Thank you, Madam Premier. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you for the question. Mr. Speaker, what the Department of Health and Social Services is doing early next year is to survey people who have received treatment in addictions centres to understand directly from them, the people who have used these centres, about the successes and shortcomings of their experience. I am very interested in seeing that information. What I remember from our tour that you were on, as well, Mr. Speaker, as a member of the social development committee, is there was quite a gap between what was being said by people in the NWT and what was being said by clients in the centres. I am very interested in that first-hand information to understand whether the approach we are taking now is one that is resonating for the clients themselves. Thank you.

Addictions come from, like we said, we have drugs and alcohol. There is usually a root cause, but I know one of the things that we have lost a lot to is overdoses and alcohol and freezing to death. Will the Premier work with her Cabinet Member, maybe the Minister of Justice, to make sure that maybe we can have a -- everybody knows in the communities who are the drug dealers and how these drugs are coming in, but everybody is afraid. We need to have a way to work with the RCMP so people have a safe way to report and do kinds of things. As long as we have the supply there, we are going to have the problems.

The Member is right. Mental health and addictions are not just one department's responsibility. It goes across all departments. In fact, it's a community issue. The stories I heard from women, when they were children, what happened to them did not happen because of our government. It happened because of people, so it does take a community to deal with the mental health and addictions that we are facing. Mr. Speaker, what I can commit to is that we will bring this issue to the committee of Cabinet or social committee, and we will look at a wholesome, all-of-government approach to dealing with that. However, Mr. Speaker, in respect, I would like to see the results from the survey that the Health and Social Services Minister has committed to. At that point, it would make sense that we would sit together and look at what we can do from a whole-of-government approach. Again, it will mean that all Members will need to look at that, as well, and all communities. We need to deal with this. It's not okay.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Final supplementary. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is just more of a comment to the Premier. I am glad that you are going to take this further, and if there is a survey, I am reaching out to the residents of the Northwest Territories to make sure they take part in this. It's going to take not just one community. It's going to take the whole territory to deal with this, and I don't want to lose more family members, more constituents, to overdose, freezing to death this winter because of addictions or anything. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. That is taken as a comment. Thank you. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The $1-billion Rapid Housing Initiative, which is complementary to the National Housing Strategy, was announced in September this year, and the applications are due at the end of this year, on December 31^st. This is barely two months away, Mr. Speaker, and this makes me quite nervous, especially when I hear the Minister for the Housing Corporation talking to a colleague of mine about hoping to have the advisor person for the co-investment fund in place by the end of November. This does not leave somebody who is just potentially coming into the GNWT, coming into the Housing Corporation, to get their feet wet and to really be able to dive right into an application process in one month. I am wondering if the Minister of the Housing Corporation is willing to commit an existing employee of the Housing Corporation to do the application process for this Rapid Housing Initiative and have them assigned to the application process. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Member, for your comment. This is something that I am wanting to complete by the end of November. We do have an offer that is out there right now, and we are in the process. If we do have a decline with the offer, we are going to be looking to hire in-house. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I really want the Minister to see great success from these different federal housing initiatives. For this Rapid Housing Initiative, not the co-investment fund but for this Rapid Housing Initiative, will the Minister allocate an existing staff member from the Housing Corporation to do the application process, starting right away?

With the federal announcement with the rapid housing program that is offered to the Northwest Territories, Northwest Territories Housing Corporation and CMHC will be meeting next week on strategically how we are going to be program-delivering. Also, I will be meeting with my federal counterpart to speak about this program because he did not leave us a large amount of time to be dealing with this application. I just think that the timeline is honestly unrealistic, so I will be talking to the federal government, as well.

I am happy to hear that the Minister will be sitting down with the federal Minister for CMHC in order to discuss the Rapid Housing Initiative. I think it's really important, and I think that it's important that everybody in this House support the Housing Corporation and make sure that they have the resources that they need in order to be successful in putting housing on the ground. With that in mind, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister of housing please allocate a member of the Housing Corporation today to be the champion of the Rapid Housing Initiative?

We are in process. I will keep the Member updated. Should we be able to hire someone immediately, I will inform my colleagues of what the outcome was of the position, whether it was declined or accepted.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I am tempted to try to put my remaining three questions into one, but I don't want to get in trouble, so I am going to pick one. What I would like to know is: has the Housing Corporation been able to reach out to any of the potential partners that would be involved in the rapid rehousing initiative? One of those key ones would be that the Rapid Housing Initiative favours applications that have received financial supports from municipalities, like in the form of property tax or permitting-fee waivers. I am wondering if the Housing Corporation has had the opportunity to reach out to the City of Yellowknife or had the opportunity to reach out and discuss this with people like the integrated case management, who would know what vulnerable populations in different communities desperately need for housing, in order to get houses on the ground? Thank you.

The announcement of this federal funding is very new. CMHC and the NWTHC will be meeting next week, and these meetings will be amongst the managerial staff here in the Northwest Territories. This is not a meeting that would be with the federal government at this time. Right now, I am just looking at the possibilities for this Rapid Rehousing Program initiative. Like I had said, three months to get these applications, and it takes us a year, 365 days, for us to complete a co-investment application. This is unrealistic. I will be talking to the federal government because this does not work for the Northwest Territories. We need an extension on the application process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, colleagues. Our time for oral questions has expired. Item 8, written questions. Item 9, returns to written questions. Item 10, replies to Commissioner's address. Item 11, petitions. Item 12, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 13, reports of standing and special committees. Item 14, Tabling of documents. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document: "2020 Northwest Territories Environmental Audit Technical Report." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents. Item 15, Notices of motion. Item 16, Motions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. WHEREAS Section 61 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act permits the appointment of an Information and Privacy Commissioner by the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories after the approval of the appointment by the resolution of the Legislative Assembly;

AND WHEREAS the Legislative Assembly considers the appointment of an Information and Privacy Commissioner essential to exercise the powers and perform the duties under the Act;

AND WHEREAS the term of the Information and Privacy Commissioner is expiring;

AND WHEREAS the Legislative Assembly is of the opinion that the appointment of an Information and Privacy Commissioner should now be made to effective on November 23, 2020;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the Honourable Member for Sahtu, that pursuant to Section 61 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, that Mr. Andrew Fox be appointed for a term of five years as Information and Privacy Commissioner;

AND FURTHER, that the appointment be effective November 23, 2020.

The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Thank you. Motions. Member for Kam Lake.