Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree with the Member. This is a very important program for the film industry. It has been successfully used by 10 productions since its inception two years ago, but, as we know, we are reviewing the success of this program and an annual budget going forward. We are in our budget cycle coming up, and we want to find ways hopefully to find money to support this and make this initiative continue to grow. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as follow-up to my Member's statement, I have a few questions for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell the Minister that I was pleased to hear yesterday that the Minister will be talking with Canada about the funding disparity between the northern territories. Can the Minister commit to following up with Regular Members on the outcome of our housing meetings with federal Minister Duclos? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, once I finish with my meeting with Minister Duclos, I would be happy to share the results of that meeting with the Members through the appropriate committee.

Mr. Speaker, in terms of prevention, how does the Housing Corporation advise and work with tenants to prevent mould growth, whether that's a communication plan, preventative maintenance, or other strategies?

We do have mould remediation. Some of the prevention and tactics to deal with it are within our STEP program, our Solutions to Educate People program, which is one of the home ownership programs. The problem is that we realize that we need to expand that training to all public housing residents. We are undertaking a huge training program to better educate people on how to maintain their homes, including mould.

Currently though, online, through the Housing Corporation, you can see preventative tips and remediation for mould online on our website and also within the local housing organization. We do have some information, but as I said we still have some work to do in that area.

Mr. Speaker, now in terms of remediation, what can Housing Corporation tenants do when they identify mould problems in their units?

The first thing that tenants should do if they identify mould within their units is let the local housing organization know that. The initial thing is to identify whether it's mould or not. Mould has become a pretty scary topic and so people are afraid to even touch it, so things like condensation from windows and stuff which is not at the stage of mould have sometimes been misinterpreted for mould.

The first thing is to let the local housing organization know that you have an issue. We will go in and do a thorough inspection of it. We have specialists within the housing organization that specialize in mould remediation, and we also have contractors within the Northwest Territories who specialize in mould remediation. We use whatever supports we can to deal with the mould, but the most critical thing for residents to know is let us know if you have an issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral question. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister did answer part of my next question, but I'll ask it anyway. Does the Housing Corporation have an overall territory-wide plan for unit remediation specific to mould rather than having this work delegated to an individual? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Under the last leadership of the Minister, before I took the position of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, it was identified that we needed to be more proactive in our work. That Minister at the time took the initiative to actually start a preventative maintenance care program which goes in annually to look for issues such as mould or other issues that can cause major problems to houses. I will not take credit for it. I will give credit to the appropriate Minister, but it is something that was very proactive, very good, and we will continue to maintain that work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier today, I spoke on the importance of immigration for countless benefits to our society here, in the Northwest Territories. I'd like to ask questions to the Minister of ECE's role in supporting our nominee program. I understand there are two new families and businesses and seven new residents in total that have come to the Northwest Territories through this program. Can the Minister explain how the department works to support family reunification through the nominee program? Thank you.

Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We do have a great nominee program here in the Northwest Territories. The waiting time is probably one of the best in all of Canada. However, with the family reunification that the Member is speaking about, that is solely the full responsibility of the federal government's Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. They have made some changes. However, the changes that they have made are outside of the NWT, our territorial nominee program, as well as our current agreement with Canada.

However, seeing as that is an important issue and we do want to reunite families together, I will commit to raising this issue and this concern with the federal Minister and/or federal officials to see how we can have that type of program here, in the Northwest Territories, or work to get this reunification of families. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'd like to thank the Minister for that commitment. I didn't even ask for it, but it's very good to see this is being taken seriously. I've been told by some members of our community that they are looking to leave the territory to find a more favourable environment for family unification. Currently, it is a lottery system. I wonder if the Minister has any information on if any of those lotteries were awarded to northern families and if the current process that the federal government operates is benefiting Northerners or if all those lottery visas are going to southern Canada.

Our nominee program here, in the Northwest Territories, has actually been increasing over the years, 25 per cent almost on a yearly basis. We exceeded our nominee program last year, and we are looking to exceed last year's nominee program this upcoming year. We will continue to promote nominee and immigration to the Northwest Territories. As for the lottery program and the way reunification happens through lotteries, I don't have that specific information for any families here, in the Northwest Territories. I will get that information from the department and get it back to the Member.

Thank you again to the Minister. It is very concerning when members of the community bring these concerns forward and are talking about leaving the territory. In other provincial jurisdictions that have more robust provincial programs to support nominations, the federal government is taking their cues from that. I think particularly of Quebec, which has a very robust system to attract francophones and anglophones into the province.

Would the Minister commit to starting that work here, in the Northwest Territories, not just a conversation with the federal Minister, which is important, but also put some preliminary work together in a way that we can develop a fast-tracking program for family reunification?

As I mentioned earlier, under the IRCC, it is a full responsibility of the federal government. I can't make decisions or go and tell federal government what to do in terms of immigration into the Northwest Territories, here. However, I can make a commitment to bring this concern and issue up to the federal officials. Also with the family members that the Member is talking about, I encourage them to come see our department officials and see how we can work out some type of arrangement or something that we can learn a little bit more about their case. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral question. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will certainly encourage and potentially facilitate those discussions with the Minister's department. We have an immigration framework and action plan that's currently in development as of this year. Kind of what I was getting at with the last one: will the Minister find a place for family reunification in that framework, even if it is just advocacy items that will go to the federal government? Will he make it clear when we develop that strategy that family reunification is on the agenda, even if it is not directly our responsibility? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.