Lucy Kuptana

Députée de Nunakput

Ministre responsable d’Habitation Territoires du Nord-Ouest
Ministre responsable de la condition de la femme

Lucy Kuptana a été élue à la 20e Assemblée législative des Territoires du Nord-Ouest en novembre 2023 pour représenter la circonscription de Nunakput, qui comprend les collectivités de Paulatuk, de Sachs Harbour, de Tuktoyaktuk et d’Ulukhaktok.

Juste avant son élection, Mme Kuptana était directrice générale du Hameau de Tuktoyaktuk. Elle a également occupé le poste de membre du conseil d’administration de l’Administration scolaire de district de Tuktoyaktuk.

Pendant 22 ans, Mme Kuptana a été la directrice des opérations, des communications et de la culture de la Société régionale inuvialuite. À titre de bénévole, elle a été membre du conseil d’administration de la Inuvik Homeless Shelter Society, administratrice du Prix Inspiration Arctique, présidente de la Société inuvialuite des communications, membre du conseil d’administration de la Société inuvialuite de placement, membre du conseil d’administration des sociétés communautaires de Tuktoyaktuk et d’Inuvik, et membre du comité des Jeux de la jeunesse du Nord 2023 « Inuvialuit Piuyausiat » à Tuktoyaktuk.

Mme Kuptana est originaire d’Aklavik et a grandi à son camp familial établi sur les terres ancestrales du delta du Mackenzie. Elle a obtenu un certificat de niveau II et de niveau III en administration communautaire au Collège Aurora au début des années 1990 et y est retournée pour obtenir un diplôme en administration des affaires et en gestion en 2013. Mme Kuptana poursuit actuellement des études dans le cadre du Programme de gouvernance et d’administration publique des Premières Nations à l’Université du Yukon.

Malgré une carrière fructueuse s’étendant sur plusieurs décennies, Mme Kuptana attribue ses réalisations à ses parents et à sa famille élargie, à son mari, à ses deux fils et à ses deux petits-enfants. À ce sujet, elle dit devoir une grande partie de sa carrière à sa famille, aux aînés et à tous ceux qui se sont battus – et qui continuent de se battre – pour les droits des Autochtones et des Inuvialuits.

Le principe qui guide Mme Kuptana est de diriger avec respect et empathie et avec les connaissances et la volonté de travailler sans relâche pour le bien commun de ses électeurs et de tous les résidents des Territoires du Nord-Ouest.

Committees

Lucy Kuptana
Nunakput
Bureau

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Boîte
1320
Ministre
Ministre responsable du logement des Territoires du Nord-Ouest, Ministre responsable de la Condition féminine

Déclarations dans les débats

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 61)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. Housing NWT has various housing programs, housing assistance programs, to help those that need to upgrade their home, renovate their home, have their home become more energy efficient. There's different type of programs like the senior aging in place. We have a mobility program. We have an emergency repair program. We have a number of different programs that are advertised throughout the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 61)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my most recent visit to Behchoko, and hopefully going into Whati over the summer, I see the need going into the communities, looking at what people need in communities to survive, and transitional housing is one of those pieces, including shelter space, including warming shelter space, including transitional housing, including THARP, including public housing, including market housing. So there's a huge need in the housing continuum across the North, and the Tlicho region is one of those regions and ridings that need housing. And, again, we have to look at this on a...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 61)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's a difficult question because the seniors are encompassed in the entire public housing program, so the local housing organizations manage our public housing program through the community housing services agreement so that encompass all communities and all population, all ages, including seniors, so that's very important to highlight.

And in terms of seniors aging in place, again, like transitional housing, the question she asked earlier, this is something that is needed throughout the Northwest Territories because seniors are looking for proper accommodations to...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 61)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In this Cabinet, we are discussing housing all the time with the different departments, including justice and health and education, eulture and employment and infrastructure, and then with finance and our Premier involved, constantly. Housing is a priority of this government. We work towards that. How do we move ahead, that's important. So we need to have plans in place, including transitional housing in all communities. But how do we get there? We need to get the funding and supports working alongside Indigenous governments who are receiving distinction-based funding...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 61)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was waiting for you to -- that's okay. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question.

Transitional housing and wraparound supports, it's required all across the Northwest Territories. Looking at our waiting list, looking at Behchoko, we have over 130 families waiting for housing. In your Member's statement, you indicated some applicants may wait their entire lifetime for housing. So the work we do at housing, the money that this Legislative Assembly has approved over the next number of years, the federal engagement piece, the working with the...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I am proud to recognize the outstanding achievement of staff at Housing NWT who were recently honoured with the Community Project of the Year award from Canadian Biomass. This award celebrates the district heating wood-pellet boiler system installed at Sissons Court housing complex in Yellowknife.I want to extend my sincere gratitude to the dedicated staff of infrastructure services at Housing NWT, as well as those from the Department of Infrastructure's energy, design and technical services group, for their support and commitment.

In 2022, Sissons...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I respect everyone's viewpoint, and I don't want to be stifling or suppressing any type of freedom of expression as we live in a democratic society. But in our role as elected officials, we have to be careful in our expression to ensure we are not bullying or intimidating or hurting intentionally. We have to lead the way in public discourse, especially in this age of social media, with our children and our grandchildren accessing it constantly. I would agree that having the committee examine the code of conduct. If it needs to be updated, I...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 59)

Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to building more homes for Northerners. This commitment is strongly supported by a large new incremental investment in housing totaling $150 million over the remaining term of the 20th Legislative Assembly. The investment is the result of strong collaboration by all Members of this House and highlights the strength of our consensus government system. Improving the suitability, accessibility, and affordability of housing is a top priority of this government.

This investment plan focuses on sustaining the public housing portfolio by replacing aged housing...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 57)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have asked the same question to Housing NWT, how can we relocate these families to get them out of Nova, to get them away from that situation. The problem is that we don't have any other units available in Inuvik at this time. We continue to push it. We try to move them out and move them to other locations that are safer within the community. We're looking at different security measures within Nova to beef that up. We are talking to the landlord. But at this time, we do have a lack of available public housing in Inuvik. That's the crux of the problem, Mr. Speaker...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 57)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, homelessness is a complex issue that affects all of our communities. The rising cost of living, addictions, and climate emergencies have disproportionately affected our most vulnerable residents. The GNWT is committed to finding solutions that provides more homes for Northerners.

The GNWT continues to focus on a whole-of-government approach to address homelessness, following the development of A Way Home: A Comprehensive Strategy to Address Homelessness in the Northwest Territories.

A Way Home highlights the need for collaboration among government agencies...