Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for that response, because it sounds to me like now we might be able to do a traffic study. I'm not sure that we need all of these stakeholders involved to give the approval that they would want one done. I think I can speak freely for them now and say, let's get on with it. Will this government commit do doing a traffic study as soon as possible, meaning immediately? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I've said, we have to include everybody. We're not going to exclude everybody. We have to involve everybody in this process and make sure it's done in a fair and equitable manner and everyone has an opportunity to have input. I appreciate the Member's comments that he'd like us to commit to doing it right away, but there has to be a process in place where everyone can have their input and make sure it's the best decision moving forward.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Masi. Minister of Human Resources.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Generally the duration is about one year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the Minister advise the House if it is possible for the duration of the Regional Recruitment candidates to have their training extended beyond one year, like maybe two years or more, if necessary?

Extensions could be considered on a case-by-case basis. So as they go through the training, if there's a need to extend the training further so that they can work on their qualifications, then it would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

As the Minister knows, I represent Detah and Ndilo. I would like to ask the Minister, for the purpose of this program, is Yellowknife also considered a regional centre that would include all the positions in Yellowknife, not just the regional office? Because of the proximities of the communities I represent, I'd like to know if all of Yellowknife is considered a region for the purpose of the Regional Recruitment Program.

My understanding is that the folks in the Detah-Ndilo area, are they eligible, the short answer is yes, they are.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister indicated that, under the Regional Recruitment Program, that 32 persons would be recruited to GNWT positions. I'd like to ask the Minister if he has a target for how many regional recruitment candidates he would like to have at the end of this fiscal year, and what that target would be? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We aim to support a minimum of 15 each year, no target at the year end. Applications are being received continually over the year, and we would strongly encourage the regions to utilize this program. We feel that there is a lot of value in this program. As Members of this House have heard us say a number of times, we have to start looking at succession planning, and this might be a valuable tool in achieving that. So I would strongly encourage NWT residents that, if they are interested in any particular type of training, to approach HR and the GNWT to see if there are opportunities for that training.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today I have some questions for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation about the sale of the treatment centre on the Dettah Road. My first question is: does the sale include both the land and the building? Mahsi.

Masi. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The building that we're talking about was sold, actually, by the NWT Housing Corporation on August 6, 2015. At that time, it did include both the land and the building. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

How did the NWT Housing Corporation arrive at a price for that land and building?

In 2011, actually, the Housing Corporation had a formal appraisal done of the building and the land.

Right around the time we were elected, so in other words when the Minister was not yet the Minister, the treatment centre sold for almost double the price of the appraisal, which I take to be $880,000. Does the Minister have any idea how the building suddenly gained all that value?

At the time, the appraisal came in at $1.225 million.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister tell us, then, whether the media report of the centre selling for $880,000 is accurate and why and how it came to be sold for that price? Thank you.