Julie Green

I thank the Minister for that answer. The origin of this change in policy is the recent evaluation of the combined day centre and sobering centre. Can the Minister say when that evaluation is going to be shared with service providers and with us, so that we are all on the same page? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned in my statement, the operator of the day shelter has adopted a new policy of serving only the homeless population. The population with homes are not welcome. My question for the Minister of Health and Social Services is: how does the day shelter staff determine whether clients are in fact housed when they come to the door? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I live downtown in my constituency, and the operation of the combined day shelter and sobering centre is a focus for many of my constituents and, indeed, for Yellowknifers in general. I am committed to making downtown a safer place for everyone to be.

I have spoken in this House about the gains made downtown by having both GNWT and the City of Yellowknife invest in programs for people who are intoxicated and/or homeless. These programs have produced good outcomes for clients, including keeping them safe and connecting them to housing and treatment services, but, as a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister for that. As the Minister is aware, the evaluation says there is a lack of understanding about the shelter's mandate and about the target audience as well as a need for partnerships to extend programming. Will the Minister commit to facilitating the creation of an inter-agency committee for this purpose?

Thank you to the Minister. In fact, my question to the Minister was: how does the day shelter staff determine whether clients are in fact housed when they come to the door? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. I have met people at the day shelter who go there to socialize, to take a break from escalating violence at home, or to get something to eat. I am unclear how these needs are going to be met now. Having made this change at the day shelter, the department needs to come up with a plan along with the new interagency committee about how to meet the complex needs of people who do have housing.

Mr. Speaker, this change comes at a time when the weather is a serious risk to those without homes. I appreciate they can go to the day shelter for warmth and...

Thank you to the Minister for that answer. I want her to appreciate that we have significant housing problems in Yellowknife, as well as in the small communities. My question for her is: what specific action is she going to take to address the escalating housing problems identified in the 2019 survey?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to acknowledge Walt Humphries, winner of the Distinguished Service Award at last month's Chamber of Mines gala.

Following his graduation from the Haileybury School of Mines, Walt made his way to Yellowknife 50 years ago to establish himself as a prospector. That is still his business. He is also an avid promoter of prospecting, having taught 50 courses across the North. He is a fixture of the Yellowknife Historical Society with a passion for preserving our mining heritage, but perhaps he is best-known for his newspaper column, "Tales from the Dump," and for...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you to the Finance Minister for that. I am going to just ask the same kind of question in a different way. What capacity does the health authority or do the collective health authorities have to reimburse the Department of Finance for the payroll owing over a quite large number of years? It is, in my understanding, well in excess of $100 million. What capacity do the health authorities have to pay that money back? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Residents of the Northwest Territories are experiencing a housing crisis. That is not news to the 900 individuals and families on the NWT Housing Corporation's waiting list, and it is not news to the 6,308 households that have housing problems, meaning that their house is not in good repair, not big enough for their family size, or not affordable or some combination of these three. The news is that the housing crisis got worse in the 18th Assembly, despite the Housing Corporation's best intentions for improvement.

Mr. Speaker, making public housing available and private...