Good morning, Members. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to report on the Government of the Northwest Territories' progress on its housing-related mandate commitments and on the strategic renewal process currently underway at the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

First, among the mandate commitments laid out by the Government of the Northwest Territories is a promise to address the cost of living, in part by continuing to implement northern solutions for northern housing and working to address homelessness.

Mr. Speaker, similar to the project that the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation delivered in partnership with the Yellowknife Women's Society that created eight new, semi-independent, safe and secure living spaces for homeless women, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation is committed to expanding that initiative in Yellowknife by exploring a further partnership of comparable design for men who may require this support. Outside of Yellowknife, I am happy to report that the shelter unit in Fort Simpson is operational while the one in Behchoko is nearly complete, and we are working towards securing a unit in Aklavik. A four-bedroom unit was also provided to the community of Fort Good Hope for usage as a homeless shelter through the corporation's Community Housing Support Initiative.

Homelessness often arises after people have exhausted local housing options, and it becomes much more complicated to support the shelter needs of residents when they lose their housing stability through eviction. Focusing on prevention will ultimately lead to better outcomes for many, and, to this end, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation will be launching a new pilot program in Behchoko. This program will dedicate a housing support worker to assist families with challenges that are bringing them close to eviction.

Mr. Speaker, I am hopeful that some of the challenges in our market communities will be addressed through revisions to the rent supplement program and the introduction of the non-governmental organization rent supplement program. These programs should alleviate the large wait lists for public housing in our market communities and bring households out of core need by addressing affordability.

Addressing the cost of living and keeping elders in their own communities for as long as possible is a priority for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. In an attempt to address these concerns, we have removed the co-payment requirement for repair applicant households with incomes below $60,000 and have removed peripheral contractor costs such as travel and contractor fees from our repair programs. We are also offering additional repair programs specifically geared towards seniors and completed a seniors' nine-plex in Whati. Seniors' complexes in Fort Good Hope and Fort McPherson are expected to be ready for occupancy before the end of 2018.

Mr. Speaker, another one of our mandate commitments is to dispose of our surplus units. So far this year, 31 units have been sold or have sales under way. Of the units that are deemed unsafe to sell, 20 have been demolished or are approved for demolition. All of these actions are expected to be completed by March 31, 2018.

Beginning in the new fiscal year, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation will also pilot a community training program whereby the abatement of units will include working with the local housing organizations to hire youth to support the dismantling of buildings under the supervision of local housing organizational staff. The objectives of this initiative are to allow local residents to be able to salvage components of a house, thereby helping to address the cost of living, and to provide local employment that also promotes the construction trades to youth.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation cannot successfully address all of the Territories' housing needs alone. The new Community Housing Support Initiative uses joint investment from the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation and Indigenous governments and community governments to support innovative housing projects. We have already seen this program at work with the Salt River First Nation, which has created two beautiful home ownership units, and we have had meetings with the K'atlodeeche First Nations to explore opportunities for home ownership programs and local maintenance opportunities. We have also committed to working with the City of Yellowknife as they work on their 10 year homelessness plan, and I attended an initial meeting where the city agreed to chair a homelessness committee. As well, we were pleased to provide support for the community housing plan developed by the Kasho Gotine Housing Society in Fort Good Hope and, as stated above, have provided them with a residence to be utilized as a homeless shelter. We have also received inquiries from other communities who have expressed interest in pursuing this program and were excited by the initiative and innovation shown by our communities.

In order to address our residents' housing needs, we also rely on effective partnership with the Government of Canada. I have met with federal officials to discuss the National Housing Strategy and the ongoing development of an Indigenous Housing Strategy. We are close to finalizing a multilateral agreement that will lay out the principles of the National Housing Strategy funding and how that funding will be used. I anticipate that program and allocation details will be available in the coming months, and I am hopeful that the unique context of the northern territories will be reflected in the national plan.

Mr. Speaker, discourse, sound analysis, and data need to inform our future direction. Therefore, the Housing Corporation will conduct a review of the public housing program, a seniors' planning study, an evaluation of the Government of the Northwest Territories' homelessness activities, and a review of the Housing Corporation rental rates for market units.

The Housing Corporation will also continue to support communities in the development of community housing plans, which will be a resource for stakeholders and decision-makers in shaping the future of housing in their communities.

Mr. Speaker, the Strategic Renewal process is not yet complete. I will regularly update this House on our research, policy and program changes, new initiatives, and achievements as we work toward providing the programming and supports so that residents can obtain, maintain, and retain housing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Ministers' statements. The Honourable Premier.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Glen Abernethy will be late arriving in the House today due to a personal matter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to speak about dialysis treatment in the Northwest Territories. For those who don't know, dialysis is a treatment that removes waste and fluids from blood for people whose kidneys have stopped working. People with kidney failure depend on regular dialysis treatment at least three times per week, and the process usually takes about four or five hours each time. While the process is a necessity for kidney disease patients, it is unfortunately not a treatment that is offered in remote communities. For the majority of dialysis patients in the Northwest Territories, people must travel to either Yellowknife, Hay River, or Alberta to receive regular treatments.

