Thank you, Madam Speaker. There has been quite a lot of talk about the Arnica project over the last weeks in this House. I am happy to hear that there has been a meeting, and it seems there is still some hope for this project to go through, although I am still a little confused on some issues. The Minister had previously clarified that they had not seen the CMHC report and, in fact, relied on CMHC. My question to the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation is: has the Housing Corporation seen the CMHC application, and are they aware of the defects in that proposal?
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. As of to date, we have not seen the Yellowknife Women's Society application. The application that the Member is referring to is a federal land application, and it is for federal funding. NWTHC is working with CMHC to work towards clarification on this funding that is available to the residents of the Northwest Territories. Right now, the application, I can't even confirm if it actually has been submitted. We have been meeting with the Yellowknife Women's Society, and we recently just met last week. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
It appears, despite multiple meetings and no shortage of questions here, there still appears to be some breakdown in communication. Will the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation ask CMHC and the women's society to get a hold of that application and the response and make sure that they are aware of all of the shortfalls that were in the application so that we are all on the same page?
Just to confirm with the Member that my staff did reach out to CMHC. They did have a conversation, and they did encourage Yellowknife Women's Society to submit the application. CMHC will be going through the application with them thoroughly so they would be able to address the concerns that CMHC had identified on the letter that was sent to them February 18th. Unfortunately, the Housing Corporation, we don't have the funding. We are not the main funding source, so we don't see the application at this point. Going forward, that relationship and that communication will start to improve.
I am a little perplexed that, at this point with such a close deadline, the Housing Corporation has not seen the application and isn't aware of the shortfalls. I heard the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation previously discuss not wanting to set proponents up to fail, wanting to make sure, if we are going to provide our funding for any housing project, that we know that it is sustainable. I do not understand how the Housing Corporation is capable of doing that without looking at the response from CMHC and without knowing the shortfalls in the application. My question is: is the Housing Corporation, then, fully relying on the judgment of CMHC to commit their money? Have we done any review of the application?
Going forward, we are looking at the process. I don't want to sound as if the Housing Corporation is discouraging the application. I would really want to stress that the application is a federal application, and it is federal funding. The Housing Corporation did have a conversation with the Yellowknife Women's Society. We did come to a conclusion in that we are here to work with them going forward. I really don't know how much further to comment, but the application does sit as a federal application. The decision is based on what the Yellowknife Women's Society is asking. The project, I believe, is $4 million.
Going forward, I need to see what it is that they have been approved for so that we can work together going forward. I would like to encourage that the application that was completed, it was completed by consultant. I have encouraged the Yellowknife Women's Society to involve us in the process. The application belongs to them. It is a CMHC funding process, but we are here. We have supported them. We have met with them and, just going forward, want to improve their communication.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. The Yellowknife Women's Society has reached out to the Housing Corporation throughout this process. They have reached out to almost everyone in this House. There has been nothing but attempts to reach out to the Housing Corporation and work with them. My concern is: on one hand, the Housing Corporation Minister is talking about not wanting to set people up for failure, wanting to make sure we have a strong investment, which I support. Yet, on the other hand, they are saying they are not even part of the application process. There is a deadline on here. I do not want the Housing Corporation, once the CMHC has provided their funding, to all of a sudden raise some new concerns that should have been raised months ago. My question for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation is: can we set out a guideline of what our role is in making sure we can successfully get the co-housing federal money from the federal government? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
I could hear the frustration in the Member's question. Going forward, looking at the process, I do find it very complicated, myself. I look at the project; it looks like it is almost simple to go forward, but it is the paperwork that is in between. It is federal money, territorial money, and looking at co-investment, co-investors, and to work with this project going forward. Right now, the Housing Corporation is engaged, and we are working on a process going forward and looking at how are we going to deal with projects like this and making sure that they are set up for success. Right now, I do have a meeting that's scheduled with CMHC to clarify a lot of the justification that they identified on the application, but going forward, I understand, and I hear the Member that the communication needs to be clarified.
Going forward, the Northwest Territories does have access to this co-investment fund that is sitting there. We do have other interested parties going forward, but we really need to be clear on the process. I understand that the Member has expressed that there is a deadline for this project to go forward. I really want to stress that the Housing Corporation is not holding up that deadline, that there are requirements that are needed on that application. It needs to be completed, and I would really advise that, whatever the CMHC has included in their details in their letter and their conversation, that it needs to be met. The requirements need to be met. As the Housing Corporation, we are there to support the application. I hear the frustration, but, as the Housing Corporation, we are trying to work and figure out a strategy of how we are going to be working with the co-investment fund going forward. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput, round two.
