Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Executive summary: Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Social Development presents this Report on committee Project: Housing as a Human Right, to advise the Government of the Northwest Territories on how to implement the right to adequate housing through updates to territorial laws and policies. The report outlines committee's study, public engagement, findings, and positions on key legislative and policy updates needed to advance housing rights in the Northwest Territories (NWT). The report puts forward 44 recommendations to guide the GNWT's response which will strengthen housing policy...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Social Development is pleased to provide its Report on Housing as a Human Right and commends it to the House.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Mackenzie Delta, that the remainder of Committee Report 29-20(1), Standing Committee on Social Development's Report on Housing as a Human Right, be deemed read and printed in Hansard in its entirety. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

ED: the link for Committee Report 29-20(1), Standing Committee on Social Development's Report on Housing as a Human Right can be found here.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker. In many of our communities in Tlicho region and the rest of the NWT, landfills are not adequately engineered to protect people or the environment. They lack basic safeguards such as contaminant liners, designated waste zones, and proper leachate management. In some cases, waste is deposited directly on the land just a short distance from creeks, lakes, or wetlands, with no barriers to protect against runoff or groundwater contaminations.

Mr. Speaker, this is not just a technical oversight. This is a public health risk.

Improperly managed dumps attract...

Thank you. Yeah, with the community expanding, we will -- they will definitely need some form of transportation for the students. So that's about it, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Okay, looking at the education project listing for the schools, I don't see Whati school on here on this project. There are other schools in Tlicho region that are on there with some repair. But Whati school was built to accommodate elementary students in the early '80s. Now it's accommodating high school students. Because of that, classes are -- classroom space are limited. And I know that they need more classroom space for young family, once -- for young families that are moving back with the young kids. Because now it's even -- I think we need to focus on doing...

Thank you. Can the Minister explain if financial or technical support is available to communities, especially small and remote communities, to upgrade their landfill infrastructure to include liners? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Range Lake, that Committee Report 29-20(1), Standing Committee on Social Development's Report on Housing as Human Right, be received by the Assembly and referred to the Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker,

The Standing Committee on Social Development recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories review the Community Housing Support Initiative program to ensure it is reaching its goals and full effectiveness. Specifically, Committee recommends interviewing current and past recipients on the feasibility of supporting housing affordability and adequacy beyond the duration of their contribution agreement in order to evaluate the initiative's long-term impact on housing. It is recommended that the Government of the Northwest Territories publish the results...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The lump sum funding provided for under the emergency relief or evacuation relief program does not take into account the actual amount of time a resident has been evacuated from their own community. It doesn't take into account the actual cost residents have incurred. Can the Minister explain why this is the case? Thank you.

Well, same too, like with my colleague from Yellowknife North said. We have lots of surpluses, why do we have to purchase a vehicle for a lottery vehicles? There's lots of surplus vehicles. So $51,000 could have went somewhere else. Maybe for, you know, sports or recreations that small communities are lacking. And this is just for Yellowknife only, you know, and nothing for the regions, so. And GNWT has a lot of surplus vehicle here, so why are we purchasing this $51,000 vehicle? It's not a lot, but it's lots for us in small communities because we are always without, and we don't get enough...