Sixty-two per cent of the public housing wait list actually at this point is comprised of applicants needing a single bedroom unit, so we do have a huge demand for single units, and it's really hard to balance that need for singles when we also have needs for families with children. We will be putting a huge emphasis, though, within the coming year on singles. Like I had said in my previous answer, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation also recognizes the need for seniors and are working with us to address this issue within their region.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the response from the Minister. Mr. Speaker, my final question is: how is the corporation advertising its survey to Nunakput residents? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Previous announcements to the Housing survey were provided through various methods: we did some media campaign; we did a radio campaign. We have our local Housing organizations and our government service officers trying to go work with people; the government services officers, when they're doing their home visits, to actually get the survey done.

It was requested that we extend the survey for one month at the beginning of this session. I have agreed because it is more important for me to get quality work than to just get the work done. So we are, again, refocusing our campaign. We are really being more strategic in our radio campaign so that it is actually hitting the targets of when the community people do listen to the radio more than other times, and the communities that have low response rates we are trying to get out and knock on more doors to be able to have a good representation from every community so that this process will help us develop the community plans. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in follow-up to my Member's statement I have a few questions for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. I'd like to ask the Minister: has the Housing Corporation fully addressed the heating problems at the Joe Greenland Centre in Aklavik? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of NWT Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would love to be able to stand here on this side and say, yes, the issue is totally taken care of, but unfortunately that is not the reality of it. We have gone into the community; we've done some intensive reviews of the building. We have realized that there are some deficits within the building. We've realized that we need more heaters to be able to address the situation. There are some inequities within the heat that's in the building, so we are looking to address these things. In the meantime, though, every senior has a space heater.

One of the other things that we realized in looking at the building was that not only were there deficiencies within the heat system, but we did have a caretaker that was actually leaving the hallway doors open into the front entrance, which let the heat in. So we've also addressed that and asked him to please close the doors when he's in the building.

So we've spent a lot of time; the issues are not 100 per cent completed at this time, but we are projecting that they will be done. They are going in in February and that they will be completed by the end of this fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the Minister mentioned, we have space heaters in our elders' rooms. I'd like to ask the Minister: can the Minister advise me why elders' bills are still being affected by changing heating costs at the Joe Greenland Centre?

It is really unfortunate to hear that our elders are actually feeling that their heating bills are more expensive. We do expect that it would be more expensive due to the space heaters; however, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation has made a commitment that we will be paying for the elders' heat during this time until the units are fixed. So if there are any elders within the centre who do not know that and are paying their own bills, then we will be knocking on those doors and telling them to provide them to us and we will be reimbursing them and telling them that, in future, until the heat is resolved that the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation will pay for their heat.

That's great news. I hope we could go back to last year when the actual problem started. Our elders have been paying these bills all last winter and this winter. I hope we could fix this problem. The other thing was, I know in our last government we were looking at putting more wood pellet boilers into many of the communities to fix these sorts of issues. Would the Minister be willing to look at this for the Joe Greenland Centre?

As said earlier, we have done a study to determine what the heat issues were. We are committed to working with the contractor and making sure that these issues are alleviated. At this point we are not looking at a boiler system in that building; however, if we continue to have heating problems within the next winter then we will then seriously consider this as an alternative.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. I apologize, I didn't give him much of a head's up, but he heard my Member's statement, so it's about the Northern Frontiers Visitors' Centre. I know he's been in there, he's seen the condition of the building. Based on the statistics that I mentioned earlier, would the Minister agree that the Northern Frontiers Visitors' Centre is an indispensable facility for capital city tourism? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member had it in his statement today, all the facts that he's brought forward with the increased tourism in the Northwest Territories, which we are totally supportive of to help diversify our economy, we are totally in support of trying to help alleviate the burden on the Northern Frontier Visitors' Centre, and I'm sure he's going to have more questions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Laughter

It's not often that I actually get to congratulate a Minister, but, hey, that's fantastic. What a great lead-in to my next question. Can the Minister tell us how his department is consulting on and contributing to the completion of the assessment that I mentioned earlier on the condition of the building? Is the department prepared to move forward on the recommendations that come out of that study really quickly?

I guess, to inform the House, there are a couple of things going on. Public Works and Services and ITI are involved in a couple of things on this facility, and so is CanNor.

There are two parallel streams going forward. We've hired an engineering firm to look at and do the structural investigation on the facility and what can be done and what needs to be done if anything can be done. At the same time, CanNor has supplied some money to do a business case on how do we move that forward for the Northern Frontier Visitors' Information Centre. That business case will decide if the current building meets the needs of tourism in the Northwest Territories, and particularly Yellowknife. It will also address if we need a new space, if that's going to be big enough or not, and the program delivery. So there are two things going on right now. We are waiting to hear back on the engineering firm and the business case.

Thanks to the Minister for that response. He confirms what I said in my statement, where there are a couple of different studies going on. I'm just wondering if the Minister can tell us, though, is there any funding in the 2017-18 capital or O and M budget with regard to additional assistance for the Northern Frontier Visitors' Centre?

I would have to double check that with the department, but I know we are waiting to get both of those studies back before we decide the next steps on how we can help with the Northern Frontier Visitors' Centre.

There are a number of parties that would be involved in this, depending on what the reports come back. There is ourselves. There is the City of Yellowknife. The Northern Frontier Visitors' Information Centre is a standalone organization. When this building was built in the early 90s, there were a number of people that contributed to building this, from the federal government to the territorial government to the City of Yellowknife. Once we get these reports back, we'll be glad to keep the House advised on how the next steps are going to be on this.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Minister for that response. I'm aware that there are a number of other visitors' centres in the Northwest Territories. We've got one at the border. There's one in Inuvik. I believe there's one in Fort McPherson. These operations are basically run as government offices.

There is significant support for these other centres, so can the Minister give me information about what sort of support is provided to these other centres? One of the models that's being considered for the Northern Frontier Visitors' Centre is to basically turn it into a government operation. Can he just tell me a little bit more about what the other support is for other centres and whether he's prepared to look at that as a model for the visitors' centre here? Thanks, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll get back to the department and pull together how we fund and operate these other tourism centres in the Northwest Territories. I know in particular in Hay River, it's the Hay River Tourism Information Centre, but I believe we actually probably give them some kind of contribution to help offset some of the costs, but I will get that information together and give it to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.