Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess I'm not going to get to ask the four separate Ministers all my questions. Questions and answers are going a little long today, so I will keep this brief. I would like to ask the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation: what has been done to date to address the housing issues of the evacuees of the Hay River high-rise? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In response to the fire, the NWT Housing Corporation has developed a multi-stage plan to support residents that were impacted. That's done right across all departments. We knew it was something that needed to be addressed right away. All departments worked together to see how we can make an impact. On that note, I'm going to commend the Member in recognizing that the community did step up and that the fire department was onsite right away, and that nobody was harmed in any way as well, and they were all out safely.
Our latest update, the NWT Housing Corporation has housed seven individuals in an apartment complex. We've also housed four families in three-bedroom houses temporarily released from the federal government, and we have also renovated six units at the KFN, which are ready for occupation, and are in the process of renovating 10 or more which will be ready for occupation soon.
Mr. Speaker, just further to that, we will continue to update both the Hay River MLAs on what we are doing as the NWT Housing Corporation, and what we are doing as a government, working together, collaboratively, to address the situation.
I appreciate the update. That's basically the same update that I received back in April at the community meeting. There are still these 18 people who are homeless, essentially with unstable housing, and there are 26 who are temporarily housed. They could be the ones in the leased units from the federal government. Going forward, what's the plan? The Minister said there was a plan. Can you please elaborate on that, and tell us what he's going to do to make sure these people have stable housing?
Before the fire at the high-rise, we did meet with private industry. We met with the Town of Hay River to look at addressing some of the issues that are coming out of the community. As the Member knows, the available and suitable land is at a premium in Hay River, and we are trying to work with the municipality to address that, and we are going to continue to work with them in terms of developing a plan. We know that there are a lot of things that are coming down the pipe in terms of economic-wise. It was very unfortunate that the high-rise situation happened, and we'll continue to work with our stakeholders to look at addressing the housing needs in Hay River. As I mentioned, we will keep the Hay River MLAs up to date. We will continue to speak with our stakeholders, industry, as well as leadership in Hay River.
As I stated, 18 people are homeless. I know for a fact one of those is an infant. There could be other children, as well. I can't go back to Hay River and tell them that there have been talks. I need to tell them that there's a plan to put them in a home, and to give them somewhere safe. What can the Minister tell me that's happening to put these people in actual homes? I need a plan. When is there going to be a place on the ground that they can go and live?
A couple of things. Through the NWT Housing Corporation, we didn't have any housing clients in the high-rise. That's where we're doing the collaborative approach, working with all the departments to address the issue. At the same time, we are working with private industry. We're trying to work with the Municipality of Hay River. As you've heard in this House before, we do have the co-investment fund that we were able to carve out and put applications in. Those are some of the long-term solutions that we're looking at. It's not only the high-rise that is affected. We also had that senior planning study that I've mentioned in this House before that we are looking at a couple of municipalities, and Hay River is one of them that we need to address, and we'll continue to work to find a short-term and a long-term solution. I think, in the short term, we have addressed some of the families. Not all of them, but we do have to work together to find solutions.
Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister said there were no housing clients in the high-rise. Income assistance was paying the rent for about a third of the residents of the high-rise, which means that those people, for the most part, were on the housing waitlist. It's not like Housing doesn't have clients in there. They have people waiting to get into housing, so this is an issue. What can I tell them is going to happen in the very near term? What is the plan to house them in the very near term? I know there are long-term solutions. I know all about the rental issues in Hay River. What is the plan to get them in a house immediately? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As I mentioned, we do know that there is a concern. Not a concern, but the available and suitable land and the lots that are available to construct new buildings is a concern, and we are working on that. What I'd say is that the government was working to try to address this, even before the fire began. Even before the fire had started, and the issue that we see ourselves before now, we were already in discussions with the Municipality of Hay River. I appreciate the fact that the K'atlodeeche First Nation has stepped up, and the work that we have done with the K'atlodeeche First Nations, as well. We are working on it, and it is one of the communities that we want to continue to find a solution, whether it's public housing or market housing needs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
