Mr. Speaker, what changes to the GNWT housing strategic or plan that they currently have is the Minister looking at to deal with this issue as the current strategy plan clearly is not working to improve the housing situation? As the study has shown, it has gone backwards in the last ten years.
The Northwest Territories alone has a majority of the housing problems and a majority of the housing issues in our territory. Right now that I have been through the briefings, I have looked and met with the department, a lot of the infrastructure that is there, the houses that are there, are not 100 percent owned by the NWT Housing Corporation, but then, going forward, I want to work with the report that has already been completed in the last sitting, and then I want to start working with the regions to establish a stronger front to come forward and to start working with our Indigenous groups, partnerships, and to see what the needs are, the core needs, in each of our regional centres.
Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to being bold and lead her department to try and find new ways to increase the total number of housing units and get people off these waiting lists and into actual housing?
Yes, I am committed to work towards our rental scale and looking towards to get people into their own housing units but also working in partnership with Indigenous groups. I am new to the position, but I am really for Indigenous partnerships and would like to see community-owned infrastructure.
Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am happy to hear that because it kind of leads into my next question. Will the Minister again commit and be bold and lead her department with working with Indigenous groups to lobby the federal government to supply appropriate, long-term, sustainable funding to address our housing deficits in Inuvik and the Northwest Territories as a whole?
Members, before we continue, I would like to recognize some of my constituents in the audience with us today. We have Jordan McLeod, the chair of Aklavik Community Corp; Dean Arey, recently elected as a Hunters and Trappers Committee member; also Ella Archie, Mary Ruth Meyook, Jimmy Meyook, Lori Anne Elanik, and Ella Archie. Ella and Jimmy Meyook actually went to school with Diane, and it was similar in the Grollier Hall. It is always good to have Members with us in the gallery. Thank you. They will actually be performing for us later today as well. Thank you.
Okay, where were we? Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I have my questions for the Housing Minister in regards to working together. Mr. Speaker, would the Housing Corporation and the Housing Minister take lead to stop the evictions for the next six months so we could work together with the clients in the Beaufort Delta in my riding of Nunakput to get them back on track on a go-forward basis, so cutting out evictions and people with medical having to be moved to other houses? She could take lead right now to say "yes" to me, Mr. Speaker, and make it right. Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Mr. Speaker, the Housing Corporation, eviction is the last resort. It could take about a year for an eviction to process, so the tenant has numerous chances to change their behaviour that is causing the problem. In most cases, evictions occur because tenants have been warned but continue to make disturbances that affect the other tenants.
Also, we carry a large, I don't want to use the word "debt", a large debt, I guess, like the return of income for our housing clients, and I am wanting to work with our housing clients, wanting to work in the regional levels, to recover that outstanding debt that our current public housing clients hold. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The question I asked was: could the Minister stop the evictions in the Beaufort-Delta and across the territory for the next six months? Because Christmas is coming. The last thing we need to have our constituents worrying about is being evicted and having a roof over their head when, at the end of the day, this government has to provide housing shelter over our constituents.
In regard to the eviction process that we currently do have, I really would like to acknowledge the safety that is among the units, the public housing units, and the activity that carries on, but then, yet, we do have a high rate of outstanding debts that are carried by the public housing tenants. I am wanting to work with the tenants and wanting to work with the eviction notices and try my best to really exercise my department to use that as a very last resort.
As the Housing Corporation across Nunakput, I know the rent scale is out of whack. We have to sort that out for the people. The T4 system is not working. The high rates, the cost of the units that we're providing, which is 42 percent problematic since the last census, there are problems in every unit that we have. There is overcrowding. People are suffering, Mr. Speaker. We need to make the residents, my constituents in my riding, they have to have a place to stay. Would the Minister answer me, yes or no, if she could provide the answer to stop the evictions for the next six months so we can review this with the department?
