Julie Green

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to commend the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation and her staff for their recent survey of residents on housing issues. The response rate of 10 per cent of households across the NWT is remarkable. It also speaks to the importance of finding solutions to chronic housing problems. I look forward to hearing the plan for addressing the housing needs respondents identified in the coming sitting.

Mr. Speaker, I'm going to reflect on the need for social housing in Yellowknife. Here is a startling fact highlighted in the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is it the Minister's intention to make the proposal in this case available to the standing committee and/or public? Thank you.

Thank you. The next question concerns the RFP that was let during the winter and received no takers. I understand there have been some negotiations to get to this point, so could the Minister tell us what changes have been made to the RFP in order to secure the agreement announced today? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Do you understand from this, then, that the John Howard Society is not providing the counselling itself but rather subcontracting the counselling, and, if subcontracting, then to whom? Thank you.

Oh, I thought this was a time for general comments. Okay. Very good, then. My first question is: what are the qualifications of the "qualified counsellors" who are providing this program? Thank you.

If the Minister could share that information, that would be very useful to us. In the meantime, I am wondering what it will take to get these issues introduced into the federal engagement strategy along with roads.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister responsible for Poverty Reduction. The GNWT has had a poverty reduction strategy for the last four years, and now Ottawa is creating a national strategy. What is the GNWT doing proactively to align these two? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, poverty is a national issue which requires national solutions. The federal government has acknowledged this fact by working on a Canada-wide poverty reduction strategy. Yellowknife is a focus of special attention in this effort because it is the location of one of six case studies on poverty across the country, and there have been several consultations here in the last month. Mr. Speaker, today I am going to talk about the public consultation hosted by the No Place for Poverty Coalition and Vibrant Communities Canada. About 30 people attended, including some of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am going to re-ask that question because I did not hear an answer. We have a federal engagement strategy. It talks about infrastructure. Housing is infrastructure. I am wondering if we are going to see some of the issues raised in the poverty consultation in the federal engagement strategy. Thank you.

As I mentioned in my statement, we need federal help in two priority areas: food and housing. I am wondering how the GNWT is planning to leverage Ottawa's interest in reducing high rates of poverty in the NWT by making changes to programs such as lobbying for changes to Nutrition North and the CMHC declining funding?