Thank you. To the motion. I'll go to the Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is another recommendation that committee looked at in conjunction with the foundational piece of looking at the National Housing Strategy Act and how it operated, and committee was very interested in the role of the federal housing advocate and even looked into whether or not the federal housing advocate could also be the Northwest Territories Housing Act similar to how the Auditor General of Canada is our auditor -- our independent auditor for our government. But it was felt that having someone on the ground who is -- and, well, there's challenges with that act too because it's not our Act, but having someone, a northerner, be able to fill this position and having boots on the ground who understands the issues here in the NWT and also the intergenerational trauma and colonial legacies that have led to Indigenous homelessness and housing challenges, we really need to find the right person to address that and to champion these issues. And I was around when the ombud became a thing and we passed the legislation there and, you know, when these independent offices come up there are people who say, well, isn't that what MLAs do or can't the ombud do it anyway so why do we need this specialized thing. And the reason, I would argue in this case, is we have some of the greatest housing need in the country. 18 percent of the households in the Northwest Territories are in major need of repair or are unsuitable compared to 7 percent in Canada, and our rates of being unhoused and unable to access suitable and adequate housing are similarly disproportionate to the national average. When you have a problem that ingrained, you need to put resources behind it; you can't just rely on the systems that already exist because clearly, they're not working as well as they should. So having a housing advocate office in place that's independent of the government that can act as a watchdog for housing policies and also as an independent advisor to ensure those policies address the very complicated makeup of -- or the very complicated housing situation in the Northwest Territories and the many levels of governments that are out there. We're not just talking about, you know, the GNWT; we're also talking about sovereign Indigenous governments and their role in the housing continuum. So we really need this expertise. We need this advice. And it needs to be independent from government so it can provide that guidance and that independent advice that's sorrily needed to kind of shake us out of complacency and start thinking about these things differently and really cut through the silos, the roadblocks, the barriers, that are preventing us from real -- the progressive realization of housing in the Northwest Territories. So this one is a very important position, which is why the committee also is recommending very clear timelines for how this office gets implemented and that it gets implemented -- or at least the plan on how it gets implemented comes into effect one year after the recommendation's made. So I think this is crucial, and I encourage the House to support it -- or the committee, rather, to support it. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. To the motion. Seeing none. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining?
---Carried
Thank you. I'll go back to the Member from Monfwi.
Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories assign the territorial housing advocate and its office to investigate how human rights and advocacy organizations can pursue legal remedies for violations of the right to housing through legal or policy frameworks;
And further, this research study should identify existing legal barriers to housing-related claims, consider amendments to the Northwest Territories' Human Rights Act or other relevant statutes and establish clear mechanisms for litigation and legal recourse;
And furthermore, the research study should be done in consultation with affected communities and legal experts and presented to the Legislative Assembly for consideration within the first year of the office creation. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? Motion carried.
---Carried
I am going to go back to the Member from Monfwi.
Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories review and amend the Northwest Territories' Residential Tenancies Act to include a proportionality framework that considers reasonable alternatives and ensures that evictions are used as a last resort only in serious situations such as those where criminal activities are present. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? Motion carried.
---Carried
Thank you. I am going to go back to the Member from Monfwi.
Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories review the evictions from public housing policy to incorporate consideration of multi-generational living arrangements prior to eviction decisions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? Motion carried.
---Carried
Moving on to Motion number 7. I'll go to the Member from Monfwi.
Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories increase the number of supportive living and transitional housing options for individuals who are evicted from public housing. Steps and timelines to achieve this should be included in the government's costed action plan as referenced in Recommendation 22. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. To the motion. I am going to go to the Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just briefly I wanted to flag the importance of this one. I know it does sound like a large and overwhelming request. It is difficult and expensive to come up with supportive living and transitional housing options, but it's also so necessary as even a preventative measure. We know that as soon as you let people fall into homelessness, like a spiral of other problems tend to follow from there and those problems also get really expensive for government in terms of how to care for people when they don't have homes, the health problems, the other kinds of societal problems. And so that's why there are other programs, for example federal funding programs around rapid rehousing and -- that just recognize this importance of preventing and avoiding homelessness. And so if people are being evicted from public housing, especially given the kind of legislation that this Assembly is going to be contemplating in the next year or two around SCAN, I think we need to think really seriously about how we're going to be preventing homelessness. Even though it seems hard and expensive, I do believe it's it's going to be even harder and more expensive if we don't prevent homelessness and don't have rapid rehousing options for people who are losing their public housing. So I'll leave it there. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay. Thank you. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? Motion carried. Thank you.
