Delivered October 3, 2017

Mr. Speaker, since 2013, September 30^th has been marked as Orange Shirt Day, a day for all Canadians to remember the survivors of the residential school system.

Organizers chose an orange shirt as the symbol for that day based on a story told by Phyllis Jack Webstat, a survivor of the St. Joseph Mission Residential School in Williams Lake, BC. In her story, Ms. Webstat tells of having the shiny, new orange shirt her grandmother had given to her being taken away on her first day at residential school.

Delivered on May 26, 2017

Mr.

Mr. Speaker, in order to address the Priorities of the 18th Legislative Assembly, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation has made the commitment to work in partnership with other orders of government to address affordable housing requirements in support of their service delivery to Northwest Territories residents.

YELLOWKNIFE (December 1, 2016) – The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation (NWTHC) will be conducting a comprehensive survey that will help renew its strategic actions.

Entitled Engagement on Strategic Action Renewal, the survey will collect broad, wide-ranging input from residents and stakeholders to help the NWTHC focus housing programs and services in the short-term, and assist with long-term planning activities as it strives toward the vision of affordable, adequate and suitable housing for all Northwest Territories (NWT) residents. 

Mr. Speaker, homelessness in our communities is a critical issue that we need to address together.    Homelessness is complex and affected by many factors.  People who are homeless often have traumatic past and current lives, most struggle with mental health issues, behavioural concerns, and/or addictions that need to be addressed.  Because homelessness is complex, approaches that don’t include collaboration, or that are not sustainable don’t work.

Collaboration begins with those with lived experience, it extends to all sectors of government, and to each of us as individuals. 

Mr. Speaker, housing costs are a major component of the cost of living, which we all know is very high here in the Northwest Territories. Bringing those costs down is a priority. The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation will be putting out a housing engagement survey that will help us find out how we can design and deliver programs that better meet people’s housing needs.

Mr. Speaker, continuing to invest in our power system and looking for innovative approaches to meeting NWT energy needs will be critical to our efforts to reduce the cost of living for NWT residents and protect the NWT environment. I rise today to provide an update on how the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, or NTPC, is contributing to that work.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its Mandate to work in partnership with other orders of government to address affordable housing requirements and to support Aboriginal and local governments in their housing aspirations and initiatives to address homelessness.

We are delivering on that commitment and I am pleased to tell you today about a new partnership initiative between the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation and K’atlodeeche First Nation that will let us deliver housing services and programs on reserve land.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its mandate to supporting Elders by building more seniors’ supported independent living units and marketing maintenance, renovation and mobility upgrades to help seniors age in place.