Lucy Kuptana

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, understanding the situation, I do know for a fact that with the 84 -- 94 units, because the Tlicho have been assigned 10 of those units, Tlicho government, that the community of Behchoko will be assigned ten of the modular units over the next two years. So these are being constructed in the Northwest Territories at the METCAN facility and in Behchoko in partnership with Tlicho government. So over the next couple of years, we'll have ten units for the community of Behchoko. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, just repeating my answer, it is a vendor complaint process and this will inform future processes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, a contract was recently awarded and announced for the Northwest Territories, 84 modular units in the North. There is an exemption period, an appeal period, and housing is moving forward with the construction. And the exemption or the oversight of the bid will be used as a lesson going forward if there's any discrepancies. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: 2024-2025 Annual Report Action Plan in Response to Calls for Justice on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the work with housing over the last couple of years has been extensive. Again, we've had a hundred units across the North from the 19th Assembly, and then we're completing the work of the 20th Assembly. So, again, in terms of specifics, I would have to give the Member some information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, again, thank you to the Member for the question. It is quite concerning and -- to him. But Housing NWT needs to move forward with our modular construction because, as everyone knows in this Assembly and in the Northwest Territories, we need homes and we need more homes for Northerners. So if we continue to wait for appeal periods and vendor complaint processes, holding up the entire process, that means we're losing time to build homes and move those homes into communities. So it is a vendor complaint process, not an appeal process, and this will inform future...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm confident with the team at Housing NWT, with the team we have at headquarters, and having these internal discussions over the last couple of days, we have to drive this. And we know that with this Legislative Assembly that housing is the number one priority. And I have made my expectations very clear to staff that we need to drive this and get this done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to begin by expressing my deepest respect for the late Tony Whitford. Though I did not have the privilege to know Tony personally, Mr. Whitford personally, I recognize and admire his lifelong dedication to the people of the Northwest Territories. He served this territory as a social worker, as a Member of the Legislative Assembly, as Speaker, as Commissioner, and a tireless community volunteer. Mr. Whitford was a true champion of people and community, and his legacy and contributions will continue to inspire us all.

Mr. Speaker, it is because of that legacy that I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yellowknife Housing Authority will be allocated the Aspen Apartments to manage, and what we're hoping to do is we will move tenants into the building from other landlords, and also other tenants within the housing authority that need to be reallocated. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And again, I have stressed the urgency to staff, to headquarters and district staff, that this is something that needs to be addressed. It's been 13 years since the last OEG audit, and it hasn't improved. The Member is correct; it hasn't improved. It's probably gotten a lot worse. But in terms of performance pay and performance reviews, these are internal discussions, and these are human resource issues, so I'm not prepared to discuss them on the floor of the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.