Kate Reid

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Committee Report 39-20(1), Standing Committee on Procedure and Privileges Report on the Review of Rules of the Northwest Territories, No. 3, be deemed read and printed in Hansard in its entirety. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Premier's previous commitment to the House to assess whether pathfinding for disability-related programs and services could be a future focus for integrated service delivery. I am curious, can the Premier also explain whether he sees value for overarching policy approach on disability across the whole of government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the 2017-2027 NWT Disability Strategic Framework has four goals, one of which is a shared commitment to coordination and collaboration through a whole-of-government approach and across non-government disability partners.

So if this is a whole-of-government goal, Mr. Speaker, I am hoping that the Premier can elaborate if there is ongoing collaboration both within government and with NGOs to improve research, analysis, evaluation, and reporting on disability issues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In their 2024-2025 annual Report, the rental officer stated that only two successful rental applications for lack of maintenance and repair to the premises made it through. In their words, the rental office continues to receive many inquiries from tenants regarding landlords' obligations under section 30 of the Act, although very few tenants follow through with making an application. I would like to know from the Minister of Justice if section 30 of the Residential Tenancies Act is planned to have a fulsome review and recommendations from the Department of Justice...

Madam Chair, that is all for me. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Social Development discussed the topic of rent scales and rent control in Committee Report 29-20(1), but due to the complexity and contentiousness of the feedback that they received, chose not to make any recommendations. Instead, they stated that consideration of these topics should fall to any future reviews the GNWT undertakes on the Residential Tenancies Act.

The Minister of Justice has noted publicly that in the 17th Assembly, when rent caps were last discussed under the Act, that the Assembly rejected these measures as not being fit for...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I got really excited because my last question was about the last page of the business plan, the very last page, so in the entire, huge business plan that we have. I know I get excited about weird things, Madam Chair. That would be the evaluation plan for Housing Northwest Territories. I am specifically interested in the market rental program. It's not going to be in the 2026-2027 -- or, yeah, not in the 2026-2027 year but in the 2027-2028 year, and it's noted to be in the initial planning stage. Could the Minister please provide some details and substantiation around...

Thank you, Madam Chair. And I guess all of this is sort of culminating to my main question, and it sounds like more work needs to be done to understand as new assets come online with health, which is how does Housing NWT expect to continually fund this new division? I assume it's being made permanent. And if new assets come online, will the costs to housing decrease? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And I believe there might have been a breakdown shared with committee but if not, hopefully the Minister can share that with committee in writing. That would be wonderful. It's been a long two-ish months, Madam Chair. I apologize if people have already seen that before.

So regarding the operations and approach to staffing for the YK day shelter and sobering centre, I understand that that is sort of a temporary holding spot while the wellness and recovery centre comes online. Is there any contemplation, then, of how that may shift when the wellness centre is available...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't want to ask any further questions on that before the Minister has announcements later this week, so I will stop there right now.