Statements in Debates
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, my questions are in regards to, of course, the Homeless Assistance Fund. Just trying to get the numbers down in terms of the circumstance of homeless people in small and rural communities. I understand that the department has undertaken a pilot study initiative to try to advance the idea to see if the effort can be maybe scoped out and tested on the ground, so to speak, at the community level. Could the Minister provide perhaps an update or overview in terms of the intention of that pilot case project? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’m familiar with another initiative that’s very similar in its nature. It’s called the Interim Resource Management Assistance Program where non-claiming groups could access funding to participate in regulatory processes, whether it’s an environmental assessment or participating in the liaison with a lot of groups across the North. How does that compare with the IRMA Program, the client service and the community relations? Mahsi.
Nothing further.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. In terms of leases and the work with the Housing Corporation and LHOs, earlier I think I understood the Minister alluding to the idea of perhaps at some point there could be an arrangement where responsibilities could be arranged so that First Nation organizations that maybe have self-government negotiations in place or already completed, could be a party for a self-government arrangement so that they could be responsible for at least administering and maintaining housing programs at the local level. Could the Minister maybe explain in terms of what she had envisioned in...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to thank the Minister for reply. If indeed these are pilot cases in those three communities, is there perhaps a process in terms of undertaking those initiatives? That is a great step in terms of addressing the homelessness issues in small communities. Just in terms of process, as I understand it, a pilot case is undertaken at the community level, it is monitored, and perhaps some flexibility in terms of how a program initiative of that nature could work if implemented. At some point, there is an evaluation in terms of trying to reflect upon maybe the...
Masi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this November will mark the 20th anniversary of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, or RCAP. After five years, public hearing and community visits, the commission issued 440 recommendations, including 66 directly to the federal government. If that process sounds familiar, Mr. Speaker, remember this month, we marked the anniversary of another commission, one with a very specific focus. It has been one year since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada or the TRC, released its report on the devastating and intergenerational impacts of the...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. My question relates to an earlier statement that was made in the House in terms of the jurisdictional issues and red tape that stand in the way of taking the boards off a board of houses and making them available for residents to call their homes. Speaking specifically of the Hay River Reserve, can the Minister give me an update in terms of what type of arrangement has been made? Perhaps the offices from either Hay River district or else the South Slave district that perhaps will be involved in terms of working with the First Nations to ensure that those houses are made...
Masi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, me too, I’d like to recognize members of the Northwest Territories Seniors’ Society. In particular, I’d like to recognize the mayor of Fort Providence, also at the same time, a former MLA, chief, speaker, Mr. Sam Gargan. Also, at the same time, another member of the Northwest Territories Seniors’ Society, Jeanna Graham, from my constituency of the K’atlodeeche First Nation, who is on the band council as well and a constituent of mine too. Masi.
This will be my final question on this section, Mr. Chair. Is the Minister indicating or stating that possibly in the near future there could be an existing LHO on the Hay River Reserve? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think the idea in terms of the LHOs and their association with maintenance and communities… But I understand on the reserve they don’t really have an existing LHO. My question is where would the maintenance come from? Would it come from the Hay River district housing district? Would it come from the subsidy for housing district? Thank you.