Does the committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the chamber.
Would the Minister please introduce her witnesses.
Madam Chair, to my right is the president of Housing NWT, Dr. Erin Kelly, and to my left is the vice-president of finance and infrastructure, Mr. Jim Martin.
Does committee agree to forego general comments on Housing Northwest Territories?
Agreed.
Seeing no general comments, does the committee agree to proceed to the detail contained in the tabled document?
Agreed.
Committee, we will defer the totals and review the estimates by activity summary beginning with community housing services starting on page 386. Are there any questions? Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, in the Housing NWT business plan, on page 36 of their business plan, there is a discussion around investment in security measures at $250,000 over three years. I assume that's for the public housing program, which is why I bring it up here. Madam Chair, can we please get a status update on all 11 multifamily dwellings in Yellowknife and what security measures are underway. Thank you.
Minister of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The question around security measures with the Yellowknife public housing buildings, there's a number of buildings that are owned by Housing NWT but there's a number of buildings also leased, apartments leased by Housing NWT. So what I suggest is that I would defer this over to the president of Housing NWT, Erin Kelly.
President of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Madam Chair. In May 2004, Housing NWT undertook security and risk assessments on 35 buildings in Yellowknife. Housing NWT continues to invest approximately $500,000 in security measures. I don't have the information by building. My colleague Jim may be able to answer that question. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Vice-president of Housing NWT.
Okay, thank you, Madam Chair. So as the president noted, this year we are investing $500,000 into additional security enhancements, equipment upgrades for a number of our multi-unit buildings here in Yellowknife. And I can just -- there's a number of them. I can just quickly mention some of them here. Grayling Manor -- sorry, just a sec. So Nordic Arms, Grayling Manor, Victoria Suites, Barrier Free, and Aspen Heights. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah, no, that's great to hear, and it's increasing. As the Minister knows, there are security concerns in a lot of rental units that are in my riding in Yellowknife at large, and it's good that Housing NWT is working on that particular item. I'm hoping that maybe the department or Housing NWT, I should say, could return with a detailed breakdown for Members at a later time. But I'll leave that there for now.
When it comes to the units that they rent, is there not a removal of security coverage for public housing tenants in private properties that they rent in Yellowknife? Maybe the Minister can clarify. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Minister of Housing NWT.
Madam Chair, if I can get clarification, the units that we lease?
Yes. Yes.
Okay, thank you, Madam Chair. We do lease a number of properties with Northview here in Yellowknife, and we also lease a number of units in Inuvik with Northview. With the leases here in Yellowknife, there is security provisions for those leases. In terms of the detail of those leases, I will defer that to the vice-president here, Mr. Jim Martin.
Mr. Vice-president Housing NWT.
Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. Housing NWT continues to work very closely with our landlords, and in Yellowknife, that's primarily Northview REIT, and we do have regular meetings with senior management. And over the last few years, we do know that there's been a significant number of investments made in those leased properties for security equipment and other measures. We're also in a partnership with Northview REIT right now to invest in additional security officers basically that work, and some are actually housed in the building, and they do regularly patrol the other leased units to ensure the safety for tenants. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for that. So maybe my request to the Minister could be to sort of get a fulsome picture of what the security breakdown looks like for units both owned and leased in Yellowknife. Thank you, Madam Chair.
And I guess I have one final question sort of for this section while I still have time on the clock which is it's much more of a larger territorial scope question, but could Housing NWT advise as to how many new units they anticipate to enter their stock by the end of the Assembly. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Minister of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The president Dr. Erin Kelly is going to provide a response to that.
President Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Housing NWT has delivered 59 units to date during the 20th Legislative Assembly with another 88 units in construction. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Member for Great Slave.
Thanks. That's all for now, Madam Chair. Thank you.
Next, I have Member for Range Lake.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Last fall during the capital budget discussions, there was an agreement to bring forward a $15 million notional plan for NWT Housing to build new housing units, and that has -- we've been told that that's now become a -- not a notional plan but an actual $50 million plan. So where can I find the $50 million plan in this budget? Thank you.
Minister of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Talking to committee last fall about the notional plan, it was $150 million notional plan over a three-year period, and there was discussion back and forth with committee about how housing would -- how they would design this, what the priorities would be, and there was discussion on that plan itself. Today that plan is with Housing NWT. They have presented that plan to a committee of Cabinet. There's still further discussion with that plan. It's now called an incremental plan. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Member for Range Lake.
Thank you. Sorry, can the Minister just confirm, an implementation plan? Oh, incremental plan. Okay, can I understand what that means. Because it's gone from -- sorry, I said $50 million. It was $150 million, but our understanding was to be $50 million a year. That sounds incremental to me. Is it not that; is it something else? Thank you.
Minister of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Incremental plan meaning that we were looking at units across the Northwest Territories based on age of the housing units and also the need, utilizing the preliminary results of our territorial housing needs assessment. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Member for Range Lake.
Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. So at the beginning of the Assembly -- I think these numbers are correct, but it was going to be -- or a hundred units were funded and were in the works from the 19th Assembly's mandate. When this Assembly started, there were 148 under construction and 364 renovations planned. Are those numbers still accurate? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Martin here will provide you more information related to the commitments with the hundred-unit build. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Vice-president of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The hundred new public housing units that have been implemented over the last few years, we will be expecting to complete that full delivery by the end of this fiscal year. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Member for Range Lake.
Okay, well, I had other totals there that I was looking for clarification on, but if the Minister doesn't want to answer that, that's fine. I'm going to go back to this incremental plan.
So is it $50 million -- sorry, is it $150 million of new spending, or is it $150 million of total spend -- of current spending that's just being wrapped up into an incremental plan? That's really the crux here. Are we spending more on housing or the same on housing? Thank you.
Minister of NWT Housing.
Thank you, Madam Chair. We are planning, and we have to plan, but we have to continue to look for federal funding for this plan. Reached out to the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Canada to talk about funding through the FERN* pot that was announced last year by the federal government. We continue to advocate for these funds through either PT meetings or FPT meetings, and I have a meeting coming up tomorrow, an FPT meeting. But in terms of finding the funds, these, we plan, but we, again, need to find the funds for this. Thank you, Madam Chair.