Mr. Speaker, there is a recent report done by the Canadian Institute for Health Information that provided some disconcerting statistics about Indigenous patients who rely on dialysis in Canada. The report determined that one in five Indigenous patients must travel more than 250 kilometres to receive treatment. The report also determined that Indigenous patients experience higher hospitalization rates because they must travel longer distances to receive dialysis. Indigenous patients also have lower survival rates than non-Indigenous patients. These facts are particularly alarming because, here in the Northwest Territories, half of our population is Indigenous and half of our population lives in remote communities.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories is not the only jurisdiction facing this issue. In fact, it's a nation-wide issue, which means that there are some ideas that we could utilize and implement here in the Northwest Territories. For example, in Alberta, people now have access to dialysis treatment on wheels, as their provincial government had the idea to retrofit buses and into a mobile dialysis units, where each unit costs about $2.1 million to convert and they travel to all remote communities and deliver treatment. Another idea is to provide people with the tools and capacity to deliver dialysis treatment within their own homes, although this might be difficult in remote communities, as it requires a constant supply of clean, running water and a reliable energy source.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, ultimately no one, especially a sick and aging person, should face the options of either having to leave their home community for a life-dependent treatment or staying at home and dying. Our people should be given the opportunity to receive dialysis within their home communities, or at the very least closer than the centres of Yellowknife, Hay River, and Alberta. I strongly urge our government to examine mobile dialysis treatment centres in order to create better access for people who need it. Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to recognize a member of the community of Fort Simpson, Steven Squirrel. Mr. Squirrel has operated the water treatment plant in Fort Simpson for over 40 years. That's right, 40 years. He's committed to doing this job.

As of July 7, 2017, Steven has hit his 40-year mark and continues to work in the water treatment plant. He's currently training somebody to take over after he's ready to retire.

Steven's role as the water treatment plant operator is a 24/7 commitment. Beyond regular operating hours, Steve responds to call-outs at all hours of the night and day regarding frozen or broken water lines. Sometimes, individuals cannot contact Steve via telephone and have to go to his home at all hours of the night, but he is very quick to respond.

Considering Steven's 40-year history at the water plant from 1977 to 2017, he has had the chance to watch it grow and change with the times. From manual hauling and dissolving of chemicals in powder form, to now a fully automated system, Steven has done it all. He continues to update his certification and is always willing to learn new water treatment practices that have come available.

Mr. Speaker, Steve has won numerous awards for the quality of the water he's treated and monitored. I would have to say it's the best-tasting water from what I have tasted in my lifetime.

Steve is very career- and family- oriented. He has been happily married to his wife for 38 years, Loretta Squirrel. Steven and Loretta have five children and eight grandchildren. He spends most of his time off with them, whether it's visiting in communities around or the territories. Mr. Speaker, it is the commitment of residents like Steven Squirrel that has kept our communities running strong. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank my colleagues on both sides of the House for permission to continue.

Constituents of Frame Lake have asked my position on these issues and I am now on the public record. I recognize this statement may not be popular with some of my colleagues in this House, but I owe it to my constituents and all of our employees to make my position clear. Mahsi Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last night I attended a forum on the Giant Mine Remediation Project. I learned a lot about Giant, and it made me think about mining, our economy, and how we need to adapt mining practices to the 21st Century.

Members know that I am pro-mining. I have said recently that I believe that we can develop mines safely while being respectful to the environment. I believe we can enjoy the economic benefits without paying the same heavy price as in the past, but for that to happen, we need to learn the lessons of Giant Mine and learn what it is teaching us.

Giant and Con Mines were instrumental in establishing the Northwest Territories as we know it. From the 1930s until the end of the century, Giant produced over 7 million ounces of gold. At today's prices, that is over $9 billion in value. That wealth attracted many outsiders to the North, including my father. Many people settled here and built homes and families in what is now the capital city.

Moving into the future is done best if we learn from the mistakes of the past. Plenty of mistakes were made at Giant, and our community and the land still bear the scars. Our Indigenous neighbours weren't consulted about the mines or invited to share in the wealth. Today, we recognize the error and unfairness of that practice, and Aboriginal governments will be owners and full partners in the future.

The environment was an afterthought in those days. We believed the earth had an unlimited capacity absorb our garbage and heal herself. Now we know that that's not true. We are still living with the environmental damage caused by 50-plus years of overturning the earth. There was social damage, too, from corporate profiteering and labour unrest. Long-time Yellowknifers remember the deep social divisions caused by the Giant Mine strike in 1992 and the deaths that resulted. A lot of mistakes were made, Mr. Speaker, but now we are cleaning up the mess. More importantly, we are learning the lessons of our experience.

