Mr. Speaker, selling the Mactung deposit together with the Cantung mine will increase the potential viability of the renewed mining operations. That said, we are looking to get more than just the cash payment or a return on the baseline. We are looking to capitalize on the rise of the tungsten prices to translate these world-class resources into good-paying jobs. We believe there is an opportunity for these two projects to create a future Northwest Territories tungsten industry. Selling them together will give us the best possible option and the shortest time frame to converting these assets into a working project that will deliver benefits to the residents and businesses of the Northwest Territories. We also don't want these two assets to compete against each other in what is a relatively small global market of producers and buyers.
I would like to thank the Minister again for that answer, but he didn't answer one of my questions, which was: how much is the price for the Mactung property? Can the Minister tell us that?
Mr. Speaker, this is early in the process. We don't have a specific price for this. We want to sell these properties together. It will be an open bidding process with an evaluation that brings the best benefits to the residents of the Northwest Territories.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. Thanks to the Minister for that. The Minister has hired a Vancouver consultant to help hype the Mactung property by applying for 10-year Government of Yukon quartz mining land use approval. Such an authorization is supposed to be for an actual exploration program, although it is my understanding that there is no exploration to be undertaken by our government, so the application seems to be an unusual attempt, at best, to inflate the value of the property.
Can the Minister tell us whether there are any precedents in the Yukon for such a speculative land-use application and whether he has any legal advice on the validity of such an application?
Mr. Speaker, that would be a lead story, but the Member is mischaracterizing what is going on here. The Government of Northwest Territories is required to renew the mining land use permit on the Yukon site of this property in order to keep the property in good standing. If we don't renew the permit, it is likely that a full site remediation would be ordered and all the potential benefits would be lost. In addition, the potential purchaser requires the ability to conduct exploration work as part of its due-diligence process. This is how a buyer confirms a mineral resource, and it is also a consideration of arranging purchase and financing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. Mr. Speaker, with the most recent blizzard in Paulatuk, with winds as high as 140 kilometres an hour, one roof blew apart, which is one of the newer buildings in the community. Mr. Speaker, I am worried the type of construction in the High Arctic communities, the design for a building, will not withstand the winter storms. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister improve the design and quality of homes that are being built in the Arctic and especially in Nunakput, where winter storms are occurring more often? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the roof was designed to withstand the strong winds. Obviously, the damage was unexpected. We will continue to work with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation as well as leadership in the communities, as you have heard me say many times in this House, as we develop our community housing plans to address some of these priorities as we are seeing weather that continues to happen, especially in the community of Paulatuk. I know we had a very strong storm there last year. Obviously, the roof was designed to withstand the strong winds. It is very unexpected, but we will work on continuing to address these kinds of concerns as we move forward, not only in Paulatuk but with all of our communities across the Northwest Territories.
It is good to see that the Minister is recognizing the harsh winds we have up North. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Housing announced that there will be community housing planning events. There is one scheduled for Paulatuk. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister give an update on what this meeting will consist of and what benefits will it bring to the community, not just the community of Paulatuk, but the region in Nunakput?
As Members know, I did make a statement in this House about our community housing plans last week, that prompted questions from other MLAs on how we are going to move about that and the five stages that we are going to take. Obviously, we do need a buy-in from leadership and community members. We need to raise awareness in the community and have people speak up about what the priorities are in their community as we build these community housing plans.
In my statement that I made last week, we are currently working on six communities. We signed agreements with three of them. We are working on signing agreements with the other three. As we get our staff to get out and have these discussions and get that community input on what they see is needed in their communities, then we will get our staff out, as well, as much as we can. I know they are listening right now, and I know they have been on the road quite a bit, not only discussing community plans but looking at addressing homelessness and other initiatives that we are doing within the department. As soon as we get the communities on a list, we will try to get to them as soon as we can, but, obviously, it is going to take a community buy-in and leadership and continue those discussions.
I appreciate the response from the Minister. It sounds like there is a start to some commitment there. Mr. Speaker, talking about agreements with territorial governments and between the GNWT and the IRC, it has proven to be a successful start on planning for the region. Mr. Speaker, as we move towards the end of this Assembly, will the Minister continue to improve upon the partnership between the IRC and the GNWT to ensure that the number and quality of homes in Nunakput increase with the rising population?