Thank you to the Member for his question. I will have to work with my department in order to make this decision, and I would like to work with each of the clients in the local areas and try to recover the debt that is required and try to understand why the eviction is taking place, but I would like to go forward and like to deal with these evictions on a case-by-case basis. I am open to further discussion.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regard to this go-forward on the rent scale, I'm giving notice now, Mr. Speaker, if I'm unsatisfied with the Housing Corporation, I'll be bringing a private Member's bill to bring forward for the next sitting of this House to provide our own rent scale, but I want to work with the Minister in regard to working on that rent scale and for the people in the Northwest Territories. This is not only my riding; this is across the whole territory. This rent scale has to be sorted out, because people who want to work, people can't work because they are penalized if they do, paying that rent right through the whole year when people are only working four or five months a year, Mr. Speaker. So I give notice. Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister, I'll give you a chance to respond.
Thank you to the Member for your questions. This is an ongoing issue that is throughout the Northwest Territories. I would also like to acknowledge, coming from a smaller community, that I do see this at the grassroots level. I do see this in the smaller communities, and I am committed to review our rent scale program right now. I do realize and I recognize that it's not working throughout the Northwest Territories, but yet we need to work with the local housing authorities and societies to recover and try to work effectively and efficiently in our smaller communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, the concerns regarding the recreational land leases have been a very hot topic in all different venues with Indigenous and municipal governments, including members of many of our communities. My primary concern is for the residents of Fort Smith. My question for the Minister is: how is your department going to undo a major, poor decision of the 18th Assembly that should not have happened without proper consultation?
Thank you, Member. Minister of Lands.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will have opportunities to revisit the mechanisms used to set the rent and fees, and it will be part of bringing our Public Lands Act into force. We are starting to work on it. It's part of a process. It's not going to be fixed overnight; it's going to take some time. We are in the process and there are mechanisms in there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister's response to my office regarding land leases which he sent out on December 9, 2019, is unacceptable. After bringing forward concerns well over 31 times in the 18th Assembly, I want to know why the Minister of Lands is stalling to address these concerns in a positive and proactive manner that will work for all the NWT residents, especially the residents of Fort Smith dealing with this issue.
The department is not stalling. We're trying to work on this. It's critical that one of the main focuses for the Department of Lands during the life of the 19th Assembly is to do the work on regulations needed to bring into force the Public Lands Act. This work needs to be done in advance of further changes to lease pricing.
It is important to note that, although there was an increase to recreational land lease fees, there was a decrease to the lease fees for residential leases where people's homes are in communities of Commissioner's land. This was part of the result of my questions 31 times that the Member talked about, when I was speaking to the Minister of Lands in the past.
I am also concerned about the contents and tone of the multiple letters I've seen from constituents who received letters from the Department of Lands stating that, if the new lease fees were not paid within a specified time, the residents would need to bring the land to its original state. Does the Minister of Lands agree with bureaucrats and civil servants writing these letters to the people we represent as MLAs?
The letters that come from the department are letters that support legal contracts such as lease agreements. They need to be clear. They are not meant to carry a specific tone, but to ensure that there is no misunderstanding of the points that need to be communicated. If a lease fee remains unpaid and there is no intent to continue use of the parcel of land, it is the responsibility of the department to ensure that the land be left in an acceptable condition. This often means a condition that is as close as possible to the original state. I agree with the principle when addressing public lands outside the municipalities.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Thebacha.
The turnaround for inquiries to any Minister by MLAs is five days. Why did it take the Minister and his department 17 days to give me a response, which was the same response given in the 18th Assembly by the former Minister of Lands, which you questioned when you were a Regular MLA?
Just a reminder, please direct your comments through myself as Speaker. Thank you. Minister.
