Lucy Kuptana

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, I think the auditor general report, again, is a wake-up call, and I've committed to this call to action and moving forward, working with the local housing organizations and the district offices as well as headquarters to monitor and improve the housing conditions within community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. This question in her riding is a question in many other ridings because people want to be homeowners, they want to contribute to their household, and they want to stay in that community. So this is the conversation I'm having with housing, and I'm happy that the Office of the Auditor General raised this in their report because it provides us even more of an urgency to get this done. Homeownership program is going to have a fulsome review with Housing NWT and how we deliver that, and especially in small community, small and...

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Auditor General of Canada released its report on the performance audit of Northwest Territories Housing. The auditor general's findings outline several areas where Housing NWT must improve how we provide residents most in need with equitable access to housing and supports through the public housing and homeownership programs.

Housing NWT accepts all recommendations outlined in the report. This is not just another audit, Mr. Speaker, this is a call to action. I acknowledge that action is required to address deficiencies identified in the report and am committed to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that's a tough one. First of all, the local housing organizations have a community housing services agreement with Housing NWT so local housing organizations are the ones that manage the stock, the housing stock, at the local level, and many times they have, and probably all times, they have a residency requirement. So transferring from community to community when there's no housing within community to transfer to is a tough one. So there's many barriers. We can have a conversation, but I would leave this at the local housing organization level because we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, again, a really important conversation that we're having at Housing NWT is how we're supporting small community, how we're supporting people to remain in their community and to live within their community and providing those supports, and I do commit to working with Housing NWT to provide a good, solid review of the homeownership program and how we can deliver positive results. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following documents: Housing Northwest Territories Annual Report 2024-2025. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, it's a big challenge to staff up and to operate a facility, especially a transitional housing facility. And we do have the request for proposal out. It's out for public procurement, and we hope to select an operator very soon. I'll check on the date and follow up with the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it's important that we understand that right now in the Northwest Territories we offer public or market housing, and we're offering shelter space across the Northwest Territories in seven different communities, or seven different shelters, plus we have a Northern Pathways program, plus we have some transitional housing after addictions treatment that recently opened in Yellowknife and Inuvik.

In terms of transitional housing, this is not meant to be permanent, Mr. Speaker, but it provides those that are in kind of, like, suspension right now, they're waiting for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In terms of the definition for transitional housing is individuals that are in transit, so they're looking for independent living and, unfortunately, many times in the Northwest Territories we have people on the waitlist for many, many years. We have over 900 families on the waitlist in the Northwest Territories. So they're on the waitlist waiting for independent housing or public housing, as many people call it, and the idea of transitional housing, it provides some housing but it's in transition. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the progress the Government of the Northwest Territories has made in addressing homelessness, and to acknowledge the ongoing needs ahead. We have taken important steps to remain committed to continuing this work with empathy, focus, and collaboration.

Homelessness is a complex issue that intersects with all areas of the 20th Legislative Assembly's priorities. It is influenced by the suitability, accessibility, and affordability of housing, a strong economic foundation, access to health care and addressing the effects of trauma and ensuring safe residents...