On the Housing Corporation website, I found a presentation that was delivered by the Housing Corporation president, called the National Housing Co-Investment Fund and NWT Housing Corporation. The presentation explained the co-investment fund to stakeholders and advised that the federal government would contribute 75 percent and we would contribute 25. Slide 4 of the presentation indicated that the Housing Corporation would help prepare applications. Would the Housing Corporation be prepared to help the women's society resubmit this application?
Absolutely. The Housing Corporation is in support of assisting the Yellowknife Women's Society to resubmit their application. I also just wanted to express that the Housing Corporation did enter into a partnership with them in December, and we did complete a women's shelter, and the Housing Corporation did contribute $750,000, and the centre was opened prior to Christmas.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think what I would like to know for my final question is: does any GNWT department have an environmental assessment of the Arnica Inn?
We have not. To my knowledge, I have not seen an environmental assessment, but I will follow up with my department to see if we have received anything in the time being. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. Along the same lines as the Member for Kam Lake, Arnica Inn has been on our radar since the election. September, October, we've heard it. Members, these women here, have supported it going forward, so it's surprising that we are still talking about the process itself.
Mr. Speaker, the territory's 25 percent share of capital cost spread over the project, 42 self-contained apartments, also lists $17,000 per unit. For the sake of people sleeping in apartment building stairways in Yellowknife or, even worse, outside, why did the Minister not jump on the chance to help provide those additional 42 transition housing units as badly needed today? Masi.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would just like to elaborate that the Arnica Inn currently was an ongoing conversation September and October, but my riding is the Sahtu. I was not familiar with the project at all, and I do come from a smaller community, where there are homelessness issues, throughout the Northwest Territories.
Going forward with the Housing Corporation, we do have several initiatives to work with that. Going forward, looking at the 43 units that were available, I believe strongly that there should have been more involvement, there should have been more communication. With the final submission of the application, I actually met with the Yellowknife Women's Society in December, and I advised them that I would like to see Indigenous partnership with the project, and I would like to see how is the project going to be integrated.
In the Northwest Territories, we are a government that does acknowledge Indigenous people. I would have really liked to see the Indigenous component. We did have a strong conversation, and, once again, I advised the Yellowknife Women's Society to reach out to us.
Obviously, Members sitting on this side do not want to lose the hope of the federal funding that is available to us, should be available to us, but if we are talking about proposals, I am afraid we are going to miss out on the opportunity.
The Yellowknife Women's Society is a highly respected, extremely well-run non-profit agency that has been helping disadvantaged northern families for upwards of 30 years. It has extensive experience in transitional and emergency housing. If the Housing Corporation had problems or issues with the Arnica Inn project as the Minister alluded to earlier, why didn't it help the women's society to overcome those challenges as opposed to just plain ignoring those letters and emails that were going back and forth?
I recognize that the women's society has well established themselves respectfully in the Northwest Territories. Going forward, the Housing Corporation does not have any issues with the project. Like I have said, we contributed into projects with them prior to Christmas, calculating at least approximately $2 million. We have looked at the housing and homelessness initiative in the Northwest Territories.
Going forward, I have not seen the final application. I have not seen the business plan. It has not been shared with us, and I would strongly, once again, encourage the Yellowknife Women's Society to quickly reach out to us. They do have a deadline of March 31st or March 30th, I believe. Responding to the emails and the letters that were sent out, last week, we were travelling, and I wanted to solely concentrate on this issue. I wanted to look at it clearly and understand it.
As I said before, the project was not expressed in my campaign. It was not expressed in the Sahtu, but it is for the Yellowknife area. We do have seven MLAs within this riding. Looking at it going forward, I strongly encourage the Yellowknife Women's Society, because they have a deadline, to reach out and get their application resubmitted.
That is the fear that I have right now, where we are not being proactive as the GNWT, reaching out to those organizations and assisting them in submitting the proposal, so we don't raise that issue in the House here. It should have been dealt with a long time ago. I am more concerned about those 42 homeless people today who do not have a place to go to. We are sitting around the table here, talking about the process. This is what we need to do. What is the Minister doing today that will benefit those individuals who are out there hopeless, no shelter, no food? What is happening today from the department's perspective?
The application that was submitted by the Yellowknife Women's Society was submitted to the federal government. We don't see that application, so we don't know what the final ask was. When that application was put forward, I also did express to the Yellowknife Women's Society that they actually budget for renovation costs, should they come through, that they end up with a renovation that could cost millions of dollars, an environmental assessment that could cost millions of dollars.
The other thing that I would like to elaborate on is the age of the building, as well. I am not very familiar. In the letter sent from CMHC, they were concerned about the feasibility, and they did not elaborate on it. I really need to see that report because, if we open these 43 units and the building is not feasible, what are we going to do as a government with 43 people who would end up having to evacuate that building within six months? Are we in a financial state to house 43 people who would end up on the street? The same scenario happened in Hay River with the high-rise burned, and none of the people who were in the high-rise were housing clients, but we did make an effort to get modular homes into that community.