New technologies will allow us to dig without leaving a mess behind. Projects must have full partnership with Aboriginal governments. Instead of being dragged into environmental sustainability, industry is leading the way. New practices use less water, reduce power consumption, and make projects green.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that we can move forward with sustainable mining, and our economy needs us to, but it is the 21st Century and we must do it differently. We have the knowledge, and we have the technology. We just need to use the lessons of the past to build a more prosperous and sustainable future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, I am bringing concerns from my constituents around procurement directly to the floor of the House, because it appears the Minister isn't listening when business owners are bringing these concerns directly to his department, or to him in this case. I met with a constituent just last week who had met with the Minister, the Minister heard the concerns, and yet nothing has been done.

Mr. Speaker, these concerns are quite simple: that northern businesses don't feel that the playing field is being levelled by government procurement policies. They still have to compete with southern companies that have been grandfathered into existing procurement policies that can make use of southern supply chains, which means cheaper materials, cheaper labour, and more access to capital to finance projects and move forward on these procurement policies.

Northerners deserve to get a break on this. They are often small and want to grow their businesses. The ones who are benefitting from the policies can maintain status quo in some cases, but they can't actually expand their businesses, grow their workforce, and ultimately create jobs for Northerners, which is a stated goal of this Assembly and should be a stated goal for any Legislative Assembly, Mr. Speaker.

What is the point of these procurement policies if it's just paperwork? That is a concern I hear constantly, that we have yet to build clarity or simplicity into the process. What it means for most small business owners is that they are filling out mountains of paperwork to get the ability to play in the government's procurement sandbox, and they often don't have the resources to compete even after doing all those procurement exercises.

Mr. Speaker, I hear consistently that it should be harder for southern and non-resident businesses to compete in the Northwest Territories, that our policies should be protecting northern interests, not protecting the government's bottom line. It is important to be prudent with our resources, but we must also ensure those resources are flowing to Northerners and helping grow our economy and support the costs of living for business owners who operate in a very expensive environment.

I will have more questions for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment as the day goes on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories suffers as a whole with housing needs. Families are on a long waiting list because of a lack of units or, rather than applying for their own units, they choose to stay with their family members.

Mr. Speaker, in all of the communities of the Mackenzie Delta riding -- Aklavik, Fort McPherson, and Tsiigehtchic -- we know our community population is rising. We want to see our communities grow and benefit economically. We as a government need to keep on top of the housing needs for our people.

I understand, Mr. Speaker, that each of our departments is on a budget. However, Mr. Speaker, there is no need for families to be living in old housing units where there are traces of mould, and some units that have no proper heating. These are just unsafe living conditions.

Tsiigehtchic has great expectations for youth who are growing and learning, Mr. Speaker. We expect our children to attend school on a daily basis. They are eager and excited to learn. We need to ensure that they have healthy homes, free from mould and with proper heating, and most importantly, give our families a reason to live at home, to live in our smaller communities, and to work with and for us. We can't do this if families are discouraged with little or no housing units.

The Government of the Northwest Territories needs to look at alternative solutions, either major renovations or new up-and-coming units. On another note, Mr. Speaker, Tsiigehtchic residents have to apply for a housing unit through the Inuvik Housing Authority. We don't have a local housing authority in Tsiigehtchic, Mr. Speaker. This has to change. We need somewhere in our community that we can go to, stand in front of a board to raise our concerns about housing issues, voice our concerns about the need for units, and somewhere that a board can make decisions for Tsiigehtchic because they live in the community and are from the community and know what is required for our people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to salute the Yellowknife Day Care Association on the recent opening of their new and expanded facility on 52nd Street in the heart of Yellowknife Centre.

The association has been around since 1981, occupying the building on 51st Street that has at times been an RCMP detachment, a government office, and even a liquor store. The association got its eviction notice from ECE in 2016, along with an offer of support to find a new home. Work began on the development of an enlarged and purpose-built daycare with all the client care, programming, and safety features of a modern design, and the facility officially opened on January 19th.

The new two-storey centre has more than 900 square metres of space, including four nursery rooms, a multi-purpose activity room, classrooms, a kitchen, preschooler rooms, and full staff and administrative accommodations. With the expansion, the non-profit is licensed to serve 104 children, including 32 baby spaces, 56 preschooler spaces, and 16 after-school spaces.

My colleagues will be interested to hear the following information. Not only is the Yellowknife Day Care the largest childcare provider in Yellowknife, but with the expansion, there was an increase of eight new full-time staff for a total of 25 full- and part-time jobs in that centre, a boon to our economy, and an addition of skilled child practitioners in childcare. This is the home of a vibrant, friendly, active, and interactive team ready to help children learn in a warm, fun, and friendly environment where they are free to laugh, climb, run, talk, dig, explore, and interact.

Special credit for the successful expansion goes to the association's hardworking volunteer board, led by President Kristal Melanson, with the administrative support of Executive Director Marine Voskanyan. President Melanson makes special note of the contributions of Yellowknife's PSAV Architects, the Clark Builders construction team, and to ECE for supplying equipment and furnishing and expedited licensing. There will be a further fundraiser in the year to furnish the yard. I will keep Member's informed of when to reach for their chequebooks.

