Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to start my 2026-2027 Budget response by acknowledging the residents of the Northwest Territories, the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, especially to the residents of the Mackenzie Delta region. The contents within this proposed budget should shape your future, future of your community, future of the Northwest Territories and Canada. And it is our responsibility to ensure that your future is secure and safe, whether you live in Yellowknife, Hay River, Inuvik, or the small community of Tsiigehtchic. This proposed budget should reflect your fiscal and personal responsibilities from this government for the coming fiscal year.
Mr. Speaker, this proposed budget is more than dollars and cents. It should be a plan for a safe, vibrant, and sustainable future for all the residents of the Northwest Territories. It should measure the immediate needs of our homes, our communities, and our territory with a long-term vision that will shape the economic future of the Northwest Territories for generations to come. We are building on the past for our children and their children, not making promises, but making good on our promises. This government is more than halfway through its mandate, and we're still trying to make good on our priorities that we set in November of 2023, priorities that we set collectively to make the lives of the residents of the Northwest Territories healthier, economically sound and safe.
Mr. Speaker, every resident of the Northwest Territories needs assurance that their immediate and long-term future is secure and that their children's future is secure for generations to come. The security of their future weighs heavily on the decisions that we make as a government. Let us not be a status quo government but a government that will make good on the decisions that will bring prosperity to every person that calls Northwest Territories home. Let us continue to invest in our resources that will make Northwest Territories a place where investors will come and help build our economy. But we must invest in our greatest resources, and those resources are people of the Northwest Territories.
The residents of the Northwest Territories are concerned about the high cost of living, their housing needs, their health care, their children's education, just to name a few.
Mr. Speaker, if it was not for the Dempster Highway and the seasonal Aklavik-Inuvik ice road going through the Mackenzie Delta region, we would have nothing in this 2026-2027 proposed budget.
Our local Indigenous companies must be given every opportunity to participate in building the economy of the Northwest Territories. The Mackenzie Delta electoral district is vast, and our residents should be able to be competitive in contracts with the Government of the Northwest Territories whether it is through incentives or negotiated contracts. The communities of Aklavik, Teetl???it Zheh, and Tsiigehtchic, need to be recognized by this government as equal partners in the Northwest Territories. We do not have rich deposits of resources, but our communities and its residents do have traditional and cultural knowledge to share with the rest of the world.
Mr. Speaker, we have a high number of Northwest Territories residents who are struggling with addictions, with a high percentage of them being of the Indigenous population. When an individual is plagued by addictions, it has a negative impact on every department within this government. I would like to see more emphasis put on homegrown treatment and aftercare. The Northwest Territories needs its own treatment centre where our own people heal our own people. Sending our residents down south should not be the only option given to our residents. We have to start the healing process right here in the North because it is where the problem exists. Aftercare is one area that I've been hearing about because when our people return back to their respective communities, they fall right back into the situation that they left a month ago.
Mr. Speaker, Yellowknife, Hay River, and Inuvik have the highest population of homeless people, and that is where the funding is being concentrated on. They have the highest rate of homelessness because there are no options within our smaller communities, and our residents go to the bigger centres to take advantage of the services. The homeless residents would like to stay in their communities, but they have nowhere to stay. More options should be given to them so they can stay in their communities to take some stress off the larger centres.
Mr. Speaker, the housing crisis is an international crisis that we have to deal with on a daily basis. Housing NWT is working hard to overcome this issue with what funding they have at their disposal. The local housing authorities have to play a bigger role in this crisis. It does not only affect their respective communities but the territory as a whole. The housing authorities have to meet and learn from each other. We have overcrowding in our communities, but we also have people living in units where there are more rooms than occupants. The local housing authorities have to meet the needs, the residents' needs. The conditions of these units are not in living standards and yearly housing assessments are conducted but due to funding, we cannot fix these units let alone build new units. Building stick-built homes has to be a priority, not modular homes. Stick-built homes provide jobs. Jobs help stimulate the economy.
Mr. Speaker, the education system, kindergarten to grade 12, is not only failing the students within our smaller communities but is failing the communities. Implementing another jurisdiction's education system is not the answer. We have to educate our children so that they are vibrant members of our territory. Socially promoting our students is no longer an option that I agree with. We have a small percentage of graduates who are able to pursue post-secondary education and find a real career path. The higher percentage of graduates do not meet the requirements to go to college or university therefore are recipients of the income assistance program. Educating our children has to be a priority; a priority that every child, every parent, every community, and this government can be proud of. This is investing in our people.
Mr. Speaker, the healthcare system is another area of great concern. The residents of the smaller communities are deeply concerned about the quality of healthcare they are receiving. I understand that we are part of this international crisis when it comes to recruiting and retaining health professionals to our territory. Recruiting and retaining health professionals is just one part of the concern. Medical travel, medical escorts, and accommodations is also an area where improvement needs to be addressed.
I would like to see the Indigenous governments play a bigger role in accommodations for their membership. Collaboration between several Indigenous governments and the GNWT can address the accommodations concern. Having a patient advocate within each of the communities will bring more efficient services to the patients. A collaborative approach between the GNWT and the communities will bring relief and assurance to the residents of the smaller communities.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring forth the concern that has been addressed for some 40 years, the concern that the Tsiigehtchic residents have been calling for over 40 years; the concern is to obligate Treaty 11, and that is to provide police and nurse services within the community of Tsiigehtchic. The population of Tsiigehtchic should not be the reason as to why they are deprived of these essential services. Tsiigehtchic is on the highway system and with the high rate of hard drugs entering our communities, Tsiigehtchic needs these services today.
Mr. Speaker, the treaty obligations of the federal and territorial government has to be maintained and made a priority. This government seems to be forgetting that Treaty 11 and other treaties were signed with the residents of the McKenzie Delta and the territory will get the best education that is available to them and the best health care that is available. In recent years, since devolution, our treaty obligations have diminished a great deal, and this government needs to revisit how they are obligating our treaty rights. Every resident of the Northwest Territories needs to be treated fairly, treated with respect, and treated as though this government takes their needs very seriously.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to thank my colleagues on this side of the House for their continued support in helping me to try and meet the needs of the residents of the McKenzie Delta region and the territory as a whole. I would also like to thank the executive council for their efforts in running the territory, building the economy of the Northwest Territories, and providing essential services for the residents of the Northwest Territories. Working together can only strengthen our government therefore providing a brighter future for the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
