Vince McKay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So with that, like I said we distribute the funds to the communities. You know, they -- it's not for us to tell the communities how to run their programs and services within the municipalities. At the end of the day, it's up to the communities. We are supporting safer communities. The Department of Justice, I know has done numerous things by adding, like, more officers and also another program to support the fight against organized crime essentially. So the department of MACA does not have the funds available to add to the services of, you know, fighting the drug...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am unclear of the issue that he's speaking of, if he can clarify that.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First off, I would like to take the opportunity to welcome back my friends and colleagues to the House. I look forward to this session and working with you all to continue moving the NWT forward.

This August marked one year without any evacuations for the community -- well, evacuations and emergencies for the community of Hay River. We are one year evacuation free. It's been a while since we could say that. Hay River, like no other community in the North, has experienced troubling events. But my community is resilient, and we will continue to move forward. We are still...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I don't disagree with the Member. You know, these are issues throughout all of the territories and all the communities. My home community is feeling the stress of illegal and drug activities. But the department of MACA, like I said, it's kind of out of our department so this may be -- I do support it. I am -- you know, my moral values tell me that these are things that we need to tackle and as a government it's something we said we're going to do. But it might be something for myself, the Member, and the Department of Justice to sit down and have discussions and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So this doesn't really fit under municipal and community affairs. It's not really our -- in our department. We do fund communities. Our total funding allotment is about $110 million to communities for their -- to operate their communities. How they see fit to operate their communities with those funds, it's essentially up to them. I do know that some of the stuff that he's talking about, the Member is -- you know, the signage for an example, it can be -- about $10,000 of that can be used out of the CPI funding. So other than that, most of the stuff that the Member's...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize Mr. Melvin Larocque who is the union vice-president, first vice-president. He is a constituent of Hay River. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the 2024 wildfire season, a season that presented significant challenges to communities of the Northwest Territories, particularly Fort Good Hope. Overall, we were fortunate to experience fewer community evacuations this year compared to previous years, but I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who supported response and recovery efforts during another difficult season.

Mr. Speaker, the Territorial Emergency Management Organization was activated twice this high-risk season in support of local emergency management organizations. The first...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document: Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 186-20(1): Addressing Erosion in Aklavik. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I have. And currently, as I stated, they are being housed through the disaster assistance program. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess the thing to remember here is the disaster assistance program is a federal program. And just to be clear, it clearly states in the policy, for the disaster assistance policy, that it is not an insurance program. Residents who have no insurance that have been affected by the wildfire are being taken care of. They are being housed by the program. So they are being housed until -- I believe right now until the end of August pending some more communication with the DFAA.

I will add, though, Mr. Speaker, that we have to remember that the wildfire -- fire insurance is...