Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services with respect to the monolith challenge and the impact challenge the day shelter is going to have on the community of Yellowknife Centre and Yellowknife at large.
Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask in the context of when a road is built, we have impact funds and other types of things similar. And that is particularly the issue. So my question for the Minister specifically is now what impact fund is being designed to support the impacts of the community of Yellowknife Centre once this giant shelter, to solve all the problems of the world, is built? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are many shelters that are in Yellowknife and have been for many years. You know, there are many of our Northwest Territories residents, a large population of Indigenous people that struggle from historic traumas, and they are not a road. And so what we are doing here in Yellowknife is -- you know, the federal government gave a large sum of money to the Northwest Territories to specifically, in Yellowknife, to build, to replace, to provide a space that -- you know, that was worked with the Indigenous advisory board. There was consultation as what it should look like, where, what it should do. It is to provide shelters to those people that are living in the Northwest Territories, in the capital, that are struggling with homelessness and addictions right now. So right now, there is no impact to the community. There are already homeless shelters here, and we are not providing impact monies to the city of Yellowknife for that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, again, I want to reaffirm that the merits and principles are not the issue of the shelter, so I want to make sure we never go on a tangent in the wrong direction on that.
Mr. Speaker, the last shelter that was downtown had impacts. Security cameras to be put on buildings. Homes were threatened. People were doing people things in yards -- I'll leave it at that, I won't use that language. But that said, Mr. Speaker, it impacted neighbourhoods and changed neighbourhoods specifically. What is the Minister doing to meet the needs of the community that this giant shelter will cause once they establish it and have it up and running? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like again like I said, I don't understand whether it's where it is now, it's downtown Yellowknife, where it was before, it's downtown Yellowknife, where it's going back, it's downtown Yellowknife. There's nothing changing, it's downtown Yellowknife. I don't know where the Member wants me to put our Indigenous homeless people, predominantly, that are here that are struggling. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we're getting awful close to a point of order wherein she keeps saying Indigenous people, and I feel it's drawing the attention of I'm trying to separate our field some motivation. There is none. So, Mr. Speaker, as I qualify that point, it's not about a racialized issue in any way. It's about impacts on the community.
Mr. Speaker, I'm asking what type of discussion is the department of health having with the neighbourhoods about these pending impacts that are coming to the neighbourhood? As I've given examples, I won't repeat them, will the Minister agree to meet with the neighbourhood and call a neighbourhood meeting to discuss these things? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there was already consultation done within Yellowknife. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's a petition that I'll, in the near future, table before the House, not today, but it has over a thousand signatures. The point being is there's a lot of people concerned about the impacts. Would the Minister go to the community again, call a community meeting, and discuss about how to address the impacts? Again, not about removing the shelter, the impacts the shelter will have on the community. Will she do that for the community who needs that conversation again and again until we get it right? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there was extensive engagement done. The wellness and recovery centre isn't expected to be opened until 2027. At that time, you know, the operations and all of those things that are going to come into play with that and following the opening, you know, that's where we can discuss ongoing, you know, issues that may come arise. But, you know, as of right now, we don't know what those issues will come, you know, how this facility will support those residents that are here in Yellowknife going to be utilizing that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Mackenzie Delta.
