Caroline Cochrane

The piling is done, like I had just stated. The structural material was just shipped to the community two weeks ago, so that's in there. The remainder of the material for the facility will be sent in once the ferry is in operation. We're expecting in the first week of June or so, when the ferry is operating. We're still on schedule for the completion date of November 2016 and we're really monitoring it to make sure that it does get finished by that date.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A couple of the issues that were brought by the community actually in Fort McPherson with the seniors facility, one was the location. We've done many, many consultations within the community and talked to them about the facility, the location, the site, and the community seemed to be in adherence to the proposed plan; then just a couple months ago we got some complaints saying they weren't. We went back actually on April 6th. We had another meeting in the community and again, we talked about the location. Within that meeting Chief William Koe confirmed that consultation...

The Department of Public Works and Services is always willing to negotiate with the federal government to see if there are resources that we can utilize to assist within the Northwest Territories. Specifically with Kakisa, we've had some positive work with looking at extending the transmission line from Enterprise to Kakisa and to Fort Providence. Of course that would take significant financial resources to do that. At this point we're actually trying to negotiate with the federal government to see if they would provide support for that project.

We're always willing to work within the public, and so I'm hoping that we'll utilize the MLAs as well and keep them informed and utilize them to actually reach out to their constituents and to provide support within the Energy Plan that we're looking at.

We don't perceive any more additional costs because now we're on track. Of course, there was additional costs with the engineering work that had to be done to make sure that the piles were safe. As a Minister, my priority is to make sure that anything that we're building is done structurally sound and safe, so I have no problem paying for the engineering costs that it did take to make sure that we're ready to go.

I believe the question is what caused the delays? Again, as I had spoken before, there were some issues regarding the water, and so we had to make sure that the piles were engineered safely. We just completed that work. Now that is in place, we're ready to roll.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize three members of the Status of Women Council, Lorraine Phaneuf, Annemieke Mulders, and Samantha Thomas. Thank you for being here. We appreciate it. Lyda Fuller from the YWCA was here. I am not sure if she is here any longer; Amanda Mallon who was a huge help within my campaign; Faith Woodruff who used to be our prenatal worker and went to the government, so glad to have you on this side because she was a great prenatal worker; and David Wasylciw, who is within the Range Lake constituency. Thank you.

Absolutely. As soon as we confirm any steps within the process, then we will let the committee and the Regular Members know. As soon as the information that I have is confirmed, then you will know as well.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The simple answer is yes, but I will expand a little bit on that. The territorial government is actually working in collaboration with the other territories, the Yukon and Nunavut. We have developed a tri-territorial business case to assist with our federal engagement. A conference call between the three territories is scheduled for tomorrow to confirm that, and to talk about any more decisions that we want to make. I'm also going to be meeting with Minister Duclos in Ottawa next week to bring forward our case and to emphasize on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, many communities face challenges in providing programs and services to their people because of a lack of affordable housing. The lack of housing makes it hard to recruit and retain staff. Lowering the cost of living is one of the priorities of this Assembly and increasing the availability of safe, affordable housing is one of the key actions to advance that priority.

The private market is not adequately meeting the need for more affordable rental housing, particularly in rural and remote communities. This is because the development and ongoing management of...