Thank you. President Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. So I think a good on-the-ground example would be the use of the Azzier system, which is a new system that will help us to manage repairs and have data input on devices. So instead of writing things down and then having it data entered, the LHO is now going to be able to enter information on what needs to be repaired and be able to check what available parts are there with a system, which is really great.
I think another part of this pilot that's more on the -- pardon me, that is a pilot and that is also more on the ground is that we are going to be in the process of hiring technical teams to support repairs at the district level in the Nahendeh riding, the Sahtu, and the Beaufort Delta, where we've had some challenges sometimes with proponents bidding on some of the RFPs that we've had. And so they're going to be going out and helping to get some of those things done as well. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Okay, thank you. Seeing no further questions. I remind the committee that the estimates for Housing Northwest Territories are included as an information item only. The committee will not be voting on the activity total.
Moving on to homelessness programs, starting on page 380 with an information page on 382. Are there any questions? Member for Great slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. So I am just trying my best to follow the money on emergency shelters. So on page 381, the line item has moved from $2.997 million to $16.154 million. And within that particular line item, I believe the vast majority is grants, contributions, and transfers to run emergency shelters of about $11.691 million. I hope I am getting this right. It's my understanding that EIA transferred some responsibilities to Housing NWT for this upcoming fiscal year, and the revised estimates said the strategic approach to homelessness line item under EIA was about $3.211 million. I guess I am trying to find the substantiation of the money that moved to housing as well as the substantiation of what amount of money is going to which shelters. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. I will go to the Minister of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah, it could be a little confusing because there's two different streams of funding. But in terms of the funding through Housing NWT, so 2.11 was transferred from health and social services to Housing NWT for the Yellowknife day shelter and sobering centre operations. And then 3.77 was forced growth funding for the Yellowknife day shelter and sobering centre, So those two combined would be operations for the Yellowknife day shelter and sobering centre. And then 7.27 is initiatives funded for the emergency shelter program, and that's shelters that we run throughout the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. I will go back to the Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. And I believe there might have been a breakdown shared with committee but if not, hopefully the Minister can share that with committee in writing. That would be wonderful. It's been a long two-ish months, Madam Chair. I apologize if people have already seen that before.
So regarding the operations and approach to staffing for the YK day shelter and sobering centre, I understand that that is sort of a temporary holding spot while the wellness and recovery centre comes online. Is there any contemplation, then, of how that may shift when the wellness centre is available? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. I will go to the Minister for Housing NWT. Thank you, Madam Chair. President Kelly will provide more information related to that. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. President Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. We need to take a look at the budgets and what will happen with the wellness centre to get a better understanding of that. But we do know that the budget works for what we have right now, and that's that $7 million the Minister referred to earlier was -- right-sized the budgets for the other shelters across the NWT. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. I will go back to the Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. So if that $7.27 million is right-sizing, what was the deficit? Was that the full deficit of what was needed across the territory? Could I get a little bit more explanation on that. Thank you.
Thank you. I will go to the Minister of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Madam Chair. President Kelly will provide more information related to the deficit. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. President Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Housing NWT was running two shelters in Inuvik, and there was over a $3 million deficit for that for many years. What was completed was an analysis of costs across all of the shelters, and these two were looked at as well to right-size the budgets across the board for shelters in the NWT. And so that number is what was required to get everyone on the same level for shelters across the territory. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. I will go back to the Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. And I guess all of this is sort of culminating to my main question, and it sounds like more work needs to be done to understand as new assets come online with health, which is how does Housing NWT expect to continually fund this new division? I assume it's being made permanent. And if new assets come online, will the costs to housing decrease? Thank you.
Thank you. I will go to the Minister of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Madam Chair. In terms of our homelessness division, this is something that we are operating this fiscal year. So we have -- we're taking over operations of day shelters, sobering centre. We've right-funded the Inuvik -- the two shelters in Inuvik, plus the shelter in Hay River, plus the shelter in Fort Simpson. And then we're just operating with our small team with the homelessness division.
So in terms of right-funding, I think over this next year, we'll get a good sense of the operations itself, especially in Inuvik because it's now moved from Government of the Northwest Territories to an NGO. So we'll get a good sense of the operations itself. And, again, the NGO in Fort Simpson operates the shelter, and the NGO in Hay River does that as well. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. I will go back to the Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. That's all for me right now.
Thank you. Next, I have the Member for Frame Lake.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I believe that transitional housing falls under this item, although I don't see it specifically referred to here, so maybe I should just confirm that I am on the right page?
Minister of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Madam Chair. President Kelly will provide information related to the temporary transitional housing unit. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. I will go to President Kelly.
The temporary transitional housing unit is being run out by Folk on the Rocks. There have been 17 folks that have been through there. Two have left and gone on to either market housing, one, or to addictions treatment, another. There have been some challenges but we're working to get folks in there. And then the most recent announcement that you would have seen for the replacement at Rock Hill is where the permanent transitional housing will go when that is built. So we have a plan where the transitional will move over to the old Rock Hill site as part of that 64-unit build with a daycare. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. I will go back to the Member for Frame Lake.
Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate that. The deputy minister answered a question I hadn't even asked yet, so it's amazing; they're reading minds over here.
What I -- I am curious -- I think that the temporary transitional housing project out by the airport has a 24-bed capacity. It seems like the need is out there. Does the Minister or her staff have any insights as to why we haven't been able to fill that facility yet?
Thank you. I will go to the Minister of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The contract for the operations of the temporary transitional housing unit is with the Yellowknife Women's Society, and they do have a specific criteria related to the temporary transitional housing unit due to the location of the unit itself out by the Folk on the Rocks site. So perhaps President Kelly can provide more information related to the criteria, the operations of it, the ongoing discussions with the Yellowknife Women's Society. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. I will go to President Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The contract with the Yellowknife Women's Society is with EIA, and the repair of the building is with Housing NWT. And I think one of the reasons there were some challenges, there had been some freeze-ups and other things that occurred, and we needed to work with a vendor on those things but now things are in order and people are being moved through. And as I mentioned, it's good news that there's been those folks that have been in there already, and we're going to be filling it up -- they're working to fill it up as soon as possible. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. I will go back to the Member for Frame Lake.
Okay, thank you, Madam Chair. And, yeah, I did want to mention that I am very excited about the Rock Hill announcement and look forward to, yeah, finding a permanent home for this program. With that, I know that there are -- I don't want to identify them specifically. But I understand there is at least one other THARP program house in our community of Yellowknife. I am just curious -- I can't remember if it's one or two other locations. But are those locations kind of up and fully functioning and populated now, or are they still awaiting residents?
I will go to the Minister of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I will defer to President Kelly to provide an update. Thank you.
President Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The THARP units are a collaboration between health and social services and Housing NWT. The one in Yellowknife is up and running. The one in Inuvik will be up and running shortly. Our understanding is in April at this point. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. I will go back to the Member for Frame Lake.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I think that's it for questions on this page.
Thank you. Next, I will go to the Member for YK North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. You'll all be happy to hear that most of my questions are already answered, and my final question is just to get clarification.
Under compensation and benefits, there's about $3.3 million there but we don't see a staffing chart for, like, how many positions there are in each community for this item. So how many staff in total fall under this set of programs, the homelessness programs, that make up the $3.3 million for compensation and benefits? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. I will go to the Minister of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Funding for the Yellowknife day shelter and sobering centre operations. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. I will go back to the Member for Yellowknife North.
Okay. And so the entire, like, $3.3 million is for the staff associated with the day shelter and sobering centre. Okay, thank you, that's all. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Next I will go to the Member for Monfwi.
