Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I was mentioning in my statement, Northern United Place in Yellowknife has been able to sustain 125 affordable housing units for 50 years without government subsidies based on a model where various GNWT departments, and most recently Aurora College, has acted as the anchor commercial tenant. So my questions are for the Minister of housing.
Is the Housing NWT office, or is the Minister and her staff, aware of the value of Northern United Place as a major provider of affordable housing in Yellowknife and the potential consequences in terms of increased homelessness and pressure on government services if this business model collapsed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, Housing NWT is very much aware of the contribution of the Northern United Place providing affordable housing in Yellowknife. And we're very grateful for it. Housing NWT has a close working relationship with the NWT Community Services Corporation for many years, and Housing NWT has continued to meet periodically with NWT Community Services Corporation to discuss their planned upgrades to extend the service life of the Northern United Place building and realize added energy savings over the long term. There have been detailed discussions and have included commitments to support the corporation's renewal project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So given discussions around a potential new campus for Aurora College in Yellowknife, is there a role for Housing NWT in brokering discussions between the NWT Community Services Corporation and other GNWT departments, or Aurora College, about being able to use that space as a new anchor tenant? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The space is currently not available, and Aurora College currently has the lease, so no discussions have been committed at this time. Should this situation change, the GNWT would reassess whether discussions are needed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I certainly understand that. But certainly there would need to be time to make arrangements, and I am wondering if Housing NWT can get some -- try to get some commitment I guess from Aurora College in terms of giving a long heads up if they intend to relinquish that lease in order to leave many years' time to be able to negotiate or broker a new commercial tenant from a GNWT agency. So the question there is can Housing NWT broker some sort of commitment from Aurora College to give enough time to be able to make those arrangements? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, Mr. Speaker, we have a strong relationship, and this relationship is already established and working well. So senior officials from Housing NWT have held meetings and have been in regular conversation with the president on the Community Services Corporation's project. And we will continue to support the corporation as the details of their renewal project are solidified. It's important to note, however, that when decisions are made regarding the Aurora College, they will need to be redirected to the Minister responsible for Aurora College or any other responsible Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Oral questions. Member from the Sahtu.
