Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister responsible for Homelessness. Yellowknife has the largest homeless population in the Northwest Territories, and the city's 10-year plan to end homelessness provides an action plan to eliminate this problem. Will the Minister prepare a formal response to the plan, and release this response publicly when available? Thank you.

Masi. Minister responsible for Homelessness.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have to give some thought to actually releasing a public statement on the plan, but I can say in the House here that the plan was actually a great joy to read. Dr. Alina Turner, who wrote the plan, actually backed up everything that I have been saying for the last two years, that we need a continuum of support, that this is not just one strategy will fix all. A lot of her plan actually was very complementary to my own personal beliefs based on my expertise in dealing with homelessness by working with homeless people for the last 20 years. I have also been in contact with the City of Yellowknife on this issue, and have agreed to work with the City of Yellowknife on this issue. I will have to give some more thought whether I do it as a public announcement, more than what I am doing just now in the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you to the Minister for her response. I understand that she is very engaged with this issue, and I am glad that she supports the approach that the report has taken. One of the findings of the report is that it costs more to manage homelessness than to eliminate it. I am wondering if the Minister agrees with that statement.

I absolutely agree with the statement that it takes more to manage homelessness than it does to address it before people become homeless. That is why the Housing Corporation last year spent $132 million, $70 million coming from the Government of the Northwest Territories, $35 million coming from the federal government, and $30 million actually coming from the low rents for the accommodations that we have. We spend a lot of money to try to deal with not only homelessness, but homelessness is housing, so to deal with housing.

I think the key distinction here is between homelessness and housing. I know that the NWT Housing Corporation funds public housing throughout the Northwest Territories, and that there are some pots of money that go to the shelters. I think that what I am asking about here is whether the Minister will work to a more comprehensive response as it relates to the territorial problem that exists in Yellowknife. The plan calls on all the orders of government, that is, Indigenous, territorial, and federal, to work together to create this commission that will work on implementing this plan. Is the Minister planning to take part in this opportunity?

As stated earlier, the City of Yellowknife has approached me. When the 10-year plan was developed, they came in and we had a meeting. We did talk about the Homeless Commission, and the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, myself, and/or the president, Tom Williams, have agreed to take part in this Homelessness Commission on a quarterly basis.

Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is good news. I think high-level leadership on this issue is very important to the implementation of the plan.

My final question has to do more with housing than homelessness. The report concludes that while overcrowded and substandard housing persists, people will continue to migrate to urban centres. Does the Minister agree with this conclusion, and is it on her radar to address the core need in housing? Thank you.

In regards to homelessness, I do recognize that it is a territorial issue. I have known that for a long time, and the MLA is correct. The majority of people actually who are in our capital city are not from the capital. They are from the communities.

To that effect, I have been providing a lot of support. Not only am I funding the Housing First initiative in Yellowknife, we are doing shelters in four communities coming up. We have a homeless shelter coming into Aklavik, one coming into Behchoko, one coming into Fort Simpson, and the newest one is Fort Good Hope. My goal is, like I said at the beginning of this Assembly, that I would hopefully have a homeless shelter in every region throughout the Northwest Territories, because people do better when they are around their families. Wellness is all about having social supports, and the major part of social supports is not government programs. It is family and community. We need to focus our efforts in putting homes and shelters into the communities so that people all through the Northwest Territories have options, and they can seek out wellness after they have actually been housed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, obviously, the concern of my constituents living close to the North Slave Correctional facility cannot be understated. These are people with families. These are people who have a right to be concerned about their public safety, and earlier in the week the answers have only created more confusion. I would like the Minister to confirm that the perimeter front's extension has begun, and is ongoing. Thank you.

Minister of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I informed this House the other day when I was asked a question by the Member opposite, the tender for the perimeter fence project closed on August 29, 2017. I understand that the project is now under construction, and that it will be completed by mid-October. It is on course to be completed, as I say, by October, so the project, which I know has been long awaited by the residents of that area, should be completed within the next couple of weeks. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to thank the Minister for offering a new kind of hope, a hope that comes from getting projects done, and making firm commitments in this House. Now, I would like to turn to the other issue of the security improvements. What is the status of them? Does he have any new information for the House today on those projects, which are significant in that the deficiency that they are designed to address resulted in an escape from the facility, an escape that brought an inmate into very close proximity with a residential neighbourhood?

Yes, this of course is an important project. As I mentioned the other day, we did go out for bids for this project, and, unfortunately, the response from the contractors who submitted tenders was way above the money that had been approved for this work. We therefore are looking at a revised approach to secure the yard from which the inmate escaped, and I will certainly keep this House informed as to progress. The original idea was to, in essence, put up a new interior fence. That proved to be much too expensive, so we are looking at other alternatives to secure this area. Hopefully once completed, that will assure the residents of their security, also.

We are hoping again. What are some of the options that are being looked at by the Minister? He is talking about revising a plan. I am of the opinion that there is no cost too great for public safety. If he could tell us what some of the cost-effective solutions are that his department is looking at, I am sure my residents would be greatly appreciative of that.

It was thought initially that a completely new fence would be required. We are looking at less complicated and hopefully less expensive alternatives.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When does the Minister anticipate that this work will be done, Mr. Speaker? Will it be done next year, the year after, the year after that? When do we expect the tender to be released, and the work to be done? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This is an important issue, of course, Mr. Speaker, because we would like to have the inmates to again have access to this portion of the facility. I do not have an exact date to provide to this House when this work will be done, but it is an important project. We are working on it, and I will keep the House informed. Thank you.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier I spoke about Treaties 8 and 11. Most of the Northwest Territories First Nations are descendants of leaders who negotiated Treaties 8 and 11 of 1899 and 1900. Those treaties were built and founded on the ideal of Nation to Nation. As I indicated in my Member's statement, my question is to the Premier. I would appreciate hearing the Premier's perspective on how the GNWT views treaty rights. Mahsi.

Masi. Honourable Premier.