Check against delivery

Mr. Speaker, Housing NWT continues to repair, retrofit, and construct housing across the NWT at a rapid pace, establishing a strong economic foundation in the NWT 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 recent Territorial Housing Needs Assessment.

An additional 219 housing units are in the planning, procurement, and construction stages, demonstrating the results of historic investments being made in housing by this government and Canada.

Alongside new construction activity, Housing NWT continues to invest in retrofits, repairs, and maintenance of existing housing to improve conditions. With the additional funding support of the GNWT over the next three years, we will spend more than $30 million to repair over 600 homes.

These repair projects support local employment and trades training opportunities across the NWT, including the development of apprentices working through a decentralized Housing NWT Trades’ team pilot and with Local Housing Organizations and NWT contractors.

Mr. Speaker, over 95% of Housing NWT contracts are with local and NWT businesses, providing a range of economic opportunities in communities across the NWT.

For example, this fall, Housing NWT signed a contract for 84 homes to be manufactured by METCAN Building Solutions, a majority Indigenous-owned modular manufacturer based in Hay River. This contract will support sustained local work as these modular homes are produced, transported, and set up in communities across the territory over the coming two and a half years.

Housing NWT has also signed contracts with Indigenous governments, including a contract which will support the K'ahsho Got'ine Trades Centre, a local modular manufacturing and trades training centre in Fort Good Hope. Through this contract, the Trades Centre will manufacture four homes for the social housing program, with materials arriving on this winter road. Over the next two and a half years, eight local work assignments will be supported through this project, helping build skills, capacity and long-term benefit for residents of Fort Good Hope.

In Fort Smith, the business arm of the Fort Smith Métis Council is constructing a duplex, with work continuing through the winter. This contract demonstrates Housing NWT’s commitment to partnership and economic opportunities through its capital delivery.

Housing NWT also continues to engage with Tłı̨chǫ businesses through the GNWT and Tłı̨chǫ Infrastructure Cooperation Agreement. Currently, five modular homes are in production and another ten are in the planning phase. In addition to these construction projects, Tłı̨chǫ businesses are involved in Housing NWT’s repair and maintenance projects. This work taken together provides regional opportunity for capacity building and economic benefit.

In addition to these modular manufacturing initiatives, Housing NWT has developed a hybrid method of construction that optimizes the potential of modular manufacturing for a compact service core with onsite work to complete the full home. Two proof-of-concept duplexes using this method are in the final stages of commissioning in Délı̨nę. Housing NWT continues to work in partnership with industry and Canada’s National Research Council to refine the concept in preparation for future scalability.

Housing NWT continues to demonstrate innovation in housing delivery by using modern methods of construction. An example of this is the 50-unit mixed-use building in Yellowknife, where off-site production of mass-timber and building envelope elements are proceeding during the winter months, and will allow for rapid assembly of the structure in the spring.

Mr. Speaker, the projects underway represent an enormous effort by this government to prioritize housing. We are building more, and we are moving towards delivering services in a person-centred, data-driven way to improve social outcomes. This is a result of strong collaboration by Members of this House and reflects a strength in government that I am proud to be a part of. This collaboration and funding continue to bring us towards improving the suitability, accessibility, and affordability of housing in the NWT.

I want to emphasize that these investments reflect only a portion of the work that is underway. Housing NWT continues to actively leverage existing capital funding to expand the capital program. I look forward to sharing plans for further housing developments in the near future, and will continue to share progress as we deliver more homes for Northerners.

Quyanainni, Mr. Speaker.