Julie Green

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In addition to Ms. Rogers being a constituent of Inuvik Boot Lake, she is also the director of the Inuvik shelter, and she is here for the Family Violence Shelter Network meeting. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a document with the title "Review of the Social Work Diploma Program Final Report, April 5, 2018."

I just want to make sure that we're doing an apples-to-apples comparison. So on the Stats NWT website, there is a list of NWT community surveys that have taken place back to 2000, and what happens is the NWT Bureau of Statistics staff collects the information about housing conditions and produces this report every five years. Is this report going to be completed in 2019?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Minister for her response. Of course, it's not what I want to hear because it lacks the specificity of telling students who are interested in social work and instructors who are teaching social work that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Ever since this upheaval was created by the previous Minister by implementing cuts at Aurora College, the goal posts just keep moving and moving. We have to wait for the review; we have to wait for the management response; now, we're waiting for an expert. So I really encourage the Minister to expedite...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that the Y needs to make a specific ask, and my understanding is that the leadership group there is considering that and will be making that known to the Minister.

My final question is about the takeaway, the Minister's takeaway, from the government response. I realize that only just happened, but are they going to do a debrief? Are they going to look at how the response went from their position to strengthen service delivery in the future? Not that there were any problems with the response last week.

Could the Minister give us a sense of the options that are on the table? For example, does the GNWT have access to a building that could be leased to the Y, or is there access to bridge funding to help with the continuation of the housing staff services? What is the range of options the government is willing to consider?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday morning last week, I woke to the news that the Rockhill apartments were on fire. When I looked out my kitchen window, I could see the black smoke, and I feared for the lives of the families who called Rockhill home. For 20 years, the transitional housing program has helped hundreds of families rebuild their lives. It has become indispensable, and I worked there myself for six years. The good news is that all 87 people who lived at Rockhill escaped unharmed. The bad news of course is that the building was destroyed.

Mr. Speaker, since the fire, the...

I appreciate the Minister's willingness to work with the Y. At the end of the day, the Y is going to have to have revenue to keep this housing program going, and if that revenue can't be generated from a building, then it is going to need to come from a contribution agreement. I am asking the Minister what resources he can bring to the table for the continuation of this program.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services in his role as the lead on the Rockhill fire.

The Rockhill apartments belong to the GNWT, and they were leased to the YWCA over the long term. Rent collected from the tenants paid for the housing staff to provide wraparound services for the families. Now, not only is the building gone, but revenue from the building is gone as well.

My first question is whether the Minister is committed to this housing program continuation? Thank you.

What I take from that answer is there's no shortage of programs, but somehow there's a disconnect where this family, who is living in inadequate circumstances, is not being hooked up with a variety of programs that they may be eligible for as a low-income family. It's important to note, Mr. Speaker, they're a working family. They are not on income assistance. So they are trying to make it on their own initiative, and somehow there is this gap between what they need and what is on offer. How can the Minister bridge that gap?