Of course, not only the IRC but all of our Indigenous governments, we have been meeting a lot since I have taken on the portfolio and building on the success and hard work that the previous Ministers have done. We are working to continue to get all of our programs out to the communities. Obviously, with new leadership and new elections, we need to update our leadership on the programs that the NWT Housing Corp provides, such as the community housing support initiatives. We have made that announcement on the co-investment fund. The bilateral agreements are going to have an impact throughout the Northwest Territories, which really prompted something new that hasn't been done before. We are going to be looking at doing an Indigenous housing summit, which we are actually looking at trying to maybe, possibly, create a Northern Housing Summit that we can have all of our partners and all of our communities participate in, but also invite other jurisdictions, such as the Yukon and Nunavut, to attend, and we will continue that strong partnership with the IRC and continue working with them.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the response. Mr. Speaker, it is good to see that the Housing Corporation is developing some programs that will involve not just the territory, but also our sister territories across the North.
Mr. Speaker, lately there have been some really pressing housing issues in my region, and I commend the Housing Minister and his staff for the hard work that they do to start to put people in homes, Mr. Speaker. As they develop policy, Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister is: will the Minister involve northern MLAs and Indigenous MLAs, who represent Indigenous groups in their ridings, to be involved in developing policy together so that we have continuity? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I have also mentioned in the House that we are going through a strategic renewal process within the NWT Housing Corporation that we should be looking at presenting to standing committee, and obviously, we would always want input on that.
As MLAs, part of our job is working on direction of legislation and policies, but also including our leadership in that. One of the big things about the community housing plans is that we want community and local input into what is best for them, and it is going to be something that is going to be done throughout all of the communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in follow-up to my Member's statement, I have a few questions for the Minister of Health.
Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, my constituents are demanding better quality healthcare, and I would like to ask the Minister: will the quality of healthcare improve once the new Stanton Hospital is completed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are lots of things that are happening in the Health and Social Services system with a focus on improving the delivery to all residents. Moving a single authority has given us many opportunities, and the construction of the new Stanton building will certainly help us provide efficient services in that building.
More importantly, for residents outside of Yellowknife, residents of the Member's riding, I think that one of the most important things that we are doing right now is the Cultural Safety Action Plan, which is going to help ensure that our frontline people are trained and understand the environments in which they work.
With that Cultural Safety Action Plan is also primary healthcare reform, and honestly, in my opinion, the primary healthcare reform is really the step that is going to help us improve delivery at the front line for all residents of the Northwest Territories, including residents of his riding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
When will my constituents be provided the best quality of healthcare and receive thorough examinations when needed?
That is a very broad question. We know that in the Northwest Territories we do have some pretty great staff out there providing services, and many of our residents are getting timely and good care, but there are certainly residents who are raising issues. It is important for us to learn from those issues.
I would strongly encourage that the Member, and all Members, in fact, if they have a resident who has an issue with the care that they have received, please bring it forward to our quality assurance professionals so that they can review those situations and make recommendations to help us ensure that some of those unfortunate situations are not occurring on a regular basis.
We want to have a system that is constantly evolving, improving, and growing to meet our clients' needs, but we need our residents to be part of that process as well.
My constituents do bring up these issues, but this is an ongoing issue. Many times constituents go for checkups when they have an illness that needs attention, but they are basically given Tylenol and being sent home, and that needs to stop, Mr. Speaker.
Is our quality of healthcare being limited to save money on medical travel, as most high-quality examinations, like MRIs and CT scans, are done in Edmonton? Is that being limited to save on medical costs?
Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can residents also travel to Vancouver for medical travel, or does everyone have to go to Edmonton when travelling outside of the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Under medical travel, you are referred to the location within our system that has the services available closest. For some individuals, they would come into Inuvik. For some individuals, they might come into Hay River. For some individuals, they would come into Yellowknife.
For things like MRIs and many of our specialist appointments or surgeries, our relationship is with Alberta, so our referral pattern is into Alberta. We are working with a couple of our communities in the Deh Cho to create a relationship with northern BC, but for the most part, all of our referrals are to our partners in Alberta. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement, I spoke about the new bilateral agreement on housing announced in November, and today I have some questions for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation.
One of the goals of the federal strategy for housing is to expand the stock of rent-assisted housing by 15 percent. Does that mean that the number of special housing units in the NWT will increase by 15 percent to 2,760? Thank you.
Masi. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, under our current agreement with the federal government, the NWT needs to ensure that we preserve at least 1,231 existing community housing units across the Northwest Territories. Currently, we have double that. I know that there are concerns about waiting lists and that the new National Housing Strategy only provides funding to temporarily address the declining federal support for public housing units.
One solution that we are looking at in addressing this, Mr. Speaker, and to all Members, is that we do have this Homeownership Program, and once we get people into the Homeownership Program, then we can start increasing our stock. We are also looking at private investment through the current co-investment fund that we did make an announcement on.
If we can start developing those partnerships and working with some of our private industry and getting people into homeownership, then we can start increasing our public housing units across the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister himself has said that having people in public housing turn into property owners has been a challenge, even with various incentives and training programs. What is the rest of the plan to expand the housing stock, given that the uptake on homeownership has been low?