---Carried
I am going to go to Motion number 8. I'll go back to the Member for Monfwi.
Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories amend the Legal Aid Act and its regulations to include matters arising under the Residential Tenancies Act, as well as other housing-related legal matters, such as evictions, that may fall outside of the Residential Tenancies Act, as subjects to which legal aid services may be provided;
And further, the Government of the Northwest Territories should utilize the upcoming new federal Blueprint for a Renters' Bill of Rights to inform the development of effective legal aid services for tenants that reduce the power imbalance;
And further, to provide effective legal services, the Government of the Northwest Territories should allocate funding to the legal aid program to support services provided for housing-related matters. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? Motion carried. Thank you.
---Carried
I'll go back to the Member for Monfwi for Motion number 9.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories review and ensure that Housing Northwest Territories' policies are culturally appropriate, including any related applications be available in Indigenous languages;
And further, the Government should also implement policies to train government service officers on culturally appropriate advocacy related to housing issues. Thank you.
Thank you. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? Motion carried. Thank you.
---Carried
I'll go to Motion number 10. I am going to go to the Member for Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories present a legislative proposal by mid-2026 to significantly modernize the Northwest Territories' Residential Tenancies Act;
And further, the amendments should be centered on the right to adequate housing and provide clear guidance to tenants and landlords on their rights and responsibilities. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. To the motion. I am going to go to the Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to put extra emphasis on this one as I was speaking about this in my Member statements the other day, but just to emphasize the need to look at the recommendations that have been coming over and over again every year from the rental officer in their annual report, including a need to tackle the problem of landlords that are repeat offenders and even the need to address issues that appear to be sort of widespread throughout a building as opposed to only being able to address them unit by unit based on one individual complaint at a time and to ensure that people can actually meaningfully exercise their rights. I mean, on the other side in terms of rights of landlords, I mean, there's been recommendations by the rental officer obviously for ways that eviction orders could be more immediately enforced. So I think this review of the Residential Tenancies Act is long overdue in terms of the rights of both landlords and tenants, and I really urge this government to make it a priority. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. To the motion. I'll go to the Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. And the RTA has -- I mean, it's almost a third rail in politics in the Northwest Territories. It is constantly brought up as needing reform and yet elusively remains unreformed. And the committee feels very strongly that this needs to change. And, you know, whether you talk to landlords or tenants, no one is satisfied with the way it's currently drafted. It allows a great deal of latitude, and perhaps too much latitude to the rental officer, to come to decisions without a lot of guidance that could be put towards a more tenant-centered approach, founded in the right to the right to housing as contemplated by this recommendation, and I do support that.
If you have very clear expectations about what to expect from the RTA, it will make everything move quicker. And even if it is as it should be, largely, you know, centered on the tenant and the tenant's rights more so than than landlords', that's still going to work better for landlords because if they don't have clear expectations it just makes things more challenging, and having very clear responsibilities on both sides is also just as important because the rental officer should not necessarily be put into a place where they have to be the arbiter of all things related to the RTA. The RTA needs to provide very clear guidance because at this point, rental officers become, you know, judges, really, and the longer they serve, the more they shape the office rather than having people kind of come into the Act, into the legislation, and having clear guidelines for how things are supposed to go. So this is really essential if we want to maintain the rights of tenants and also if we want to create, you know, a level playing field for everyone because that's going to attract, you know, more landlords into market housing environments as well because it's very clear how the rules work, and it's also going to ensure the tenants in those market conditions are protected. So I really hope that we are moving farther than just a review of the RTA and we actually bring forward major legislative amendments to the Act before -- well, as this mid-2026. So it's coming up quickly, but that's the urgency of this crisis, and it needs to be addressed. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay. Thank you. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? Motion carried. Thank you.
---Carried
I'll go back to the Member for Monfwi on the 11th motion.
Mr. Chair, I move that the committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories conduct an operational review of the Northwest Territories Rental Office, including whether it is accessible for tenants and landlords, whether it is adequately staffed, and whether access to justice through the Northwest Territories Legal Aid Commission is integrated within the roles and responsibilities of the rental office. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
To the motion.
Question.
