Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I spoke about the IRC-GNWT partnership on housing in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. My questions are for the Minister of Housing. Mr. Speaker, my first question for an update: can the Minister speak to the Housing Corporation's plans to work with Inuvialuit Regional Corporations on seniors' units? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Actually, I will be going up to Inuvik this Friday to sign an MOU, so it is a memorandum of agreement, with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. Excuse my pronunciation. So we have been working with them for quite a while to actually decide what they were going to do, how we were going to work this, so we are looking at developing, within this fiscal year, a fourplex in Tuktoyaktuk and a sixplex in Inuvik. Both of them can be used for seniors' accommodations if that is the requirement, if that is the desire of the IRC, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister has answered a couple of questions. Mr. Speaker, my final question: is the Housing Corporation partnering or otherwise assisting the IRC in housing projects going ahead, specifically for 201718?
As the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, I have made it a priority to try to work with Aboriginal governments and municipal governments to try to address their housing needs, so it was really an honour, actually, to be invited to sit in on a partnership with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation.
So during the next fiscal year they will be accessing $10 million from the federal government towards their housing needs. We are working with them in partnership. We will be looking at defining what the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation would like to see as their needs, also taking into account the results of the survey that are going to be finishing here at the end of this month and presenting that to them and developing a game plan on how we will be moving forward.
The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation does have funding for shelters. However, they are looking to partner with us to access our land, so that is the partnership agreement that we are putting in. We are putting in the land. They are using their finances, which will bring economic development for their region, which is really important and will provide housing for people. So, yes, I am looking forward to a longterm partnership with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
