Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a few questions for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. Mr. Speaker, earlier this session I asked the Minister about the heating at the Joe Greenland Centre, and I would like to follow up.
I would like to ask the Minister: what is the status of the work on the heating at the Joe Greenland Centre? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a little bit of history with the Joe Greenland Centre in Aklavik. That was completed in the fall of 2015. When it was completed, there were concerns raised by residents of the community that some of the units didn't have adequate heating during the winter.
The Housing Corporation did do an assessment, and we found, in order to resolve the issue and the situation, that in-floor heating was identified as the most appropriate solution to fix that problem. We went ahead, and we did that. The installation of in-floor heating began last year in November, when the required materials were able to get to the community.
From my understanding, Mr. Speaker, it has been completed. We will get an official confirmation for the Member so that he can share it with his constituents. I know that, when we did go and do the opening for the Northern Pathways to Housing in Aklavik, we did go into the Joe Greenland Centre and got a good update. From my understanding, at this moment it has been completed. We will get an official confirmation for the Member so that he can share that with his constituents.
I know this has been an ongoing issue since the opening. You know, this could have been avoided if the department didn't try to cut costs during construction. I'd like to ask the Minister: is there any further work needed on the Joe Greenland Centre, or will this solve the heating problems?
Once the residents raised the issue of the heating issues during the winter months, we did work with our professional engineers and our designers to address the issue. As I mentioned earlier, in-floor heating was the best solution to address the issue. We have done that, and as I mentioned, from my understanding, it has been completed. I will get an official confirmation for the Member. Moving forward, we will continue to assess the Joe Greenland building. I mean, it's providing a valuable service to our residents in the Beaufort-Delta, and we will continue to monitor that particular building.
That's good news. I'm sure the elders there will appreciate that. One of the other things that the elders wanted to see was a meeting area in the back. Right now, if elders want any fresh air or to go outside and have a cigarette, or something, they have to sit at the entrance, at the front door. Will the Minister now look into a meeting area in the back yard of the Joe Greenland Centre for the elders to have cook-outs during the summer?
We just completed a seniors' planning study that we tabled in the House yesterday. I think that, when we are investing in some of our most vulnerable people, obviously, we want to make sure that we get input from our residents, as well as our stakeholders, when we're doing this. A perfect case in point is Fort Providence, with their seniors' residence. We're doing some really good work there. This is something that we'll continue to work on with the residents and the leadership, how we can develop some type of congregation area, meeting place, for the seniors in the Joe Greenland Centre.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We always talk about aging in place, here. Would the Minister work with the Minister of Health to cost-share on a gazebo for elders to enjoy the summer, to visit with one another, and also to visit with community members? As I mentioned, it's great scenery there, at the location that they have, but it's a shame that our elders do have to sit outside to enjoy fresh air facing away from the mountains. You know, we should be making use of the scenery there. It's a good place to enjoy life. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the advocacy that the Member is bringing on for seniors and aging in place. With the planning study, we did identify that there are certain communities across the Northwest Territories that we do need to provide adequate care and services to, and as I have mentioned in this House before, the three communities that were identified were Yellowknife, Hay River, and Norman Wells. We want to make sure that we identify our priorities as a government, but at the same time we also want to make sure that our Indigenous governments and our municipalities also work with us and take part of that ownership to provide the services. The main thing right now is to make sure that we do provide the services for seniors aging in place, and at this moment we want to make sure that they can have an adequate space, health, and wellness of their own. Right now, the communities that have been identified have been Yellowknife, Hay River, and Norman Wells. If you want to look at gazebos and other things that might be on top of the priority costs, then we'll have to have those discussions in the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
