Kevin A. Menicoche

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. As a small community MLA, in the past I have blasted Yellowknife, but today I want to commend them. I was pleased to see the City of Yellowknife address the needs of the homelessness with their Housing First initiative. They have developed a five-year strategy to deal with the homeless, especially with the youth.

In my Nahendeh riding and throughout the other regions of our NWT, there is a need to increase the amount of housing units and even homelessness shelter complexes, much like Yellowknife has planned. In Fort Simpson there are over 30 single people...

I’d like to thank the Minister for that answer. In addressing the homelessness, I think part of the issue in Fort Simpson, as well, is the lack of public housing. I indicated in my list, particularly for single people there’s a list that’s almost 30 people long. In fact, a couple of the applicants have been on that list for about seven years.

So I would just like to know, how are we addressing increasing public units in the community of Fort Simpson, especially in light of there being a private developer that has 12 to 14 units and I think they may be shut down within the next year or two, as...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier in the day I spoke about the need to get more public housing units in Fort Simpson as well as begin a plan about doing a homelessness complex. I’d like to ask the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation – I know that we do have a Homelessness Strategy – what kind of supports are there in the Homelessness Strategy that can help with projects such as this. Thank you.

Just with the Regional Recruitment Strategy, I’m glad that the Minister was able to explain it a bit. I’m really curious why he didn’t reference it specifically in his opening remarks, because it was a significant initiative by the Executive to say, look, you’ve got to start hiring our local people and our Aboriginals. I don’t know what the number is at now of empty positions, but I’m sure my colleagues must have asked that earlier as they deliberated this department.

A lot has to be said about some of these entry level positions being over-qualified. What happens there is that as our people...

Thank you very much. There were some repairs needed for that building that the school is currently in.

Are there any plans to ship any repair material up the winter road currently? Thank you.

Thank you very much. The Minister spoke about the completion of the planning study. Just for clarification, does he mean that will be completed by the end of March of this year? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to welcome the Dehcho First Nations along with Grand Chief Herb Norwegian. I wish them every success in their meetings this week. Also to the chiefs that my colleague did mention, but I’ll recognize the other delegation that we have travelling with the Dehcho First Nations this week: elder Gabe Hardisty; elder Sarah Chicot; councillors Ted Cayenne and James Cayenne; from Fort Providence, John McLeod; elder Jonas Lafferty from Fort Simpson; elder Leon Konisenta from Nahanni Butte; elder Samuel Elleze from Providence; elder Yvonne Norwegian from Jean...

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I don’t know if the Minister wants to confirm those numbers. I thought our senior management was a lot lower than that. I don’t know if he’s speaking specific for Human Resources that the upper management was 20 percent. I thought HR and Finance were having problems staffing from the Northwest Territories. Perhaps the Minister can clarify that.

As I go along, too, the 20/20: A Brilliant North, NWT Public Service Strategic Plan, I’m not too sure if this is the activity that’s rolling out the Regional Recruitment Strategy. I noticed that the Minister’s opening...

Thank you very much. I certainly look forward to the results of that study and sharing it with the community. I know that the community of Trout Lake and I have always advocated for a replacement stand-alone school.

I’d like to ask the Minister what his department can do to move forward with a new replacement school. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier in the day I spoke about the need to replace the school in Trout Lake. I know that the Department of Education is currently assessing the facility and I also spoke about the Premier and Minister of Transportation going to Trout Lake, but the Minister himself has been to Trout Lake and indeed seen the school for himself. I know that they’re doing an assessment as we speak.

So I would like to ask the Minister if there’s a current report completed for the assessment of the school in Trout Lake. Thank you.