Thank you, Mr. Heath. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to go back to the first comments the Minister made, that is with respect to putting the facility on hold due to the costs. Where are we with that? How far along are we in looking at what we are going to do with that? What is the cost? What does the lack of funding mean to the facility? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The department is in the process of reviewing the 2015 costs and bed projections. It is currently a confidential document. The results need to be validated with communities and the plan refreshed, and so that work is ongoing now and will be completed early next year. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Those are all the questions I have for now. Thank you.

Thank you, Member. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am in general happy to see these long-term care facilities and us moving along on this path. I know this is very significantly in demand. I am wondering if there are federal dollars attached to these facilities. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. It's my understanding that the long-term care facilities are funded solely by the GNWT. I am just going to look at Mr. Heath and see. Yes, he is nodding. It's true. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. When I look at the $60-million price tag of this section, I am hesitant to spend this money. I know, the federal government, it's not necessarily always their prerogative to fund health infrastructure, and sometimes getting that funding can be difficult. I do know that the federal government is looking at revisiting long-term care facilities. This has been a serious issue during the pandemic. Perhaps the Minister can speak to any conversations that have happened with the federal government or if there is an opportunity to go and get federal government to subsidize some of this significant cost. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. My deputy minister would have a greater depth of knowledge on this than I do, so I would like him to respond, please.

Thank you, Minister. Deputy Minister Cooper.

Thank you, Deputy Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.

Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess I will reiterate. We are setting out our plan to build millions of dollars of long-term care units over the next few years. That is very much needed, but I am worried about, in the next year or two, the federal government coming out with another huge plan to revisit long-term care in light of COVID, in light of the deaths that have happened, so I don't want to set down that path where we are spending 100 percent GNWT dollars and not tapping into those federal dollars. Obviously, it seems that those are not quite there, yet. Perhaps I could just have the Minister, as we look forward on this path to a commitment, reach out to the federal government, that we are looking to build this and we are looking to follow their standards, but we would like their assistance. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. As the Premier likes to say, we are never going to say no to federal dollars. I do want to assure, as well, that this is incremental spending. Not all the beds are planned to be built in the same year. They are mostly four- or five-year projects that start from design and to the RFP and to the occupancy. If the federal government offered us money in a year from now, that could still be used in the plan to create these beds. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Moving on, I see "Yellowknife vulnerable persons shelter," and I assume "Investing in Canada Infrastructure Plan" below that means that there are federal dollars attached to that. I am happy to see that. There are a number of debates right now in Yellowknife regarding a day shelter and a temporary day shelter. Can I just get some more information on what the Yellowknife vulnerable persons shelter is? Is this meant to be a permanent day shelter? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes. That is exactly what it is. It's a permanent shelter that will offer programming, housing supports to the vulnerable population in Yellowknife. Thank you.