Julie Green

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. As I mentioned in my statement, residents of Yellowknife and in communities across the NWT are facing what I describe as a housing crisis. Housing problems have more than doubled in the last five years. Can the Minister tell us whether she considers the current situation a crisis? Thank you.

Thank you. What I heard in that answer was a process to quantify the problem, but I didn't hear a solution to the problem. If the health authorities are limited and challenged, as you say, to pay this money back, then is this really short-term borrowing or is this really long-term borrowing? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I don't believe the Corporation is up to the task of providing housing and programming to alleviate the obvious need. What we do know is that the Housing Corporation has steadfastly refused to add any new units to its inventory because doing so would increase overhead costs. This is an unacceptable position. I am asking for an investment in more units immediately. We cannot expect residents to thrive, go to school, and go to work when one of their most basic needs remains unmet. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the Finance Minister for that information. Can the Minister confirm that the bulk of this short-term borrowing is to assist with the Health and Social Services authority's payroll, which she talked about at the beginning of her answers, and can she say whether, in fact, the authority is in a position to repay this money to the Department of Finance by the end of the fiscal year? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you to the Minister for that response. Can the Minister commit to itemizing each of these points in a dollar amount and providing that to this committee? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have detail questions. Is this the right time to ask those?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the answer from the Minister. The fact is, though, that maintenance costs are increasing at YK1 because of the age of their schools. Not only do they have the boiler problem at Mildred Hall, they are also of course repairing the roof at William McDonald. I am wondering whether the Minister is going to review the maintenance budget given to YK1 to take into account their aging infrastructure. Thank you.

Can the Minister tell us how much the surplus is at YK1?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That was a positive response from the Minister, and I appreciate that. My final question is whether the Minister will be lobbying her colleagues for a greater investment in housing in the next budget. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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?