Alfred Moses

It is my understanding that the hamlet is inviting contractors who have experience moving houses and that the structures will be properly braced before moving, which is a big concern, because I know that we do have at least one unit that we need to take into consideration when bracing, possibly two. The new foundations include geotextile material for drainage, various granular materials to ensure good support, and the screw jacks, and the hamlet will be able to adjust the foundation to ensure the structural integrity of the homes. This type of foundation is in common use by the NWT housing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that we have been seeing a lot of videos and photos of what is going on in the community of Tuktoyaktuk on the shoreline erosion there. The first phase of work that we have done is a report was provided to the community, and it identifies both the long-term and short-term solutions. At this time, the community has not decided which of those options would work best for the community of Tuktoyaktuk. We are still making sure that those communications are open, and we are working with them to identify how we can find a solution. MACA is continuing to work closely...

As I mentioned, we did purchase the equipment for our district offices. In Simpson, we are going to be holding a joint workshop with the Department of Health and Social Services in the next month for technical staff from every community so that they are up-to-date and trained and so that we can address the issue of bedbugs in whatever region they are in. It is an issue, and as the Member mentioned, when you do move, or if you are out of your unit, you have to be careful in terms of when you pack up. There might be cases where you might have the bedbugs in a bag. We had the expert who made...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to acknowledge the Member for bringing this to our concern. We have seen a lot of it in the news, as well as in the media and all over social media. We are addressing the issue. I know that, through our local housing organization, we did identify some units that did have the bedbugs. We did address them the way that we do treat it. Then, at the same time, we went above and beyond to look at all of our public housing units, and we did identify six other units that we needed to do the treatment to. We have done that.

Our current situation is that we are going to be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents entitled "Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Committee Report 13-18(3): Report on the Review of Bill 31, Northwest Territories 911 Act"; and "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 632-18(3): Community Government Funding Gaps." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I mentioned, there are houses that are right on the shoreline that are going to be impacted. We are working with the federal government, and I know that we do have funding that may no longer be available from the Government of Canada come March 31, 2020. That is where we need to put a little bit more emphasis to get this work done.

I do also understand that protecting the shoreline is also the responsibility of the hamlet. We are going to be working with the government to see how we can support them and make sure that things are done in a timely manner. We do know that we had two big storms...

As I mentioned, we will continue to work with the YWCA to adjust the situations on a case-by-case basis. Our contribution agreement with the YWCA under the rapid rehousing program should address some of these household needs until a long-term solution to their needs has been established. We'll continue to have that open dialogue and communication with the YWCA.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I won't say it's unfortunate, some of the things that have been happening throughout our municipalities and the Housing Corporation, but actually the government has taken a step up in addressing these issues, as well as some of our volunteer groups and NGOs. Really, in this case, the City of Yellowknife and the residents, that was a really quick response, and I know from day one when I did hear about the fire on the radio, I called up our present CEO to make sure that we were addressing the issue.

In this case, to the Member's questions, yes, we do have a multi-stage...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regard to the constituent's concern, I won't get into the specifics. The Member and I have had conversations on that.

One of the mandates of the 18th Legislative Assembly is promoting community wellness and safety to support elders in their own communities for as long as possible. I had questions from one of the Members earlier this week, and we talked about the seniors' aging-in-place retrofits, and we support that. We also want to make sure that, when we look at the work that we are doing in the communities with our seniors and our elders, it is done on a case-by...

Yes, we are working with the YWCA to determine the best way that we can provide assistance for those who were affected by the fire. As I mentioned before, we have a rapid rehousing program that provides assistance to cover such things such as moving costs, deposits, and the rental and/or utility assistance necessary to allow individuals to move immediately out of homelessness and to stabilize a permanent housing solution. The program also provides long-term and short-term rental subsidies, as well as financial assistance to the households.