That is my concern, but right now the urgency is to get that application submitted and get it in, put it in, because, if there is missing information, I would really honestly like them to include the renovation costs, should that end up becoming a problem in the future.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. Those 42 individuals who are homeless, obviously they don't want to hear about the paper trail, the process that needs to take place. They want to know what this government is doing to support them, to house them. Mr. Speaker, my final question is: what is the Minister doing to wake the Housing Corporation up to the human emergency that homelessness represents to the Legislative Assembly, our communities, and to all the people of the Northwest Territories, especially those who are homeless?
The homelessness situation in Yellowknife has been addressed. We do work with what we can within the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. Right now, we are in the midst of our budget going forward. We have invested into the Bailey House here in Yellowknife; we have invested into the YWCA; and we have invested into the sobering centre. We do have the rent supplementary program that is also here. We have a number of programs and a number of facilities that we have invested into in Yellowknife, and we have taken the same approach.
This application going forward is nothing new to the women's society. They have been through this process before. Right now, there are issues with the building, and I would strongly advise them to resubmit their application so we can go forward with this and try to meet their deadline. However, in the time being, I would just like to make the Member aware that we do have a number of homelessness buildings in the community, and we have addressed them. I will provide the Member with a list of the buildings that we do have in Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to just talk a little bit with my question. In 2005, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat released a review of governance framework for Crown corporations. That report said that, to be effective, boards of directors must approach their work objectively. It also talked about the independence that helps to establish a board's credibility and supports sound governance. It also talks about how best practice requires that boards of directors in Crown corporations function independently from management.
My question to the Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation is: if he feels that the Northwest Territories Power Corporation is following what the federal government considers best practices, why isn't GNWT following what's considered best practice? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation.
Thank you, and I thank the Member for telling me exactly where this quote was from. It's 2005 that they talked about best practices in moving forward. I have read the briefing on it. I can't tell you how the previous government made that decision. I can tell you what we are doing.
Right now, I am trying to make a decision based on a whole bunch of information. I have directed the board to come back with the governance model. Whether we stay where it is; do we go independent; do we go half-and-half; right now, we're working at trying to get the answer and get this information to us as best we can so that I can make an informed decision. Right now, that's the direction I've given the board, and right now, they're independent. They are six individuals sitting on the board. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
If they are independent, are these deputy ministers receiving any additional bonuses or honorary or monetary compensation for serving on the NTPC board as they would as an independent, regular member of the territory? Or are they just getting their regular DM salaries, also meant to cover these additional duties?
We are not giving them bonuses, and we're not giving them extra money. This is just part of their duties that they're being paid for, but they are doing work on weekends and evenings to do the job, because they have another job that they are doing right now. It would be no different than any other board; they would actually do weekend and evening work. To the Member, we're not giving them any bonuses and we're not giving them any extra pay.
Okay. Well, so how does the Minister say that they are independent? If we have regular people on this board, they would be getting these honorariums so that they would be compensated, but we have staff. We have staff, Mr. Speaker, so can the Minister please try to explain that so I can understand it?
Right now, they are meeting as a board independent of their roles as deputy ministers. They are taking on the task of trying to govern the NWT Power Corporation as best they can with the information that they have. Again, right now, it's not costing us anything to pay them. We're not paying them to do that job. Right now, they're independent. Yes, they are DMs who were appointed, but they are going as individuals, not as DMs.
In your speaking notes, you talked about the DMs who were removed or replaced. We're fixing that. We're specifically talking about those people to do those positions right now. Right now, as we go and look at the governance model, we'll have an answer that may work better for everybody involved later on.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister share with this House any progress made since 2016 on the governance options that these DMs were supposed to establish, and can he provide them to the Members or table the documents of the governance options? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I actually met with the chair, and we've been having communications, and we are working on a flow chart of what we're doing. We're going to try to have that shared with committee as soon as possible; we're hoping by spring we will have this information to committee to be looked at so we can make an informed decision together.
Yes, we will share that information with you. I've already, like I said, reached out to the chair and the president and asked for that information to be tabulated so we can share it with committee moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to once again thank the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources for the opportunity to observe the GNWT-Nunavut caribou meeting on the weekend. Can the Minister tell us whether there will be further meetings that include more harvesters, elders, interpreters, and presentations from communities and Nunavut organizations? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I'd like to thank the two Members from Frame Lake and Kam Lake for attending the meeting. That was greatly appreciated, them attending and listening to the concerns by the Indigenous governments and the Government of Nunavut and the GNWT. To make a short answer, yes, we are going to be having a follow-up meeting, both myself and the Premier/Minister from Nunavut. We made a commitment to do the meeting and have it in Kugluktuk as we work on it. Again, we are working toward that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I want to thank the Minister for that response. There was quite a bit of discussion around the GNWT-Tlicho Government joint management proposal for wolf removal in relation to the Bathurst and Bluenose East caribou herds at the meeting on the weekend. The proposal still cannot be found on the Wek'eezhii Renewal Resources Board website; I'm not sure why. Can the Minister tell us who will make the determination if aerial shooting of wolves is required and on what basis that decision will be made?
