Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for this opportunity to provide the Legislative Assembly with the fall economic and fiscal update. This statement will describe the changes that have happened since Budget 2025 was released, review the supplementary appropriations to date for 2025-2026, and outline how we are revising our fiscal strategy goals to better match the uncertain economic times that we find ourselves in.

2025 has, again, been marked by notable natural disasters which were a major focus for many residents and workers over the past few months. The year is not over and still there are active...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to start by simply saying that Avens has been and remains an important partner to the GNWT in terms of delivering advocacy and support and services to residents, to seniors, to their families. They've been fulfilling that role for a great many years. And the residents that live there, Mr. Speaker, depend upon that sort of services, depend upon the services of the staff that are there. And so, Mr. Speaker, I do -- I acknowledge that there's -- many residents who were brought here as well as staff were here earlier but, Mr. Speaker, at this point, I...

Mr. Speaker, I don't have the ability to allocate houses. But it does relate certainly to the work that myself and the Minister of housing are actively involved on, and there is shared responsibility in the mandate for the GNWT between Department of Finance and Housing NWT to work on the housing assessment. It's being led by housing. I know that Minister spoke to it yesterday. But the Department of Finance has been involved in support and certainly would be involved in support of arrears, dealing with arrears, and all of those issues in some ways do bundle together, Mr. Speaker, that they'll...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can't provide a timeline. I can say that the Minister of housing and myself have actually spoken about this as recently as yesterday and that we are looking to see some solutions for this as quickly as possible. My hope is that there is a solution ready within this fiscal year. Obviously, at this point we've only had some initial discussions, the Minister and I, so I'm a bit hesitant to put that kind of a marker on it but I agree with the urgency. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following six documents: 2026-2027 Capital Estimates; Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization), No. 3, 2024-2025; Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2025-2026; Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2025-2026; Fall 2025 Economic and Fiscal Update, and the Northern Employees Benefits Services (NEBS) Pension Plan Annual Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2024. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following four documents: GNWT Response to Committee Report 22-20(1), Standing Committee on Public Accounts Report on the Review on the 2023-2024 Public Accounts; GNWT Response to Committee Report 24-20(1), Standing Committee on Public Accounts Report on the Review of the Auditor General's 2024 Audit of the Stanton Territorial Hospital Renewal Project; Interim Financial Report 2024-2025; and Northwest Territories Power Corporation Amended Capital Budget. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This question certainly has come up over the last few years when individual communities have been evacuated, some, honestly, for very lengthy periods of time or on multiple occasions in the course of one year.

So again, the program we've landed on at this point is really meant to supplement. So it's supplementing the fact that there are accommodations provided, that folks who need accommodations outside of the group-type accommodations are triaged and meant to get access to hotel accommodations and as well as transportation. The goal being that most people should not be...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, October 20th, 2025, I will present Bill 32, An Act to Amend the Public Service Act, No. 2, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, obviously, the department does certainly take a whole-of-government view. We do work with municipal and community affairs and to look at what programs and services they are offering through the emergency services that they are leading and coordinating and keeping ourselves, as much as we can, within the parameters of programs that are at least somewhat funded by the federal government and their programs, Mr. Speaker, and, of course, working too with ECE. They also provide emergency funding for income assistance clients and at the same time wanting to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with respect to this program, this grew after the initial -- well, the most recent evacuations that we had in 2022 and then in 2023 and 2024, and initially there was no additional supports beyond those which were provided by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, which do include transportation to an accommodation facility, food and meals at the accommodation facility, some basic toiletries, and often support for the United Way who will step in and provide additional supports through either NGOs locally or to municipalities. It was as...