Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support Bill C-20, not only as the Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs, but also as a first nations woman and the first to have this portfolio.
However, this is not about me; it is about the communities of the north that really need to be the problem-solvers of the issues they are dealing with on a day-to-day basis, including housing. It is also about the communities I come from, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski. When we think about the generations of northern and indigenous women who have carried their families, languages, nations and communities through hardships and hope and we think about this moment, there is real meaning and opportunity in this bill.
When we think about a house, it is more than four walls and a roof; it is the backbone of health, safety, opportunity and identity. When families sleep at night, sometimes they are concerned about overcrowding. This can be exhausting when elders do not have a place to consider home as they are aging. They want to age on the lands that raised them. They want to see that children have space to study and dream and that communities can thrive. In the north and the Arctic, people have waited far too long for basic conditions most of us in the south take for granted.
When we think about moving forward from an Inuit Nunangat perspective, more than half of Inuit live in crowded housing, and in Nunavut the rate is even higher. The realities of building in the north are unlike anywhere else in Canada. There are high construction, operation and maintenance costs; short building seasons; and supply chains that rely on sealift, winter roads and air. When timing slips in the north, it is not just a minor inconvenience; it can push a project into the next season and the cost increases significantly. The delays that this puts on families are exhausting.
This is why the Build Canada Homes act matters. This legislation would transform Build Canada Homes into a Crown corporation, which would give it the independence and tools to build more homes faster and more efficiently. The bill would strengthen federal capacity to partner with northern indigenous communities, which can build faster and at scale.
We want to ensure that we use public land more effectively and use modern construction methods that fit northern realities. Build Canada Homes would help scale off-site and modular construction, which are approaches that can improve speed and predictability when weather and short seasons make on-site building difficult. It would also help bundle projects so that smaller and remote communities are not left behind. It would back Canadian lumber, Canadian steel and Canadian workers; strengthen domestic supply chains; create good jobs; and build more of what we need here at home and in the north.
We are not starting from zero. Since launching in September 2025, Build Canada Homes has already advanced six direct-build projects and secured partnerships representing more than 7,500 homes.
Last month, Canada, Nunavut and NTI signed an agreement in principle to deliver 750 new homes across the territory, including public, affordable and supportive housing. Importantly for Nunavut's short season, a portion will use factory-built components to reduce delays and deliver homes more predictably, and 25 of those homes will be delivered through an Inuit-led model, reflecting the Inuit Nunangat policy and the right of Inuit to design and deliver housing solutions that work for them and their communities.
That is the kind of partnership this bill would make possible. It is practical, community-led and rooted in indigenous leadership and northern realities. It is the kind of partnership the House should be proud of.
This bill also supports the government's broader housing agenda, which is grounded in partnership with first nations, Inuit and Métis partners, so that housing reflects indigenous priorities and builds long-term capacity.
As Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs, I see housing as foundational to everything else, including health, education, economic participation and community well-being. I also see it as a connection to sovereignty. Arctic sovereignty is not only about maps. It is about people: whether families can choose to stay where they grew up, workers can live where opportunities are and communities can thrive on lands for generations yet to come.
The bill is an opportunity to match urgency with capacity and to replace delay with delivery. I urge all members of this House to support the bill. The north has waited far too long. With the legislation, we could help build a future where northern and indigenous families are no longer waiting for housing, but they are helping to shape it, they are building it and they are finally calling it home.