Mr. Speaker, if I recall, we had the opportunity to meet, at which time I arranged a time to discuss your concerns immediately. I believe that we had a productive discussion, and I have followed up on the matters that you raised. I realize that my responses may not be the ones that you would like to hear at this time, but I can assure you that I will continue to work on this matter with my officials. We do have further work that needs to be done to ensure that we have a modern approach to land management in the NWT, including around fees. I have mentioned a big part of this is getting the Public Lands Act into force, though the work has to be done on regulations. I look forward to work with you and the community and other MLAs as we work on this process. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. Minister, I am over here, just so you know. It was brought to my attention. Please direct your comments to me. I know everybody is a little nervous today. It is okay to look at the person you are talking to every once in a while. Just a reminder. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My Member's statement was on extending the cellphone range outside of the municipalities. It was appropriate that the MACA Minister updated us on the 911 service to the Northwest Territories. My reference to the Minister of Ho-Ho-Ho, it is appropriate that the Minister is wearing a Christmas-themed sweater. Also, the fact that with the housing questions, she did answer "yes" a couple of times. I believe that the Minister is on a roll.
The cellphone range service is a concern to our communities. I think it goes right across the whole territory, too, because we are only allowed the service within the municipality. The range is not very far there. We have lots of highway travel. We have from Providence to Yellowknife and Hay River to Fort Smith, and both of those have a large bison population that traverse the highway system. We have had accidents on those highways many times. Also, too, to cover the Dempster Highway, which is a long, forlorn highway that comes up from the Yukon, if people are stuck or get into accidents or anything, they will have some way to communicate with someone along the highway.
And I believe 911 service, you had a partner. I don't know if it was Northwestel. You had a partner, anyways, who delivered the program. I believe the NWT would be pleased with the increased range. My question to the Minister is: does the department have an initiative in the works to see if that cellphone service range is extended beyond municipal boundaries? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Good Member's statement. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Member for his comments. The program is quite new, and we have just established and implemented it. It went live this year. As a part of the implementation of the Northwest Territories 911 service, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs will continue to work in partnership with the GNWT departments to explore opportunities for future expansion of cellular services along the territorial highways. The GNWT has highlighted increased cellular service along the major roads and highways as a priority to the CRTC. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister must remember I said lots of nice things about her today. My question is: can the Minister provide a timeline as to tasks undertaken to enable this service coming into being in the very near future?
I am sorry, but I don't have a timeline right now. The program is so new that I can't make a commitment as to when the expansion or further to the program.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Presently, the municipal government of the City of Yellowknife only controls 9 percent of the land within its municipal boundary. In order for the City of Yellowknife to access any of the additional lands beyond their land planning, an application has to be made to the Department of Lands. This process has become so burdensome and so difficult to navigate that the City of Yellowknife made it one of their election priorities that all of the vacant Commissioner's land be transferred to the City of Yellowknife within their municipal boundaries. My question is to the Minister of Lands of whether he can commit that that Land will be transferred to the municipal government.
Thank you, Member. Minister of Lands.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT has met several times to discuss with the city initiative, including two meetings with the city to date. Work has been focusing on ensuring clarity on what Lands initiative will include, ensure clarity on the process to carry out the initiative, and identification of milestones accomplished throughout the initiative and who is responsible for each. The department is focused on ensuring the initiative is carried out in a timely manner that ensures the transfer is done right. A meeting with the city is scheduled for next week to continue working with this initiative moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would ask the Minister to update this House on the result of those meetings. Also, my hope is that following the kind of paternalistic nature between the Department of Lands and the City of Yellowknife, after these lands are developed, perhaps some of those employees at the Department of Lands can begin working with other community governments to transfer the land. Can the Minister tell me what conversations are happening with other municipal governments to transfer land within their municipal boundaries?
The department continues to work with all the communities in NWT to address their individual land needs. Lands is not in any discussions with communities at this time than a minor transfer similar to the initiative currently being worked on by the city.
Can the Minister clarify whether any other municipal governments have asked to have the Commissioner's land within their boundaries transferred to them?
Lands has not been in any discussion presently. There may be some conversations at a regional level. Right now, we haven't seen anything at headquarters.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.
