Ronald Bonnetrouge

I call Committee of the Whole to order. Committee, we have agreed to consider Bill 80, Dental Hygienists Professions Statutes Amendment Act. I will ask the sponsoring Member of the bill to provide opening remarks. MLA for Kam Lake.

Mahsi. To the motion. MLA Monfwi.

Mahsi. Committee, we will defer the bill number and the title until after consideration of the clauses. Please turn to page 3 of the bill.

Clause 1, does the committee agree? Member for YK North.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I think the Minister's really missing my point on this whole my Member's statement alluded to the Rapid Housing programs and the fact that the Housing NT Minister and staff didn't do enough to ensure that every community was going to get some units, because I'm saying everybody's been crying for housing, especially in the Beaufort Delta where there's really hard to get at the communities of like Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk, and Ulukhaktok. And these were 100 percent dollars for homes that could have been given to people. And I ask housing, you know, why were they not aware of...

Member for Frame Lake, we can't entertain any questions while the motion is on the floor. To the motion. MLA Frame Lake.

Committee, we will defer the bill number and the title until after consideration of the clauses. Please turn to page 3 of the bill.

Clause 1, does committee agree? Minister of Health and Social Services. Pardon?

My apologies, committee. Does the sponsor wish to bring in witnesses?

Mahsi. To the motion. MLA Kam Lake.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are related to my Member's statement on housing and are for the housing minister.

Housing NT did not notify communities, nor residents, of the Rapid Housing Initiative Program despite the cries for help from all communities dealing with severe housing shortages. Can the Minister apprise this House, and the residents of the Northwest Territories, as to why Housing NT were not involved in the rollout of the Rapid Housing initiative in the NWT? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. I want to express a few concerns I have with this bill. I know at the outset when UNDRIP was being discussed, for quite some time, even in 2019, I think there was high hopes that it would be implemented by all levels of government across the country which would give a lot of autonomy to Indigenous governments. That's what I saw then. But then being in this government or not the government, I should clarify that.

Seeing the actions of this government and how they deal with First Nations governments in the Northwest Territories, I sense that there's lots of disrespect when...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and to the Minister also. I think my Member's statement has clearly pointed out, from all news reports and whatnot, that we can't trust the Alberta government to work with our territorial government in providing any notices or advanced notices of the contaminants. They clearly don't have any control over what is happening at the tailings ponds at the tar sands mine sites. It's just run amuck right now.

In light of that, Mr. Speaker, the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and the Mikisew Cree First Nations of Fort Chipewyan, south of us in Alberta, have dealt with this issue...