigenous governments that are seeking interest into developing these community housing plans. The community of Whati for one is a community that we are going to start with. This is new. This is new to government. It's new to the NWT Housing Corporation. As we start to develop it, and I have said this time and time again during the session, once we get a housing plan up and running it might show us a template for similar communities...

The introduction of more HELP units into any community across the Northwest Territories is only considered if there is a demand for the program. Obviously NWT Housing Corporation would like to work with residents to get into home ownership or work with them to get into housing units, but the same is for market units, you know. We have nurses, we have teachers out there who need units to stay in, and we need to find balance. The introduction of any HELP units across the NWT would be considered if there was a demand for the program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I mentioned earlier, units are not profiled to another program unless it is confirmed that there is no demand for the unit under the original program, and that was the case.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to welcome Judy, as well, a constituent of Inuvik Boot Lake. Always good to see you here in the proceedings and supporting and giving good advice to our Member representing Inuvik Twin Lakes. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, access to housing continues to be one of the most serious issues for people in the Northwest Territories. Many new players are coming to the table with a new interest in addressing this need, and roles and responsibilities for housing delivery continue to change and evolve. Our government is committed to working with the other governments and housing stakeholders to implement Northern solutions for Northern housing to help address our high cost of living.

The federal government has come back on the scene with a potential long-term commitment under the...