Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane
Range Lake

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 75)

Now that the survey is completed, we are in the process of actually developing an action plan not for the dissimilation of the material, but also to make sure that we meet all the needs and that we address the policies and programs in a timely manner, defining which ones can be solved early, which ones will take more consultation and time to deliver. So we are developing an action plan on how to do that now? We are going to try to be as inclusive of communities as possible in the determination of the final policies, so once we roll out with the policies we will be looking for feedback. At this...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 75)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had previously made a commitment and I have made that commitment at every meeting that I have made, bilateral meetings, individual meetings with Aboriginal governments, municipal governments. I have committed to sharing the Voices on Housing report to Aboriginal and municipal governments, and I will do that, but it will not probably be in a public forum. The reason is because I need to get them out timely and we have 33 communities all with municipal governments and Aboriginal governments. There are huge lists, and if I was to do them all individually it would take me...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 75)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As stated before, I am more than willing to visit the Sahtu region for a constituency tour to address all issues that community members in that region may have including the housing survey, and I am committing to try to be as inclusive as possible in the development of the policies and the new programs going forward. However, I cannot state yet what that would look like because we are still developing the plan on how to roll that out.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 75)

Again, as I stated in the previous question, I have already made commitments to the Aboriginal municipal governments to get them out in a timely basis. It was tabled the other day, and so we are working on getting it out immediately. However, I have not done the Sahtu tour yet, and there was a commitment made by our Premier to get Ministers out into all the communities. So I would be more than willing to do a tour of the Sahtu to be able to take any input that the communities may have in any of the portfolios that I carry, including the Voices on Housing document.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 74)

We do have mould remediation. Some of the prevention and tactics to deal with it are within our STEP program, our Solutions to Educate People program, which is one of the home ownership programs. The problem is that we realize that we need to expand that training to all public housing residents. We are undertaking a huge training program to better educate people on how to maintain their homes, including mould.

Currently though, online, through the Housing Corporation, you can see preventative tips and remediation for mould online on our website and also within the local housing organization. We...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 74)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize two of the constituents from Range Lake who were also inducted into the Education Hall of Fame today. I will start with Mr. Dave Roebuck. Mr. Roebuck was inducted for his support, counsel, and guidance given to so many educators across the Northwest Territories within his role as executive director of the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association for the past 18 years. His dedication and service to northern educators is long-lasting. I hear today that he will be retiring and moving from the territories. It is a sincere loss to not only...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 74)

The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation acts very closely with the Department of Health and Social Services in regards to aging in place for our seniors and our elders within the territories. Not only do we consult on them with how to support seniors within their own homes, but we are also working closely together in the design of elders' complexes. From a housing standpoint, I realize that elders and seniors need to have socialization to do well. From the Health and Social Services standpoint, they recognize that providing services, onsite talks about accessibility is the best service...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 74)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have many programs, so it is going to be difficult to make it brief, but I am going to try to speak fast and get through this. First of all, tenants need to know that there is an income threshold, so, if they fall under the income threshold, which is close to $100,000 depending on how many bedrooms you have, then you would qualify for support.

We also need to ascertain the condition of the home. I do hate to say it, but some of the trailers in Northlands Trailer Park are very, very old. We need to make sure that they are economically viable. Once they do qualify...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 74)

The first thing that tenants should do if they identify mould within their units is let the local housing organization know that. The initial thing is to identify whether it's mould or not. Mould has become a pretty scary topic and so people are afraid to even touch it, so things like condensation from windows and stuff which is not at the stage of mould have sometimes been misinterpreted for mould.

The first thing is to let the local housing organization know that you have an issue. We will go in and do a thorough inspection of it. We have specialists within the housing organization that...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 74)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, once I finish with my meeting with Minister Duclos, I would be happy to share the results of that meeting with the Members through the appropriate committee.