Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in follow-up to my Member's statement, I have some questions for the Minister of Housing Corporation. I'd like to ask the Minister: with the community meetings that the department held in Fort McPherson, what concerns has the community brought to the NWT Housing Corporation and how is the Housing Corporation addressing these issues? For example, relocation, landscaping, local hiring. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A couple of the issues that were brought by the community actually in Fort McPherson with the seniors facility, one was the location. We've done many, many consultations within the community and talked to them about the facility, the location, the site, and the community seemed to be in adherence to the proposed plan; then just a couple months ago we got some complaints saying they weren't. We went back actually on April 6th. We had another meeting in the community and again, we talked about the location. Within that meeting Chief William Koe confirmed that consultation has taken place and that they're okay with the location as it is. We've dealt with the location, which was one of the issues. The other bigger issue was the infiltration of water. In July 2016, we noticed that there were some issues with water and the piling, so we needed to do some additional engineering services for that. All the piles were completed in February 2016. The ones that were installed in 2015 had to be tested, which was completed again in April 2016 and the piling has passed the test, so we're going to move forward. The water issue has been…We've talked with the Hamlet, and the Hamlet is going to address any issues that may come up with the water at this time. I guess that would answer the question on what are some of the issues that have arisen in the community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, just for the record, it's William Koe, Chief William Koe.
---Laughter
My next question for the Minister is: what has caused the recent delays in the construction of the Fort McPherson elders' home, as we are almost a year into construction and only pilings have been in place?
I believe the question is what caused the delays? Again, as I had spoken before, there were some issues regarding the water, and so we had to make sure that the piles were engineered safely. We just completed that work. Now that is in place, we're ready to roll.
Mr. Speaker, you know, my last visit to the community, and everybody in the community has noticed there is no material in the community, except some roofing. Usually you start at the foundation and work yourself up. I'd like to ask the Minister: is construction on track to be completed by November 2016? Also, when does the Housing Corporation anticipate that residents will be able to move into the completed units?
Masi. It is a two-part question, but it's up to the Minister of NWT Housing Corporation to answer either both or one.
The piling is done, like I had just stated. The structural material was just shipped to the community two weeks ago, so that's in there. The remainder of the material for the facility will be sent in once the ferry is in operation. We're expecting in the first week of June or so, when the ferry is operating. We're still on schedule for the completion date of November 2016 and we're really monitoring it to make sure that it does get finished by that date.
Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my final question: is there any added costs that's going to be added to this project because of the delays? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We don't perceive any more additional costs because now we're on track. Of course, there was additional costs with the engineering work that had to be done to make sure that the piles were safe. As a Minister, my priority is to make sure that anything that we're building is done structurally sound and safe, so I have no problem paying for the engineering costs that it did take to make sure that we're ready to go.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
