Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I did not get any of these questions prior. I am just writing them as I am sitting here. I am trying to stay awake. Anyways, I would like to ask the Minister if her department has considered looking at the Mackenzie Place high rise to possibly purchase it and do a retrofit and use it for public and market housing or if any work has been done in that area. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is a strong advocate for the high rise in Hay River. Looking at that building, we are in conversations with the owner presently, and those are ongoing, as well, and we are looking at the co-investment funding applications, as well. The rapid rehousing and looking at federal programming that would best suit the conditions of that high rise. However, we also realize that there are a lot of additional issues with that building, but going forward, I will provide an update to the Member as to where the owner had left off, on the last status of the building. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister mentioned additional issues. I would ask the Minister: what amount of work has gone into assessing that building on the engineering side, the health side, the fire, electrical, and mechanical? How much effort has this government or her department put into making an assessment of that building?
I haven't received a current status as of today, but I do know that this is a collaborative approach that does affect a number of my colleagues' departments, as well, to acquire the current status. Also, there were some deficiencies within that building. There was a fire that destroyed one floor of the building, as well, but also the structure was aged. However, in the time being, I will provide an update to the Member because we have been in contact with the owner of the building.
My concern is that, when we lost the high rise, it displaced a number of people, and when people get displaced in Hay River, they are either on the street or they may not tend to move to Yellowknife or other northern communities; they tend to move south. That means that we lose some federal funding. The cost to accommodate people who are on the street is probably between $8,000 to $12,000 per month per person, which, if we took that, we could house four people. I am asking the Minister: what is her plan to ensure that we find some public housing units and rental units in Hay River for displaced persons from the high rise and also other people who are on the wait list and cannot find a place but are forced to move?
The Housing Corporation has been in talks with a couple of the non-profit organizations in the Member's riding. I just wanted to reiterate again that the Housing Corporation did act on the homelessness initiative in Hay River, and we were able to provide a portion of funding to that initiative that they wanted to work towards. Also, I wanted to just express that, when COVID-19 had hit last year, there was a huge need to address the homelessness issue throughout the Northwest Territories, and we did acquire a motel, as well, to help alleviate and accommodate the most vulnerable population in the Member's riding.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would just like to thank the Minister for answering those questions without prior knowledge of them. Thank you.
