R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And once again, I think this is great timing for these questions because as we embark on implementation of the homelessness strategy, those are the types of actions that we will be undertaking how can we ensure that NGOs have stable funding? You know, I don't think that the Member needs to convince me of anything. I agreed with much of what she said in her statement. NGOs can provide they do provide core services often at a much lower price than the GNWT can, and so we need to strengthen that partnership as we go forward and try to live within our means as a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the government has relationships with the NGOs and so is aware of the turnover within NGOs and even just personally, you know, I'm aware of my constituency of the issues NGOs have in retaining staff. And so, yes, we are aware of those staffing turnovers.

To the Member's question about organizations and whether or not those same organizations are delivering services, I'm not sure what awareness the department has but I think they must they probably have a pretty good sense as well. They're the ones who are signing the contribution agreements. And I know from my own...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Caroline Wawzonek will be absent from the House for the remainder of the week to attend the meetings for federal, provincial, territorial Ministers responsible for transportation and safety in Montreal. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the rental office enforces the Residential Tenancies Act, and that is applicable when there is an agreement between a tenant and the landlord. So while there are other government entities that may monitor environmental health, such as the environment health unit in the department of health of the fire marshal with MACA, those entities are not part of that contract between a landlord and a tenant. So there is an onus on the tenants who actually do that work and bring forward those concerns to the rental officer. The government isn't going to go and inspect people's...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So in terms of the government's role in the repair and maintenance of privatelyowned residential units, we have the Residential Tenancies Act and, of course, this is administered by the NWT rental officer. The act requires landlords to maintain premises in a state of repair a good state of repair and fit for habitation, and they must comply with all the applicable health and safety legislation that we have in the territory. The rental officer, if a constituent or sorry, if a resident is having an issue with their unit and they believe it is not being maintained to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As that's not in my department, I'm going to have to take that on notice. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so as was mentioned earlier, the polytechnic or the Aurora College is now arm's length, and it is governed by a board. That being said, if there is a case for a program and there's money attached to it, then the college can always look at delivering that if we have a funder. I will note that the RCMP, they do try to recruit Northerners. They have a program, a threeweek program in Regina, at depot, where Indigenous potential recruits can go for three weeks to see what they think of the program. Right now, there is I believe there is a few residents in the territory...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaking as the Minister of Justice, I can tell the Members that the conversations about resourcing in the Northwest Territories for RCMP are ongoing. There's always conversations happening. The RCMP are looking at their workload and bringing forward proposals to the GNWT. So that's always happening.

In the Member's region, we've added, I believe, RCMP every year since I've been Minister. So we have been increasing the number of RCMP in the territory, including at Fort McPherson, and that is the community that serves Tsiigehtchic. So while it's not a perfect situation...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So during this Assembly, I look forward to seeing how we can address some of the issues that we face with housing at large in the territory. I know when we talk about housing, it's often subsidized housing but there's issues with market housing as well. And so with that focus and with the review of the Residential Tenancies Act, I think we can make some progress in this area. But as I stated before, it's up to the individual to bring forward their complaints. It would be ideal if we had the people and the budget to go around and do these inspections and have a very...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the Residential Tenancies Act will be reviewed during this government so all of those issues can be looked at. The access to the rental officer, any barriers that tenants might be facing; we can look at all of that. I cannot commit to remove any barrier that a tenant might be facing, but we do want to make the process as easy and simple as possible so that we can achieve the goals of the act. Thank you.