I can't tell why that information is not on somebody else's board, but we did submit it to them, so we're working with them on that. So that the Member is aware, we are looking at the scientific and the traditional knowledge before we make a decision. We've looked at it. We've heard rumours -- not rumours, but we've heard from traditional hunters that wolves may not be as abundant as they are right now, so that may have an impact on it. We're hoping that the traditional hunting and harvesting will be done, and we will never have to use the aerial; but, if it needs to be done, that will be the department making that final decision.
I want to thank the Minister for that. I hope it's the Minister who makes the final decision and not the department. There was a lot of frustration at the meeting, particularly from the Dene communities that have shouldered the burden of actions to try to help with recovery of the Bathurst and Bluenose East caribou herds. They haven't been able to harvest those herds for a number of years now.
While I generally agree with the need for predator controls, virtually nothing has been done to protect habitat and slow down resource development. What is the Minister doing to protect habitat to ensure a more equitable and comprehensive approach to caribou protection that includes limitations or restrictions on resource development?
The Bathurst Caribou Range Plan made nine recommendations to manage the range of the Bathurst caribou herd. Habitat conservation is recommended in areas of importance to caribou, such as key water crossings and land corridors. ENR is supporting Indigenous governments to document these key habitats and features. We will then work collaboratively to identify legislative tools to establish conservation areas. The Bathurst Caribou Range Plan recommends managing the total level of development on the range of the herd, including industrial development in communities and roads.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. It's clear to many that we cannot afford an all-weather road into the Slave Geological Province, and that it would likely be the final blow to the Bathurst caribou herd. If our government is actually serious about caribou protection and intends to fulfil its legal obligations under the Species at Risk Act, when barren-ground caribou are listed as threatened, an all-weather road through their range should not proceed in the absence of successful recovery efforts. Can the Minister provide any assurance that this government will actually back off the unaffordable Slave Geological Province road until there is a demonstrated recovery of the Bathurst caribou herd? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
I can't talk about another Minister's department, but what I can do is talk about what ENR is doing. We are committed to protecting the caribou population by making sure that our decisions consider any potential impact on caribou herds and their habitat. We make sure we understand that, and make sure we present the information to the boards and everybody else like that. We have a strong regulatory system in place. It ensures all projects are reviewed before permits and approvals are granted, and the department actually does have comment on these projects moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are also for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. In a couple of her answers today, the Minister suggested that there may be problems with the building. I would like her to elaborate on what she thinks those problems are. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was just referencing the feasibility study that CMHC had not recognized. I haven't seen the document, but then, that was one of the reasons why the application was -- I don't want to use the word "denied," because they are encouraged to resubmit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I find it very puzzling that there is no way of sharing information between the CMHC and the NWT Housing Corporation when both are anticipated investors in this project. What can the Minister do to obtain information that has already been filed with the CMHC so that she can independently evaluate it?
I am not aware of the documents that have been filed with CMHC in regards to the federal application that was submitted, but I would like to really stress in this session that I would need the Yellowknife Women's Society to contact us so that we could go forward and we could resubmit that application.
With any other additional information in regard to the submission of the application, I would have to follow up with the Member. Right now, I'm not aware of any documents that the Housing Corporation has received as I have not seen the application myself.
I appreciate the answer from the Minister. In my mind, the premise of a co-investment fund is that applications are jointly reviewed and decisions are made, so I don't understand or appreciate the siloed approach between what goes to the CMHC and what goes to the Housing Corporation if both are requested to be investors in this project. What can you do to try and work more effectively with the CMHC so that you have the same information at the same time that they have the information?
The co-investment fund has been available to the Northwest Territories through the federal government process. Going forward, I would like to see both applications as well. I would like to be more involved, so I will direct my department that any co-investment applications going forward -- because this is a federal financial opportunity for the federal government to come up with 75 percent, and then the territorial government to come up with the 25. This is something where we'd be, as the Northwest Territories, able to go forward and in partnership.
My comment to the Member is that I will be more involved in the applications as they come forward, and I'd be more mindful of sharing those applications. Not sharing the applications, the ideas, that if they do have interest in another region and that they are looking at homeless initiatives or constructing new units, just so I can keep the Members informed of what is being constructed throughout the Northwest Territories.
