Robert C. McLeod

I can assure the Member that I will work with my colleague over in ITI as far as the parks side of it goes and see if there is anything that we can do as a government to address some of the issues that were raised by the Member.

Again, as far as the discussion paper, I said on a number of occasions now that it is our intent to get feedback from all affected stakeholders and public on the discussion paper that is presented now and possibly have a product out by June 30th. Again, we want to make sure that it is a product that is a very good product and one that is acceptable by most. It will be a...

I believe the department has done some work in identifying the density of the cabins out in these particular lakes as they have done around the airport like in Inuvik, just to ensure that there is room for growth and able to get more cabins on there. Some of that work is done. Again, I will assure the Member that we need to make sure we get a good product out there and this is one that we are going to take our time, make sure we get the right product out there before any kind of implementation because it is very important to residents not only of the lakes surrounding Yellowknife but the...

I’m not going to make a commitment to delay anything right now. However, I have assured the Member and Members of this House that we will have a very good product once we release it, and if that product includes the density study… I do recall seeing some maps with all the density of the lakes in question and the lake in Inuvik, and I can assure the Members that I will, as Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, ensure that our department has a very good product before we release it and it’s one that is fairly acceptable to everyone. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The steps going forward, we have released a discussion paper, as the Member had noted in her Member’s statement. We had to get something on the table for the public to latch on to. The next steps are to consult with all affected stakeholders and use all the information we gather to do the final framework. Again, this is just a discussion paper; it is not the final product. We will be working on getting the final product out by June 30th of this year. Thank you.

As far as I know, we’ve had no groups come forward or approach the NWT Housing Corporation; however, I could be wrong. I would have to confirm that and relay that on to the Member. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Dolynny on February 8, 2012, regarding policy on carbon monoxide detectors.

The Member enquired as to government policy on the installation of carbon monoxide detectors and their usage in public housing in the NWT.

I can advise the Assembly that the 2008 National Building Code requires that all buildings heated by a fuel-fired appliance have a carbon monoxide detector hardwired into the electrical system. This is not a requirement for houses built prior to 2008.

All public housing units built subsequent to 1995 have carbon monoxide...

We don’t go out and solicit these groups and see if they need our assistance. In many cases the groups will come and initiate the conversation with the Housing Corporation. Then again we would be willing to listen. This would be one that’s driven by the particular groups in the community. If they drive it, then it has a chance for success, rather than having Housing drive it where the chance of success is a little lesser. Groups like this that drive these initiatives in the community, that’s when it starts to work.

Obviously, I’m not going to make that commitment here on the floor, but I can assure the Member that I’ll have discussions with the officials, see where Jean Marie River is at, see what challenges they’re facing and if there’s any possibility of delaying. I’ll work with the Member and the officials to ensure that Jean Marie is in a good position to succeed once everything’s signed over to them.

Mr. Speaker, right now we stand at about 20. The number was at 36. We are at 20 right now. There could possibly be more. We are encouraged by the fact that there were many people that were non-payers, as far as rent goes, before this moratorium came into place. A lot of them are actually stepping up to the plate and entering into repayment plans or working with their LHOs. There has been some positive news come out of this. Those that have always paid their rent are continuing to pay their rent. There has been some positive come out of this, but again we are hoping we are not facing mass...

In communicating with tenants of the public housing portfolio, they were asked to come into the LHO and work out a repayment plan. I am not sure if we are following up with that, but right now the opportunity is there for them to work with our LHOs, enter into repayment plans and honour them, and come April 1st there is a possibility that they would be able to stay in their units. Thank you.