Caroline Cochrane

Now that the survey is completed, we are in the process of actually developing an action plan not for the dissimilation of the material, but also to make sure that we meet all the needs and that we address the policies and programs in a timely manner, defining which ones can be solved early, which ones will take more consultation and time to deliver. So we are developing an action plan on how to do that now? We are going to try to be as inclusive of communities as possible in the determination of the final policies, so once we roll out with the policies we will be looking for feedback. At this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had previously made a commitment and I have made that commitment at every meeting that I have made, bilateral meetings, individual meetings with Aboriginal governments, municipal governments. I have committed to sharing the Voices on Housing report to Aboriginal and municipal governments, and I will do that, but it will not probably be in a public forum. The reason is because I need to get them out timely and we have 33 communities all with municipal governments and Aboriginal governments. There are huge lists, and if I was to do them all individually it would take me...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As stated before, I am more than willing to visit the Sahtu region for a constituency tour to address all issues that community members in that region may have including the housing survey, and I am committing to try to be as inclusive as possible in the development of the policies and the new programs going forward. However, I cannot state yet what that would look like because we are still developing the plan on how to roll that out.

Again, as I stated in the previous question, I have already made commitments to the Aboriginal municipal governments to get them out in a timely basis. It was tabled the other day, and so we are working on getting it out immediately. However, I have not done the Sahtu tour yet, and there was a commitment made by our Premier to get Ministers out into all the communities. So I would be more than willing to do a tour of the Sahtu to be able to take any input that the communities may have in any of the portfolios that I carry, including the Voices on Housing document.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the federal support for housing, there are tons of things that we can accomplish, but I would rather focus on the need, in my opinion, to build further the relationship with the federal government and the new Ministers within that federal government to make them understand the needs of the Northwest Territories. To understand the costs, when you talk about affordability, the costs of a house to be built in the southern province is almost half compared to what it is in Yellowknife. Going into Tuktoyaktuk or higher regions, it is even more unaffordable. I think that...

Yes, actually, I can. There are a few programs that actually pertain to the residents in Northlands Trailer Park and all residents, too. We will be having the new seniors' Aging in Place repair program that the Members helped advocate to get additional funding in for. We are going to be looking at a new rent supplement program for people who can't afford their current costs. We are going to be looking at a fuel tank replacement plan, which might be pertinent to people in Northlands Trailer Park, because we need to get rid of the old fuel tanks as they are an environmental concern. We are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Under the last leadership of the Minister, before I took the position of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, it was identified that we needed to be more proactive in our work. That Minister at the time took the initiative to actually start a preventative maintenance care program which goes in annually to look for issues such as mould or other issues that can cause major problems to houses. I will not take credit for it. I will give credit to the appropriate Minister, but it is something that was very proactive, very good, and we will continue to maintain that...

We do have mould remediation. Some of the prevention and tactics to deal with it are within our STEP program, our Solutions to Educate People program, which is one of the home ownership programs. The problem is that we realize that we need to expand that training to all public housing residents. We are undertaking a huge training program to better educate people on how to maintain their homes, including mould.

Currently though, online, through the Housing Corporation, you can see preventative tips and remediation for mould online on our website and also within the local housing organization. We...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize two of the constituents from Range Lake who were also inducted into the Education Hall of Fame today. I will start with Mr. Dave Roebuck. Mr. Roebuck was inducted for his support, counsel, and guidance given to so many educators across the Northwest Territories within his role as executive director of the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association for the past 18 years. His dedication and service to northern educators is long-lasting. I hear today that he will be retiring and moving from the territories. It is a sincere loss to not only...

The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation acts very closely with the Department of Health and Social Services in regards to aging in place for our seniors and our elders within the territories. Not only do we consult on them with how to support seniors within their own homes, but we are also working closely together in the design of elders' complexes. From a housing standpoint, I realize that elders and seniors need to have socialization to do well. From the Health and Social Services standpoint, they recognize that providing services, onsite talks about accessibility is the best service...