Congratulations to Yellowknife Day Care Association and all the best for more decades of service. Mahsi.

Masi. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased today to recognize some very important people up in the gallery. The little guy there is my grandson Colin Wainman, five years old. My granddaughter Ms. Morgan McLeod is seven years old. My grandson Rylan Wainman is 11 years old. My wife Judy I have been married for 38 years. I am very pleased to have them visiting us here in the gallery and watching our proceeding. Try not to ask too many questions with my grandchildren right here.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we missed anyone in the gallery, welcome to our Assembly. It is always great to have an audience as part of our proceedings. Masi. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In 2016 the Government of the Northwest Territories purchased NTCL and all the lands that came with it. There are substantial tracts of lands in Hay River that came with that purchase. We have had questions in this House about what is going to happen with those lands. Last I heard, there were environmental assessments happening on some of the prioritized sites. I would like an update from the Minister of Infrastructure on what environmental assessments have been done and on which former NTCL lands, particularly in Hay River. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Infrastructure

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is working in company with the Department of Infrastructure to carry out environmental assessments on property formerly owned by NTCL. ENR has completed environmental assessments of the Government of the Northwest Territories' shipyard and marine terminal lots in Hay River.

The lots were assessed, including operating sites under Schedule 7 party to the Northwest Territories Land and Resources Devolution Agreement. These sites were a high priority for assessment. The final Phase I and II ESA report is due March 16, 2018. ENR will share the findings with the Department of Infrastructure once available. Future remediation plans will depend on the outcome of these assessments.

ENR and Infrastructure are also conferring regarding former NTCL properties at Norman Wells, Inuvik, and Tuktoyaktuk. These sites will be determined and prioritized based on the assessment in 2018-2019. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Could the Minister be a little more specific and maybe outline which sites in Hay River? I know there are a lot of waterfront sites there. There are a lot in Old Town in my riding. I would like a little more specificity if he can.

The synchro-lift down at the site right along the lake has been done; Hay River barge storage area, which is also along the waterfront down in Old Town; and eight Hay River water lots, leased lots along inner harbour, as well.

I am glad that those are the sites they are looking at first. That is some prime real estate. It is beautiful down there in Old Town, especially right on the channel. Based on the initial findings, I know it is not complete and they don't have the final report. Does the department have an estimate, even a ballpark figure, for what it might cost to remediate these sites?

I think this is early days yet. We get the assessments back to put a price tag on these. Once that comes in somewhere, I can share that with the Member.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that, the last time I asked these questions, the Minister stated there was a best land-use management plan that is coming out later this year. I guess that will inform when we can start disposing of these lots. I drive by the synchro-lift quite often just to see what is going on. I see there has been lots of work done. Can the Minister maybe talk about the sort of work that has been done at the synchro-lift site to address the environmental hazards that were inherited when the government purchased that site? Thank you.

Significant amount of clean-up work has been done at the Hay River shipyard site last year. We worked closely with the Department of Workers' Compensation to ensure that health and safety concerns to the public and employees would be mitigated appropriately and to develop a plan and a timeline that the site's assessments, including human health and ecological risk assessments, to include long-term progressive remediation goals would take place. We worked closely with them.

We did some early clean-up around there around some I guess we would want to call it low-hanging fruit that had to be done immediately. We spent a significant amount of money doing that. That will be staged out in the years to come. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of confusion on how lots are assessed in the NWT. People assume it is Lands. We have now been told that this is the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs' responsibility. Can the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs please explain why the department has been assigned this task? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member's question about why we have been assigned this task is a little bit confusing. I don't know the history on why Municipal and Community Affairs was assigned that. My guess would be that we are Municipal and Community Affairs and our job is to make sure that the communities have the supports that they need. Assessing them would be considered one of those supports. Again, though, I wasn't here back in the day when it was originally assigned to Municipal and Community Affairs

I thank the Minister for that answer. I have been hearing other information. It has been good. I will use the Minister's information and my colleagues' information to help understand the history of it. My next question is: I know in Fort Simpson I have heard assessments going up double from the previous years and nothing has been done to the lot. I have asked a number of people why this has come about and why values have increased. I have received different answers. Can the Minister please explain the process of how the department comes up with the value of the lot?

The assessment of the properties is done by the value of the land and any assets that are located on the land as the MLA has stated that he has seen taxes go up without any improvements done. There are two types of property assessments. There is one that is done on an annual basis. That captures changes to the existing property, such as if there are renovations, additions, et cetera. Then there is a general assessment that is completed at least once every 10 years. That updates the value of the land and improvements from the date of the last general assessment.

Like I said, there are two different assessment processes. Some communities just happen to get in that position where the general tax assessment is increased. The City of Yellowknife went through that a couple years ago, I believe.

