Regular MLAs want the NWT government to contribute funding for temporary housing in Enterprise.
Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakeleya introduced a motion in the legislature on Thursday calling on the territory to provide 10 percent of funding needed for the project.
She said that would unlock the remaining 90 percent of funding, which the federal government has agreed to provide through its disaster financial assistance program.
“This funding opportunity from the federal government may not be the most ideal solution, because it is only temporary housing,” she said.
“It’s better than nothing. There has to be a creative way that temporary housing can transform into long-term housing options.”
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Yakeleya said she wants to ensure displaced Enterprise residents are housed by the fall. She questioned why the NWT government would pass up a temporary housing option when the territory is in a housing crisis.
“The GNWT can help this community in their time of need yet, for some reason, the GNWT is not doing this,” she said.
Most of the hamlet was destroyed by wildfires in August 2023, including 35 homes.
The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs has told uninsured residents of Enterprise they will not receive financial help to rebuild.
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Vince McKay, minister for the department, told the legislature on Thursday that uninsured residents from Enterprise who lost their homes are currently being housed until the end of August through the disaster assistance program.
He said the NWT government had “exhausted all avenues” to financially support rebuilding their properties.
Regular MLAs Kieron Testart, Jane Weyallon Armstrong and Danny McNeely spoke in favour of the temporary housing proposal.
“Our home is our kingdom and to lose that, I’m just totally lost for words … I really feel for the victims of last year’s season,” said McNeely, the Sahtu MLA.
“The people of Enterprise shouldn’t be in a place where they don’t know what their future holds,” said Range Lake MLA Testart.
The motion passed with nine regular MLAs voting in favour.
Members of cabinet abstained from voting, as they normally do in such circumstances. The territory now has 120 days to respond. Motions from regular MLAs are non-binding.
