Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I talked today in my Member's statement about maybe direct funding, direct funding from the Housing Corporation. I have some questions for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. On Friday, the Minister responsible made a Minister's statement on housing in the Tlicho region. Part of that was striking a working group to begin working on some of the critical housing issues, as he referred to it. I would like to ask the Minister if he is prepared to work with other working groups, like perhaps a working group that covers the communities in my riding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think, over the last few years, we have been seeing some very strong partnerships, strong, positive partnerships. As you heard, I just talked about our partnership with the IRC, the Tlicho Minister's statement that I gave on Friday. Working with the Tlicho leadership there was a very positive relationship. Yes, I am willing to work with the Member, work with their leadership, to address the housing issues in their communities.
I would like to ask the Minister if the Minister would be willing to move the community housing plans up, to maybe address the community housing plans for the communities in Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh as soon as possible?
As you heard last week, I did mention that a community housing planner has been hired. We are in the preliminary planning work. It is under way, and we want to make sure that we address the communities that do have some of the higher housing needs. The housing plans will identify areas of need, as well as direct resources to increase opportunities for strategic planning, and we will be working with the leaders and the stakeholders in the communities to develop a very detailed plan to address the needs, and I mentioned them last week. I will work with the Member, and I will work with the NWT Housing Corporation to make sure that the communities that are in the biggest need in the Member's riding are addressed.
One of the items I spoke on during my Member's statement was a program rolled out by the Housing Corporation called aging in place, which is a good program. There are a lot of seniors taking advantage of it. It addresses a lot of the annual maintenance items, and some emergency items. There is enough money to do that, but there is not enough money in that specific program to really allow seniors to age in place. By that, I mean it's not really enough money to make a unit barrier-free or make a unit senior-friendly, and so on. I would like to ask the Minister if they would take a second look at either expanding that program to a major program which can allow housing to be set to a barrier-free state or a senior-friendly state?
Currently, we are going through a strategic renewal process. That program in particular, we will be taking a look at. We also do have other work that we are doing that I will be more than happy to share with the Member, such as the community housing support initiatives, that we work with Indigenous governments as well as NGOs to provide funding. As we go through our strategic renewal, we will be updating Members, we will be updating committee, as well as all of our stakeholders across the territory.
Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the things that I have often advocated for is to have staff from the NWT Housing Corporation, program staff and technical staff, go into the homes of the various individuals who need housing, and especially seniors. I would like to ask the Minister if there is a new way of approaching at least the homeownership seniors, seniors who own their own homes, and go into the houses with the program officers and technical officers at the application review time so that the seniors do not have to then go to a central location where the officers are waiting to receive the applicants. I would like to ask the Minister if he would give direction to his staff to make sure that, if there is a senior household homeownership person, that officers are entering into their homes to take the application.
That is a concern that I have heard from various Members during my tenure as Minister of Housing. We will take a look at it and ensure that we work with our seniors. They are one of our most vulnerable peoples, and we want to make sure that they can have adequate and safe living place, and we want to make sure that we support that. We will take a look into that. We will work with our district officers and our local housing authorities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