Just from hearing that answer and hearing the Minister of Lands in previous sittings here, do improvements on the land help or increase the value of the land that is presently there?

Yes, the assessment to land is taking into consideration not only the land, but all infrastructure that is on the land. I will use Yellowknife. If you buy a lot in Yellowknife, you might be looking at a couple of hundred thousand, but once you put a trailer onto that or a unit onto that, it does increase the market value of that property. That is taken into consideration.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you very much to the Minister for that answer. I guess my next question is: in regard to Commissioner's land and territorial lands within municipal boundaries, are they taxed with the assessment value? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

All lands are taxed, except there are some exemptions. So for a complete listing of the properties that are exempt, you would have to go into the PATA, but things such as land claims agreements would impact that, as well. So, there are exemptions to taxable properties, usually by land agreements, Aboriginal government agreements. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment about, you guessed it, procurement. Obviously, businesses continue to come forward, business owners continue to come forward. How is the department using procurement policies to level the playing field with southern companies that are doing business in the Northwest Territories, to give a competitive edge to northern businesses? Thank you.

Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Premier said in the House previously, BIP was probably the best policy ever created by the Government of the Northwest Territories. BIP allows northern businesses and northern registered businesses that opportunity to give them that extra advantage on southern procurement of companies that are not BIP, and it is a significant amount that gives us leverage as the Northwest Territories to protect northern businesses.

It is interesting that the Minister is so confident in BIP's success because all the concerns I hear are about BIP. I already know he is not willing to reform BIP, to do a review of BIP to take action on these concerns. So, given the high-profile nature of several procurement issues -- I am talking about the Housing Corporation modular project in Hay River that the failure of the procurement policy resulted in the loss of 40 full-time jobs, a Minister's riding, by the way, Mr. Speaker, and, of course, the NTPC power generators ongoing affair, which is at least half a million dollars of government funding that has gone to that -- do these high-profile issues convince the Minister that we need to take a look at how we procure things so that we can save some money and save some jobs?

The Member throws a lot of comments out there. There are a lot of issues around both of these procurement issues, and I am not going to talk about it in this House because that is privy information. He is throwing stuff out there that is not realistic to the rest of the policy that helps northern businesses under the BIP policy. Our preference is to continue with the way we do business, and I have said it in this House a number of times: we are going to continue to the way we do business and follow our policies.

One of the issues with BIP is that it only applies to the first $500,000 on procurement contracts. Is the Minister willing to be flexible with that amount so that businesses that are looking to take on larger projects, who are northern-owned and operated, can receive greater benefits from procurement?

I have said in this House before: I came from private business. I was there my whole life. I have done procurement with the Government of the Northwest Territories my whole life. I have bid on projects for various amounts from $1 to over $1 million. The BIP procurement policy protects northern businesses to a significant amount, but at the same time we are here to protect the public purse, and we will continue to do that. As a businessperson previous to being in this House, I believe the policy is there in a meaningful way to help protect us and give us a leg up, and I believe it is significant, and I will stick to that.

Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the Minister's clarity of purpose on this. There are a number of companies that are grandfathered in or are meeting a 50 per cent requirement that are still either owned in part or owned entirely by southern companies that can benefit from southern supply chains, so we are giving those companies a 20 per cent markup through their northern preference, even though they can double dip, so to speak, and benefit from southern markets. Is the Minister willing to look at those requirements and the list of grandfathered companies that are benefitting from southern supply chains and take that into account when looking at potential reform for this policy? Thank you.

We continue to review all of the our policies and make sure they are doing the support to business in the Northwest Territories. The Member has brought up an issue that I have not heard about. No one has come to me saying there is a disadvantage, being these companies that are grandfathered in. This is something that is new to me and, if he is glad to come down to my office and have a discussion about that, I would be willing to sit down with him. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. In the last session, you may recall a number of my colleagues and I talked about modular homes, specifically about the contractor's failure to deliver all of the units by last summer, as the contract specified. Last we heard, the Minister was making alternative arrangements to complete and deliver these units. Can she please provide an update, and I will break this down into pieces, first on the three units that were partially complete when they were delivered to Ulukhaktok? Mahsi.

Masi. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, the original plan was to have 19 buildings from the Concept Energy. At this point, we are proceeding with the completion of 14 of those units. I do not know if all of them have been tendered out yet. I do know that five of the projects have been deferred because, there were two communities, one community was we had worked with the MLA and private market-holders who had expressed interest in building in that community, and so we try not to disturb the market within communities. Another one, we worked with the MLA because, I believe, they would be market units, and it was determined that those units were not necessary in that community at that time. So we are working with them all. The three units that were started, those were the easier ones, so I believe they have been tendered out, and they will be completed.

Thank you for that response, to the Minister. I would just like to get a little more detail. So, of these 14 units that have or will be tendered out, what are the completion times on that?

Some of the units are in process now. The majority are being conducted right away. Northern communities have a little bit more of a struggle because of the winter, because of the weather. A lot of them will be started with the warming of the weather. All units will be completed by the end of this annual year.

