Lucy Kuptana

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is an important program. We provide $10 million a year throughout the Northwest Territories for home repairs, seniors home repair, senior aging in place, emergency home repair. And, again, this is a program that's fully subscribed. With the auditor general's report and the notes in the auditor general's report, the recommendations with the report, I've asked Housing Northwest Territories to do a fulsome review of the homeownership program to see what we can do and how we can deliver this better because within the report, it talks about some caution and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Housing NWT continues to repair, retrofit, and construct housing across the Northwest Territories at a rapid pace, establishing a strong economic foundation in the North and more homes for Northerners, two of this government's top priorities.

In the two years of this government, 81 new homes have been built, many of them for seniors and singles in communities outside regional centres. Singles and seniors are two priority groups susceptible to core housing need and vulnerable to forms of homelessness as determined in the preliminary findings of Housing NWT's...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like, the home repair program has been with this government for over 30 years, but what we're doing now with the core need income threshold and the review of it, is we're looking at our market basket measure today, in 2026, versus the last update which was 2020-2021. So there's significant work done on the home repair program with the core need income threshold, but also with our public housing program, with our core need income threshold, because sometimes over the last number of years, especially with COVID and especially with global events, cost of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, Housing NWT recognizes the importance of the continued radon testing for health and safety for our tenants. Housing NWT would be pleased to share best practices and lessons learned with NWTAC and LGANT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Housing NWT began its current radon testing program in 2024 with discussion with the LHOs to identify units that would meet the criteria for potential radon exposure. Housing NWT continues to conduct radon tests for housing units that meet the applicable testing criteria for radon risk; for example, housing units with a basement or a sealed crawl space. To date, Housing NWT has completed radon testing in the following communities:

Gameti,

Lutselk'e,

Whati,

Yellowknife,

N'dilo,

Dettah,

Norman Wells,

Fort Smith, and

Hay River.

70 of the 76 tests conducted to date had acceptable...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The space is currently not available, and Aurora College currently has the lease, so no discussions have been committed at this time. Should this situation change, the GNWT would reassess whether discussions are needed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Work that Housing Northwest Territories is doing at this time, again like I mentioned a fulsome review, but we also need to look at all the programs we're offering in the Northwest Territories, in our communities, and with our local housing organization who are integral to housing in the community. So we need to provide them updated systems, more training, more monitoring, how are we allocating units, how are we working with the tenants to make sure that we have tenant succession plans in place, the work we're doing with our territorial housing needs assessment. Because...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. I think in terms of housing in Northwest Territories, again the concern in the Tlicho region is a concern throughout the Northwest Territories. We have 32 communities that we're providing housing for, public and social housing. We have over, like almost 3,000 units that we're providing supports to. With $150 million investment over the next couple of years, we're going to have a significant new build throughout the Northwest Territories and also mentioned in the capital statement we are repairing over 600 homes throughout...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Housing does have an appeals process and we can always have a second look at applicants that are denied. And one thing we are doing with Housing NWT is normally the homeownership program is the regional centres or the capital, and housing is looking at applications outside regional centres and outside the capital. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Response to Motion 64-20(1), Naming of the 50th Street Affordable Housing Complex. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.