Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I was asking the Minister responsible for Housing, he said that the corporation demand, he was talking about the demand and need of the HELP units in the communities. Can the Minister provide what the corporation definition is of "demand" for HELP units in the communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we look at the demand in our communities, we look at what the priorities are of the region. As I mentioned, over this session one of the initiatives that we are taking on as the Housing Corporation in working with the communities, as you heard in my Minister's statement earlier, is we are going to be developing these community housing plans and we are going to be working with leadership, we are going to be working with stakeholders to identify these.
In the situation and the questions that the Member has asked earlier, you know, we had to make some changes within the community to meet some of the market units. As you know, as all Members here know, there are low-market units for teachers, for nurses, for professionals to have a place to stay and provide the services that our residents need in the Northwest Territories. The housing plans are going to address that. When we work with our communities we are going to develop a comprehensive strategic planning document that's going to say whether or not homelessness is the priority, seniors are the priority, singles' units, or market units, and we are going to work with every community across the Northwest Territories. We are going to find northern solutions for our northern housing needs.
One other program that I just want to put out there, Mr. Speaker, is our community housing support initiative. We are working very well with communities to address the housing needs that they have, and it's a really good program, and I encourage all Members to take a look into it. We are developing some really good programs, and we are developing some very strong partnerships, so I would ask the Member to reach out to us and maybe have the leadership have a discussion with our staff to see how we can address some of the concerns that the Member does have in addressing whether it's a HELP unit or a market unit or public housing units in the community.
I thank the Minister for that answer. So he is talking about community housing plans and that, and we are going to do six in the next year coming up, so can he tell me when Fort Simpson is going to be on that list? Because, if we are going to be waiting six, 12, 14, two years from now, I would like to know that so the community can know that. Because right now the Housing Corporation is relying on these community housing plans, so can the Minister advise us when Fort Simpson will be on that list?
At this moment in time I do not have a timeline for when Fort Simpson will get on that list. We have put it out there. As I mentioned in my statement, we have Indigenous governments that are seeking interest into developing these community housing plans. The community of Whati for one is a community that we are going to start with. This is new. This is new to government. It's new to the NWT Housing Corporation. As we start to develop it, and I have said this time and time again during the session, once we get a housing plan up and running it might show us a template for similar communities across the Northwest Territories. So I think that, as we move forward and we start developing these housing plans throughout the Northwest Territories, hopefully it will steamroll so that all communities will eventually get on board and we will develop some community housing plans for all of our communities in the Northwest Territories.
I have heard the words "may," "hope," "could be the template." So, if it isn't the template, what are these communities supposed to be doing in the short term? Because right now we are looking at HELP units being turned into market units, and we are bringing in market units into the community, and I also know some private industries are bringing market units in there. So what are the communities supposed to do if they are not fitting the model, the template, that they are working for?
The NWT Housing Corporation has gone through a significant change during the 17th and the 18th Legislative Assemblies. We have developed some great programs that are helping communities, that are helping families, and we are going to continue to promote those programs. I encourage communities, I encourage Members, I encourage residents to go and speak to their local housing office. Also go and speak with the regional district offices on low those programs can help and benefit a community. We have a lot of programs that are very successful.
Like I mentioned, we have gone through a change over the last two governments. In terms of private industry, we are more than open to work with private industry to address the housing needs in some of our communities and regional centres, and we will continue to promote that. Partnership with the NWT Housing Corporation is significant, and we pride ourselves on that. We have shown success with Indigenous governments. We have shown success with private industry. The Inuvialuit Corporation is a really good benchmark that we can look at as a standard. So, in the meantime, I think we have done a lot in the last two governments to address the housing needs across the Northwest Territories. We will continue to do that. I encourage the Member and leadership in the Nahendeh riding to reach out to our district office. If not, we can make sure our district office reaches out to leadership.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I am stumped for words here because, first of all, I have never, ever said anything bad about the district office. They have done a great job. They are promoting the information out there. They are getting there, but what I am seeing is that the Housing Corporation has changed a HELP unit to market rental unit, we are bringing in more market rental units, and people are still looking for HELP units. Is this government taking away the HELP units, then? Is this no longer going to be an option for people in the future?
Just for the record, I did not say the Member had said anything bad about our regional district offices, so I do not know where he got that from. Secondly, we continue to promote our programs in the Housing Corporation that have been having an impact in all of our communities across the Northwest Territories. In terms of HELP units, I answered the question earlier. It's based on demand for the program, and, if the demand is not there, then we are going to turn it into a market rent unit and vice versa. If the market unit is there and it's not being used, we will turn it into a HELP unit. Some of these programs are application based, so it's really based on the application and whether or not residents meet those criteria for the application. Once again, I apologize if I came off any way saying that the Member had mentioned anything bad about the regional office, but I do not believe I did. I just wanted to put that out there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