Mr. Speaker, now that the Minister has had some time to reflect on how this contract kind of went awry, what are the lessons that she is taking away from this experience?

So, the allocating of these 19 units was at the beginning of my term a couple of years ago, and I do appreciate the Member saying: what lessons did I derive from that experience. It's important to look on the things that we do and to reflect and to make sure that we make better decisions in the future. I believe in northern houses for northern people, done by northern contractors, so my initial goal was to actually have those units as a manufacturing strategy. There are a lot of modular units that come from the south, especially in our community of Yellowknife, that are sold and the money is not staying here; it's going south. So the initial idea was to be able to build that industry within the Northwest Territories. It would bring jobs to communities. It would keep the money in our community. It would be spread throughout. It would bring apprenticeships and lots of opportunities.

The idea, though, was not a failure in the process. It was a business failure, Mr. Speaker. I learned from it that, if we are going to be start doing manufacturing, we need to start small so we don't set people up to fail. We need to provide better supervision of the units, but I haven't discounted it. I will still look for ways to ensure that we can promote manufacturing in the territories and promote jobs and keep our money in the north.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister's answer. One of the debates we had at the time that contract was going to go out was the relative advantages of module homes versus stick-built homes. Given what she has learned from this contract, does the Minister now have a preference for one kind of housing over the over? Thank you.

That was another lesson that was learned actually. We still need to have diversity in our options for housing. There is still a cost savings for residents to be able to access module units versus stick-built units. There's a substantial savings with that.

We had some difficulty actually getting those units, completed or half-completed ones, onto the barges. So we did learn, and the expense was more than we expected because of the barging and the cost with that. What we have learned through that is that module units are easily done within the southern communities where we don't have to barge them and where we don't have to deal with the transportation. We need to re-look at that within communities that aren't accessible by road, although I do want to state that Inuvik still has some buildings that are looking at module. I know that IRC might be looking at modules. It's not something that we're writing out of the northern communities. It's just we have to look at accessibility into those communities and the cost factors to getting them and then apply that to a cost analysis, module units versus stick-built. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a follow-up to my Member's statement. I have a couple of questions for the Minister responsible for Housing. I would like to ask the Minister, it actually came up in my constituency meeting. We had leaders in the community, the chief and mayor and also the president of the Designated Gwich'in Organization who brought up the issue that they would like to see a housing authority in Tsiigehtchic board actually set up in the community with members from the community to make decisions that are needed in the community.

I would like to ask the Minister: will the Minister ensure the community of Tsiigehtchic will have a housing authority board in the community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is correct. The best solutions for communities are actually to have the services within the community. It's not the best service to be outside. Those in the community know the situations. They know the strengths and the challenges of community members, so I would like to see a board in Tsiigehtchic as well.

We do have a local housing organization in Tsiigehtchic with a manager. The difficulty has been the board. In 2013, actually, we met with the community and we talked about a board. Out of those people in attendance, only one person actually stated that they wanted a board at that time.

We also put out a call for board members and we didn't get enough interest. That's not okay, though. I mean, that was four years ago, almost five years ago, so it's time to do another one. We actually are going into Tsiigehtchic on March 27 and at that point, again, we will be discussing the board, finding out if the residents want the board. I'm hearing the MLAs saying they want the board, and trying to gain interest from member communities to sit on that board. That seems to be a little bit of a harder challenge. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm sure there are no problems finding people to sit on the board. I think what we need to do is make the community aware. You know, when a department is coming into the community, it's always important that it's outside in the community, whether it's on the CBC, the afternoon radio show that everyone listens to. We have to make sure that there are people out there who are aware of this meeting that's taking place. Will the Minister ensure that there is proper community communication and also put it on CBC Radio?

Again, the Member is right. We need to communicate better and we need to communicate with the communities when we are going into their communities. I know that there are some communities that listen adamantly to the question period within the House. I'm hoping that those who hear will spread the word that we are coming on March 27. I'm hoping that the MLA, when he returns to the community, will spread the word that we are coming on March 27. I do state that we will make sure that we have adequate communications going into the community to make sure that as many community members as possible know that we are coming in on March 27.

Masi. March 27, it is. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, once again I will have to do the communications for the department. I seem to be having to do this for a lot of the departments, whether it's Infrastructure or other departments that are having these community meetings. I know it's a shame that we don't use whether it's Facebook or, you know, everybody's on Facebook. I know you do it. Some of the departments use Twitter, but not everybody is on Twitter. You know, especially road conditions and other things like this. You know, people really appreciate that. Will the Minister make sure that they use social media to actually get out and let people know when they are coming to the communities? Not only for Tsiigehtchic but Fort McPherson, Aklavik, and other communities throughout the Mackenzie Delta. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I don't know how many times I'm going to say today that the Member is right. Communications is an issue. Communications is something we need to work on. We recognize that within the Housing Corporation.

