Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my next set of questions are actually for the Minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs.
So last fall, the government responded to the challenge of encampments popping up around Yellowknife by establishing an on-the-land camp for those who didn't have access to a home in Yellowknife. But the camp required participants to be sober in order to be there. Can the Minister explain whether the camp did actually consistently reach its maximum capacity, and if not, whether that requirement for sobriety prevented the camp from including all those who really did need a home during that time? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of EIA.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The camp did not reach its maximum capacity continuously. I don't believe it reached its maximum capacity ever, actually. But it did not prevent people who needed a home from having a home because there was still -- I know the Member asked about a home but there was shelter space available in Yellowknife, and so there was always shelter space available even for those who could not go to the on-the-land camp. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So has the government worked with partners to look at the feasibility of establishing an on-the-land camp for the under-housed population that would not require sobriety? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So we are expecting the report back from the camp operator in the coming weeks, so we'll have a look at that and see what it says.
I will note that a number of the participants at the camp appreciated that it was a sober camp, and that helped them in their journey. So I think that's something that we need to consider, is that there are spaces if you -- you know, you aren't sober, but there really wasn't a lot available if you were, and so this offered people that opportunity. There is going to be a working -- there's going to be meetings coming up in March with the city and with NGOs to look at other options going forward and determine what is needed and what we can do together. And so options like the Member is speaking about could be raised there. Thank you.
Thank you, Premier. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that. I look forward to outcomes of those further discussions. So some shelter providers in Yellowknife are looking to establish better working relationships with Indigenous governments, both to explore what further supports could be offered to shelter users who are members of those communities but also to explore is the potential for establishing on-the-land camps for shelter users. So what steps has EIA taken to help facilitate those kinds of partnerships between Indigenous governments and shelter providers in Yellowknife given that it's quite well placed to do so? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I also think the NGOs in Yellowknife are well placed to reach out to the Indigenous governments. We can provide phone numbers, contact information, and they can make those connections themselves. What is needed is alignment between the NGOs and between the Indigenous governments so that they can actually work together. And so once we have all of these discussions, there might be opportunities to put together an Indigenous government with an NGO as in try to get them together. But it's really not up to the GNWT to do that type of work. I think the NGOs are more than capable. They have connections with the Indigenous governments. Many of them are made up of members of the local, you know, Indigenous government. So I think there's opportunities for this to happen without GNWT intervention, but we're happy to help where we can. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
