Thank you, Minister. Mr. Martin.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, the financial planning section, we have two staff who are in that area. Their primary focus is to support the Housing Corporation and the development of our main estimates, supporting with the annual business planning process as well as our capital planning process. It's a focused shop, basically, in those areas. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Martin. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much. Are these staff members also responsible for liaising with CMHC? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. No, they're not. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Kam Lake.
Is there a staff member within the Housing Corporation currently that liaises with CMHC and creates that relationship, and, if so, what division are they found in? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Currently, we don't have a position right now that deals directly with CMHC. It is the president who deals directly with them. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much. In the absence of the president, would that be one of the vice-presidents who would take control of that role? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, that's correct.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much. I'm going to switch gears here a little bit and talk about waste management a little bit because we sat with ENR yesterday and talked about our responsibility as a government to look toward including waste management and disposal of construction material when we're doing buildings in the Northwest Territories. Does the Housing Corporation have a waste management plan for the buildings that they produce within their communities, or do they have an expectation of waste management for contractors whom they hire to do that work? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. That is a very important question. I'm going to have Jim elaborate on that, what we do with the material. Sorry, "Mr. Martin." Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Martin.
Thank you, Madam Chair. When we structure our contracts, the contractors who are carrying out the demolition work for the Housing Corporation, the expectation is that they will adhere to all of the local and territorial laws in ensuring the safe disposition of building materials post the demolition. We would look to the contractors to ensure that that is done. If we're doing the work ourselves, then we would also do the same. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Martin. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. The Northwest Territories currently has a very high per-capita landfill. Our landfills are quickly filling, and I'm wondering if the Housing Corporation will be able to work with ENR to put in some policies or legislation that would allow them to be more mindful of the waste that they are creating within our communities and to be able to work also with procurement and with contractors to make sure that we're taking that into consideration when we're hiring people or when we're doing work ourselves within communities. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, I will take that comment and that recommendation from the Member. Thank you.
I will move on to the Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to just ask some questions first about homelessness initiatives. They are $2.9 million in this budget. Can the Minister remind us when the homelessness strategy is going to be complete? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. June is the set date. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you. Is the intention of that strategy to provide a rationale for additional investment in homelessness initiatives? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, that's correct, and it's throughout the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Madam Chair. At what point will the request for additional funding for homelessness initiatives come forward, following the completion of the strategy? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to revert the question to Mr. Martin. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Martin.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, this is a very important document coming forward, that we're looking forward to having to inform future engagement with the federal government as well as to inform priority setting with our existing resources, as well. Those decisions and engagement activities would follow shortly after the release of that study. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Martin. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for that response. What I understand is, there's no new money that will be allocated to homelessness initiatives; it will either be reprofiled from other programs and services in the Housing Corporation, or it will come from the federal government. Is that correct? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. We are looking at pursuing additional federal funding to deal with the homelessness issue throughout the territory, in working with the Indigenous partnerships and really relying on partnerships going forward. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm a little discouraged to hear that because, if there's no federal engagement at this point, it means that the money is a long way out, and, up to this point, I'm not sure what success there's been with partnerships on housing with Indigenous government organizations. For example, maybe the Minister could tell us about existing partnerships around homelessness with Indigenous government organizations? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Throughout the Northwest Territories, we have different initiatives that we have, funding that is available through our programming and that we enhance shelters throughout the Northwest Territories. Looking for new funding going forward, I just really want to emphasize that this is why the community plans are very important. I did go to Ottawa, and I did see that Nunavut had displayed a document that was something that the Minister was able to reference and being able to review in regards for the need for homelessness in that territory in Nunavut. This is why I wanted the majority of the community plans to be completed in August. This is specifically why. I want to make my way down and lobby for more money to deal with our homelessness issue and to put more houses on the ground, and this absolutely has to be done in August. I want a report completed and done by September, so I have something to present when I get down there in November. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a couple of follow-up questions. Are there any existing partnerships with Indigenous government organizations that specifically relate to homelessness? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I got a little bit passionate there about the information collaboration, and really lobbying on behalf of the territory. I will have Mr. Carpenter elaborate on the programs and the partnerships that we have that address homelessness in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Madam Chair.