We have a lot of changes to the programs, and the public still isn't aware. We have sent out letters to the municipalities and to the Aboriginal governments. I went into the community of Fort Simpson the other day, and I looked on the bulletin board at the band office, I believe, and it wasn't there. I did give direction as soon as I got back. I said, "Send out more notices," like let people know that. We are looking at a total communications strategy, whether that uses newspapers. I don't use Twitter, either, although I hear I have a Twitter account; Facebook; I'm not so sure everyone accesses the NWT Housing Association's website, but we're working on improving it anyway.

We are looking at a total communications plan to let people know. It's no sense having programs that people don't understand what's out there and the changes. So, yes, I will make sure in the meantime that the March 27 date is posted on my personal Facebook and I will ask the MLA if he would consider posting it on his personal Facebook, as well. I promise I will get him the messaging. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are also on spending money on housing, but they are not for my friend the Minister of Finance or for the Minister of Housing Corporation. They're for the Minister of Infrastructure, because he helped announce $570 million in federal infrastructure funding earlier this week.

In our Committee of the Whole review of the NWT Housing Corporation, I asked questions of the Housing Corporation on what proportion of the new funds will be applied to the $67 million cost of taking our housing out of core need. I looked at the funding announcements. Some of those pots of money could certainly be used for housing. I am asking the Minister of Infrastructure whether he can confirm what proportion of the federal Infrastructure funds he announced earlier this week will be applied to addressing housing core needs, and if no funds, why not? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is correct. There is no funding for housing under the bilateral that we signed earlier this week with the federal Minister, but the federal government is going to be announcing other streams under the Investing in Canada plan that will provide funding for housing for the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks to the Minister for that. I look forward to these other announcements. I sort of anticipated that he would say that the $36 million over 10 years under the National Housing Strategy would cover off our housing needs, but, of course, that small amount really can't help us with our core housing needs, which have been calculated at $67 million. Where are the funds going to come from, and why can't we use some of the federal infrastructure funding that the Minister announced earlier this week?

Can the Minister explain whether there are any legal or funding guideline requirements that prevent us from applying for and using these new federal infrastructure funds for housing, or is this a political decision, one that Cabinet has already made?

The $180 billion in infrastructure funding provided by the Investing in Canada plan is being delivered under a series of different funds, but there are a bunch of different criteria and eligibility requirements around this for federal outcomes for project eligibility, and the agreement that we signed, unfortunately, does not provide any opportunity for investment in housing.

I would like to thank the Minister for that. If there is some way that he could share the funding guidelines or more information about that with me, I would appreciate that very much. Can the Minister tell us whether any of the newly announced federal infrastructure funding will be allocated to or delivered through the Arctic Energy Alliance, and if so, how much and over what period of time?

In total, with the $760 million that we are going to be leveraging with our portion and the federal portion, a significant amount of this is eligible for energy projects through the Northwest Territories, and we will be going through those specific details once we start getting into more detail of our applications around this money. There are also going to be other pots of money available for these sorts of things under the Pan-Canadian Framework for Clean Growth, and there will be an opportunity for energy projects in there.

As I stated, I think, earlier this week in the House, around the Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund and our application that we have put in, there is going to be additional support for Arctic Energy Alliance, and hopefully we are going to hear back on that in the coming weeks.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I'd like to thank the Minister for that response. Again, my questions are really focused on the funding announcement that he made in the Great Hall here earlier this week. I know there are other funding pots out there, but I want to know about the $570 million that was announced earlier this week. Can the Minister tell us whether there is a full plan to spend this money and if that plan can be made public? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The projects that we have lined up for 2018-2019, the Department of Infrastructure expects to prepare and submit to Infrastructure Canada early in this fiscal year.

The other thing I guess other Members maybe didn't realize is that, when we signed the agreement here on Wednesday, we were the very first ones in Canada to sign our bilateral agreement, so we are the first out of the gate. With that going forward, the projects that we want to do early in this coming fiscal year, we are going to have to come back for supplementary funding in the House in the May sitting for the projects that are moving forward. We are going to be going through the regular capital plan process going forward for the next projects in the coming years coming out, but I plan to keep MLAs informed on where we are in this process going forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am appointing myself the honorary Member for the Sahtu, and I have the following questions on the fire department in Norman Wells for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. First of all, could she please update this House on the status of the fire department in Norman Wells? Thank you.

Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I must state that the Member looks very good today. The fire department in Norman Wells is something that I will have to look into. I will get back to her with that answer. It is a municipal issue; it is not a territorial issue. We provide support to the community governments. They are responsible for actually developing and maintaining their fire departments. We provide training and support for fire departments, but we don't actually look after the day-to-day operations of them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am aware that the municipality of Norman Wells runs its own fire department, but clearly there is a problem there that has resulted in a "pause" in the operation of the fire department. My question is really: what kind of assistance can the Minister offer the municipality of Norman Wells to ensure that residents are protected from fire if one were to occur?

