Richard Edjericon

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 recognizes and affirms existing Indigenous and treaty rights, and the Government of the Northwest Territories, as an agent of the Crown, has a fiduciary obligation to respect these rights, including ensuring timely and equitable access to health services and treatment as recognized under constitutionally entrenched treaties, including Treaty 8 and 11;

AND WHEREAS many residents of the Northwest Territories, including treaty beneficiaries, experience limited access to timely appointments, diagnostics, and surgical services...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'd like to thank my colleagues on this very important issue. And, Mr. Speaker, I ask for a recorded vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the motion I have here today is protection of transboundary water and the rights of Northerners.

WHEREAS water is essential to ecosystems and communities of the Northwest Territories;

AND WHEREAS water flows through interconnected watersheds that cross provincial and territorial borders, with Northwest Territories waters strongly affected by the conditions in neighbouring Alberta and British Columbia;

AND WHEREAS since 2023, hydrology updates confirm that many Northwest Territories rivers and lakes have experienced record low or wellbelow average water levels...

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at the Dene Nation Assembly in Fort Good Hope, they passed a resolution calling for -- to start up, to Build Canada Homes funding to build homes in the Northwest Territories. And there are also people from -- that are part of the housing forum that signed on to the motion.

So my question to the Minister, is she able to sit down with the Dene Nation, Dene National Chief George Mackenzie, to work with him in trying to figure out as to how we're all going to work together since housing is a top priority of this government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Build Canada Homes presents a real opportunity to begin building Indigenous housing capacity now. Why is the Minister choosing to delay that work, especially when Housing NWT federal funding is set to end next decade, and pursuant to the UNDRIP Implementation Act, the transfer of housing capacity and decision-making to Indigenous governments is already behind schedule? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last month I had the chance to meet with the Minister of housing and -- housing Minister to discuss the Dene Nation establishing an office to coordinate an Indigenous-led submission to Build Canada Homes. During that meeting, the Minister raised her concerns about the Dene Nation. My question is to the Minister, why is the Minister did not meet with the Dene national chief to discuss the Build Canada Homes program with the Dene Nation? Thank you.

Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, it's good that she's willing to sit down with the Dene Nation to talk about housing. But the thing is that we're talking about rights-based communities. The Dehcho, Akaitcho are not part of the devolution agreement. So there's a need to sit down to sort that out because you can't sort of just take care of the people that signed on to devolution and then not deal with the ones that didn't sign on to it. So we need to address this issue in trying to help find the monies needed to get this thing off the ground on housing. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in 2014 the GNWT signed on the devolution agreement and as a result of that, they created the Council of Leaders. And part of that, they created the housing forum. Right now the housing forum is making an application to Build Canada Homes funds, and the Housing NWT is funding that initiative. But, Mr. Speaker, not everybody signed on to the devolution agreement - the Dehcho and Akaitcho, three of the four communities. So there is a need for an organization like Dene Nation to find a vehicle to make applications for the same funding.

So my question is to the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Why will the Minister not work with the Dene Nation instead of describe it as merely a political body without rights when it represents thousands of Indigenous people who do have rights? And by representing so many communities, they are uniquely suited to advocate according to the federal government as a collective. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, last fall the federal government launched the Build Canada Homes initiative, committing $13 billion to kick start a massive effort to build affordable, transitional, and supportive housing across Canada as quickly as possible. With housing needs across Canada so high, every level of government from coast to coast to coast is scrambling to get their share. But nowhere are housing needs more important than in our small communities and remote communities in the Northwest Territories. And the recent housing needs assessment makes this housing crisis clear. But the challenge for our...