Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of housing explain what efforts Housing NWT is doing in working with communities to help curb homelessness across the NWT? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Minister for Housing NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Homelessness is a complex issue that requires an interdepartmental approach to provide a range of housing and health related wraparound supports. A Way Home, the GNWT's Homelessness Strategy, acknowledges this truth and has set us on a path towards integrated service delivery. Currently, Housing NWT operates two homeless shelters in Inuvik and funds shelters in Fort Simpson and Hay River as well as funding NGOs such as the YWCA, the Yellowknife Women's Society, and the Salvation Army, who provide services directly to the homeless population. Housing NWT also coordinates frontline training to NGOs and the GNWT Inuvik shelter staff to help build capacity for frontline staff who assist people that are experiencing homelessness. In addition, Housing NWT has also provided funding via the Northern Pathways to Housing for individual cases with wraparound supports. As the GNWT implements integrated service delivery, we anticipate enhanced collaboration and coordination with other government departments and agencies and eventually nonGNWT partners. Implementation of the integrated service delivery will include establishing five integrated colocated teams across the Northwest Territories that will initially be focused on supporting residents experiencing or at the risk of homelessness. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that answer.
Mr. Speaker, in the 19th Assembly, there was a commitment to create a hundred units for vulnerable persons in the life of that Assembly, which was noted to be the first expansion of public housing stock in decades. I thank the Minister for clarifying this past February that those units should be completed this summer.
Can the Minister please explain if Housing NWT intends to seek further federal funding to make similar investments into our public housing stock during the life of this Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So Housing NWT, as part of the GNWT federal engagement approach, will include housing as one of its top priorities for discussions on funding with Canada. Housing NWT will be focused on finding new sustainable longterm approaches to addressing housing needs. Housing NWT's supported by the other GNWT departments has begun preparations to engage with federal officials and will be doing so shortly now that the mandate has been finalized and released. The federal government, in its recent budget, announced a number of funding programs to address the national need for housing. A key interest of the GNWT and Housing NWT, in particular, is to understand these funding opportunities and how they can be maximized for the Northwest Territories for the benefit of the residents, Indigenous governments, and the GNWT. As has been stated previously, Housing NWT needs partnerships to address the housing crisis and that includes partnerships with both the Government of Canada and Indigenous governments as well as NGOs and other housing stakeholders. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I look forward to hearing more about that engagement once it gets going.
Mr. Speaker, I know the previous Assembly also worked with Housing NWT to review their policies in an allencompassing way. Can the Minister explain if Housing NWT is considering the contemporary issue of homelessness through the lens of the ongoing effects of colonialism given that Indigenous people are disproportionately represented in those experiencing a lack of housing? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So Housing NWT did review policies related to homelessness and the disproportionate representation of Indigenous people experiencing homelessness in the 19th Assembly. One example of the changed included a homelessness assistance fund policy which now provides an extension for those requiring assistance more than once in their lifetime.
Approximately a year ago, the scoring criteria for public housing was adjusted to include a higher rate for those that are experiencing homelessness. We are currently reviewing other policies to see what changes are required and welcome any feedback Members may have. Under the Homelessness Strategy, other GNWT policies and processes will be reviewed with this important lens in mind. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that. I'm hoping maybe she could share some of that so we can give the feedback.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain what Housing NWT's relationship is in the day to day with NGOs who provide emergency shelter and transitional supportive housing to residents and whether any permanent funding arrangements or partnerships can be made between such organizations and Housing NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Member from Great Slave, two questions. Minister for Housing NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And from our perspective, we have a good working relationship with NGOs that provide emergency shelter and transitional supportive housing to residents. We are always looking for new funding opportunities both within and outside the GNWT and provide pathfinding support to these NGOs to access additional funding resources. Additionally, Housing NWT's staff regularly speak to the NGO staff related to other issues that they may have, including safety concerns and educational opportunities. When speaking to longer term or multiyear funding agreements, that is a question that requires an all of government response, not just Housing NWT. A Way Home recognizes the importance nongovernmental partners have in addressing homelessness and specifically including measures to strengthen partnerships with this sector to ensure their sustainability and success.
In the business plan, Executive and Indigenous Affairs is committed to working to improve the relationship between the GNWT and NGOs and to working to better support the nonprofit sector as a whole. There is much work to be done but we have reports like the 2023 advisory reports to build upon. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT.
Colleagues, we just went through 25 minutes of question and answer, and we've only gone through four people. Can you please keep your answers a little more succinct moving forward.
Member from Tu NedheWiilideh.