As the Member had mentioned in her statement, we are working on finalizing a three-year action plan. We are going to be working with communities. With the Homeownership Program, we are going to try to get into each of our five districts across the Northwest Territories. We are also doing a lease homeownership program, as well, lease-to-own program. For anybody that is in good standing with the Housing Corporation, we can work with them to start leasing to own their housing unit.
All of these programs that we are working on are going to hopefully open up opportunities to start creating new housing units. We are also looking at a disposable program where we are disposing 50 units a year as our goal. That will open up lots so that we can start building new, improved, energy-efficient units that are going to add to the stock. We have a lot of programs that we are working on with this three-year action plan for the investment of the National Housing Strategy. I think it is going to have an impact throughout our communities across the Northwest Territories.
Can the Minister assure Members on this side that all of these initiatives that he has enumerated will result in a 15 percent increase in the number of available units across the NWT?
I think it is the responsibility, not only for the NWT Housing Corporation, our government, but my discussions with Indigenous governments as well as non-government organizations is that we all have to play a part in this. We all have to bring some type of responsibility, bring some skin to the game, so that we can address housing needs across the Northwest Territories. I do know there is a high waiting list, especially here in Yellowknife and in the regional centres. We are continuing to put pressure on the federal government.
One thing that I didn't make comments to is that we are still looking for Indigenous housing funding. We do have a good program with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, but we are trying to bring a stronger voice with all leadership across the Northwest Territories. I can assure Members that we will be making an impact in housing across the Northwest Territories with all of these programs and continued funding from our partnerships with the federal government and Indigenous partners moving forward.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have heard from this government before that we all have a role to play. The fact is we are talking about people who have very low income, people who have finished their work lives and are now seniors, people who are disabled, who are looking for housing. I don't understand what role they are expected to play in creating new housing stock. I feel that the Minister is hiding behind the CMHC declining funding. That funding is not going to decline for another 10 years. Why is the Minister pointing to declining CMHC funding as a reason not to increase the housing stock? Mahsi.
As I mentioned, in the agreement with the federal government, we have to ensure that we preserve at least 1,231 existing units. We doubled that already. We have worked hard to get this bilateral agreement done with the federal government. That gives us the flexibility to do some really good work here in the Northwest Territories. We have carved out some extra funding for the co-investment fund. We are continuing to speak with the federal government on Indigenous housing funding and seeing how we can get more funding moving forward.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Carrying on to my questions for the Minister of MACA on sports, my first question, Mr. Speaker: the Traditional Games Championship is led by the Aboriginal Sports Circle NWT. How does MACA support this organization? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend all the coaches, the teachers, volunteers, Aboriginal Sports Circle, as well as staff from Municipal and Community Affairs who put on a very successful traditional games this weekend. We have a strong partnership, a strong tradition of working with the Aboriginal Sports Circle.
I do want to let all Members know that, at my Ministers of sports meeting, we did promote our Traditional Games. I have invited the National Aboriginal Sports Circle representatives to come up to the Northwest Territories, as well as our Minister responsible for sport, to look at how we incorporate sport and culture together in our traditions. We do have a strong partnership with the Aboriginal Sports Circle. In terms of the delivery of the traditional games, we do fund them up to about $125,000. Moving forward, other games that we in this budget have dollars allocated for are multi-sports games, as well.
Thanks to the Minister for that reply. It was really encouraging when I witnessed the opening ceremony this past Thursday in one of the schools here, the William McDonald School I believe it was. It was really inspiring to see children from all of the communities, the remote communities, coming into the capital. Just the excitement of coming into the capital and being able to go to McDonald's is a privilege. That bonding is taken back home through the games, and I really could commend the Minister in supporting the continuation of the social foundation.
My next question is: what else does MACA do in supporting traditional games events like this championship?
William McDonald School, that is. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
We do continue to support traditional games, whether they are held here in Yellowknife, the annual games, that allow all schools to submit a team. The great thing about that is you have four males and four female representatives, so everyone gets to participate. That is really great to see. Aboriginal Sport Circle and MACA offer support to get students and their coaches here. We do also provide about $50,000 to the Aboriginal Sports Circle so that they can get out to the communities and promote traditional games in the communities where a lot of the students or youth might not be able to come to Yellowknife. That is one thing that they are doing, and we support that and promote it.
As I mentioned, when we did speak at our Minister of sports meeting, one thing that we did promote from myself was increased funding from the federal government for all games, whether it is the Arctic Winter Games, Canada Games, Canada Winter Games, Summer Games, Winter Games, Westerns. Then, as I mentioned, we invited our leadership to come up and see how successful and how great we do in promoting our traditional games here in the Northwest Territories.