We try to support the community governments as best as possible. Some communities do have the funding, actually, tax income, market income, the money that we give to communities, that they can actually put it in their capital plans and have fire departments full-fledged with full-time fire chiefs. Some communities only have part-time fire chiefs. Some communities don't have any; they have volunteer fire departments.

Therefore, we provide a range of training for them. We specialize in our first responder training, actually, so we work with communities that don't have any fire departments to actually give them the skills. There is quite a bit of training that we provide regarding fire training, recognizing that there is a difference within each community on the needs for training and the abilities of the communities.

The other thing that we do is we work within their capital planning on an annual basis. We work closely with them to determine what they see their needs are in the future, again recognizing that it is not our delegation. We work with the communities for them to determine what their needs are. If they decide that they want a fire department and they don't have the resources, we will work within their capital planning on an annual basis to see how much money they would need and how many years that they would need to be able to save for that, and then we will use that to actually apply for federal funding for capital assets.

I am failing to engage the Minister in any sense of urgency on this issue. My understanding is that this community is currently without fire protection. People are obviously worried about what would happen if there was a fire. They are also worried that their insurance may be invalid because there is no operating fire department. Can the Minister assure me that, when she leaves this Chamber, she will go and call the village of Norman Wells and find out how she can assist them to get their fire department back on track?

The questions that were asked of me did not say that I wasn't working. I don't believe that I am failing at addressing the issue. I do know that the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is actually working diligently on this issue at this time. We are supporting the community. We are assessing their needs and their situations. That I do know. Our job is to support the communities. When we hear there is an issue, we are in there to see what we can do for support.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister has now provided a more clear and forceful response on this question, but my question still remains: what would happen if there was a fire in Norman Wells? God forbid, but if there was a fire in Norman Wells, how would the community respond if they put their fire department on hold? I know that the Minister is working at arm's length on this, but I would like to hear that there is a plan for response and that it's going to take effect immediately. Thank you.

As stated in my first answer, I don't know the status today. If I had gotten notice, I would have actually looked that up to see what we are doing and where the situation is of today.

I do want to emphasize, though, that community members care about their communities. If I see my neighbour's house burning, I am not going to stand around and sit there and watch and clap. I'm going to do what I can to be able to provide that service. In communities, we have community members who care as well. They will not allow that to happen. They will do whatever the best they can. We have various services. Some communities have trained firefighters who live in communities. We have airports in some communities that will actually respond to that. We will make sure we have an emergency response plan. We will provide the best services that we can to ensure that communities don't burn down. I am not going to let communities go without any fire support services, even if they don't have a fire department.

As stated earlier, many of our communities do not have fire departments and yet those communities have community members of various abilities who come together in times and need and help their community. That's where they live. Those are their parents, their families, their elders. I have trust in our community members and the services that are provided through other resources that we will take care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask some follow-up questions not to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, but the Minister of Lands in regards to assessment. In this House, the Minister said that they do their least payments based on the assessments done by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. Can the Minister advise this House if this is the actual process that is being done? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Lands.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have mentioned previously, lessees are charged assessed value of land, and on the territorial lands it's 10 per cent of appraised value. Now, I don't know the method which MACA uses to arrive at these assessments, but I think there's a scientific way in which they do arrive at the assessments of the property. Of course, on that assessment is based the lease fees. Thank you.

I thank the Minister for that answer. Can the Minister clarify: does the Department of Lands get two separate assessments, one for lands itself or one with lands and improvements on it?

Of course, our fees are based on the value of the lands, so the assessed or appraised value of the lands is the number we're interested in, and on that number, we base the lease fees.

I thank the Minister for that clarification. There seems to be a disconnect here, because my understanding from the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs that they assess the land based on the land and the improvements on it. Now I'm hearing from the Department of Lands here, it's just on the land itself. Can the Minister please clarify: is this the correct process? Is this what they do? Is it based on the lands, and if it is on land, do they have a separate assessment done?

I can't speak for MACA, but I believe the way that assessments are usually done is that there's a division between land and buildings. For example, if you receive an assessment for taxation purposes from your municipality, there's a breakdown showing how much is assessed for the land and how much is for the building. I believe that's the way that MACA does it, but the Minister may know more about that than I do.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that answer from the Minister. Is the Minister willing to share with me the land assessments of lots in my riding, so that I can share this information with the residents? Thank you. Mr. Speaker.

Normally, Mr. Speaker, we wouldn't do that, but generally in each community, you can go to the tax rules and find out what the assessments are. In that way, you could determine what the values placed on land and buildings are. I believe every municipality has that information available. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At least the tax-based municipalities. Thank you.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up those questions which I asked about the fire department in Norman Wells. My question is about whether the department is working on standards for fire departments across the Northwest Territories. I understand that that is not currently in place. Is the Minister taking steps to standardize fire department funding and operations across the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are standards for fire provision within the Northwest Territories. Our Office of the Fire Marshal works closely with the communities to develop safety plans in that regard. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.