R.J. Simpson

You can't get blood from a stone, so I am not sure that fining the owner or doing work and then billing it back is going to do anything here. I am not sure if there is money there to do any of this work. It certainly doesn't seem that way. What is the department willing to do on its own if the owner doesn't do any remediation work? At what point does this become a public health issue that the department has to deal with?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister said there were no housing clients in the high-rise. Income assistance was paying the rent for about a third of the residents of the high-rise, which means that those people, for the most part, were on the housing waitlist. It's not like Housing doesn't have clients in there. They have people waiting to get into housing, so this is an issue. What can I tell them is going to happen in the very near term? What is the plan to house them in the very near term? I know there are long-term solutions. I know all about the rental issues in Hay River. What is the...

I appreciate the update. That's basically the same update that I received back in April at the community meeting. There are still these 18 people who are homeless, essentially with unstable housing, and there are 26 who are temporarily housed. They could be the ones in the leased units from the federal government. Going forward, what's the plan? The Minister said there was a plan. Can you please elaborate on that, and tell us what he's going to do to make sure these people have stable housing?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On March 15, 2019, a fire broke out on the 11th floor of the Mackenzie Place high-rise. Luckily, everybody made it out safely, and the Hay River fire department quickly extinguished the fire. Unfortunately, the resulting water damage and loss of power meant that the building was deemed not safe for habitation and, just like that, 123 residents were left without a home and, in most cases, with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing.

Before I go any further, I have to commend the efforts of everyone in Hay River and KFN who sprang into action and helped the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to move item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery prior to members' statements, and address it presently. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Unanimous consent granted

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Bill 26, Bill 30, Committee Report 15-18(3), Minister's Statement 151-18(3), and Minister's Statement 158-18(3), and would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

I will call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Beaulieu.

What is the deadline for compliance with this new order?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. In response to the high-rise fire, a public health order was issued to the owner of the high-rise on April 10th. It detailed what needed to be done before it could be assessed whether or not residents could return. The owner was ordered to obtain a qualified environmental professional to prepare a plan for assessment and remediation in order to prevent mould growth due to water damage and to submit a report detailing the remediation work that had been done.

Mr. Speaker, no report was provided, and there is...

Thank you to Elder Sarah Cleary for offering today's prayer.

Colleagues, it is my pleasure to welcome you all back to the Chamber to resume the third session of the 18th Legislative Assembly.

I would like to begin by recognizing the Pages this session, who will come from Fort Smith, Norman Wells, and Yellowknife. Welcome and thank you to the Pages. It is our privilege to share this Chamber with these young people and our future leaders. Please join me in thanking them and welcoming them to the Assembly.

Our Assembly was recently home to another group of future leaders, the participants in the...