Thank you. Can the Minister commit to working with partners in communities to ensure vulnerable homes are provided food hampers during the holiday season? Thank you.

Thank you. That's a loaded question. I wish I could say yes, but right now it's not within our bailiwick. We don't do those things. But we would encourage the municipal governments to work with that, work with the Indigenous governments, to be able do those things. I know in some of the communities; i.e., the one community I live in, the friendship centre, the village, the band, the Metis, get together and provide these food baskets and people donate to them that way. So they do that right now. I don't think that's a Department of Municipal and Community Affairs directive but we're willing to encourage municipal government and aboriginal governments to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the Minister support communities to purchase food hampers and emergency clothing for cold weather?

Thank you. I have to give the Member her tenacity; she's very passionate about this.

We do give budgets to the municipalities. They can allocate money for those type of activities should they wish. Again, I do not want to be the one telling them what to do. I would encourage them to help. I know, like I say, in the community that I live in, again the three areas, whether it's the band, the Metis, or the village, they work together. And then in some of the other communities, the band does that. So I would encourage communities to work and help our less fortunate people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I got another Member's statement here. Not really, but I guess what I want to talk about is -- and the questions will go to the Minister of MACA -- is about reducing the funding gap.

You know, when I look at that, that's one area, that's one priority we could actually solve and wipe off his books, off the books, because it's a monetary solution to that. And, you know, we have to set the bar high. You know, we look at it and we say we're going to reduce it, but I think we can eliminate it. And, you know, the communities are the backbone of the NWT. We have to make them strong. They're run basically by volunteers, and the cost of doing business is increasing. And, you know, if we're going to grow the North, we need to support the communities.

So the first question I have for the Minister of MACA is, will the Minister confirm when the last review of the community government funding policy took place and what were the criteria used for that review? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for MACA.

Thank you, and I thank the Member for starting a Member's statement. I can do a Minister's statement on this, actually, and speak long on it.

So in 2014, MACA and NWTAC actually met and started working on it. So the group that was involved, it was political and this administration with the department and from the communities and NWTAC. Some of the things that they focused on was, you know, government funding, including flexible funding arrangements, community governments' accountability, responsibilities, changing community needs, regional roles of some communities, ability of small populations to generate revenue, and linkage between infrastructure costs and operation costs. And as well, we at the regional level work with the municipalities and we also try to work with them about the facilities and infrastructure they build on. So we work with them that way. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'd like to ask the Minister to confirm what the dollar value of the current community funding gap is and what would be required annually to renew and replace community infrastructure as it reaches mid- and end-life cycles? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the 2021-2022, it's basically approximately $36 million. So the second part of the question is what will it cost. Over $3 billion in investment in their infrastructure, which is basically not $5 million but it's going to cost them $70 million a year to replace it. So when the Member says, well, we can achieve that, it's not that easy to achieve, to find $70 million. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I actually disagree with the Minister and that comment. I think that, you know, like I said, we got to raise the bar high. We have to figure out where the money is and one of the places we can get it, and the only place, is really the federal government. And nowhere do I see anything about addressing it by going with a plan to the federal government.

So my next question for the Minister is will the Minister confirm, going forward, what is the department's plan to not only reduce but to eliminate this gap, and will the Minister provide a realistic timeline to accomplish it? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are updating the funding policy to incorporate recommendations from the review. The work is being planned and will be completed by 2023. MACA continues to seek funding during the annual business plans that reduce the gap and adjust for inflation at all levels. And the Member talked about it. It's all levels. Whether it's federal, territorial, or municipal, we have a role to address this.

As well, the department is always looking for solutions to help reduce municipal costs. And when the Member talks about the, you know, federal government, as soon as the federal government comes out with a new program, our department and our staff are reaching out to the federal government to ask them how we can actually get into this program to help us, municipal communities, improve their infrastructure.

One of the problems is it's only one-time funding; it's not ongoing basis. So sometimes the federal government is only able to give us a program that's earmarked for a certain amount of years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the federal government, because of the pandemic, opened the door to stimulus funding. Once that money's gone, that door's going to be closed, and we're not going to have an opportunity to go back for a while. So, you know, I think it's important that this government sits down, comes up with a real plan to go and request the funds to get rid of this gap. Because like I said, the communities are the backbone of the Northwest Territories. Without them, we wouldn't be here.

So, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister confirm what, if any, requests have been made to the federal government for financial support to eliminate the current funding gap? If not, when can we expect something like that to take place? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I couldn't agree more that the communities are our backbone. I totally agree with it. I spent 23 plus years with the department, that kind of aged me, and I understand the importance of it. And I understand the department, and I've seen the work that my colleagues and now the department has been doing.

So as the Member said, the federal government has been an important partner in municipal funding infrastructure.

The gas tax agreement provides $17 million annually on a permanent basis. $17 million. Could we get it more? Yes, we reach out to them all the time for that. The clean water and wastewater funds provided was $52 million from 2016 to 2023 for the communities to make improvements to their infrastructure.

The GNWT has been working closely with our federal counterparts on their current Investing in Canada Plan to ensure that it is responsive to community needs. The program provides $117 million over the term of 2018 to 2028 for a variety of municipal infrastructure purposes.

And we are working with the federal government, we're talking with them, and I've introduced myself to the new federal Minister as well. And we'll be having those conversations. We want to be able to help move forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Housing Corporation anticipates that the revised mission and value statement will be available during the February sitting of the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that. I can say that the Standing Committee on Social Development is very much looking forward to that document and being able to hopefully participate in some feedback from especially small community members that sit on that committee.

My second question, Mr. Speaker, is when the Housing Corporation joined us for the Committee of the Whole review of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation capital estimates, the deputy minister committed to bringing together information to address the end to core need in the Northwest Territories.

So I'm wondering if there is a timeline for that one as to when Standing Committee on Social Development can expect to see some kind of a draft plan to end the housing core need in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member, and thank you to the standing committee as well, too, that housing is the number 1 priority of this government, and I appreciate the work that's done by the Members as well too.

The Housing Corporation has listened to all conversations during our committee review of the capital estimates and identified additional analysis that they must do to present the comprehensive plan to the committee as requested. The corporation anticipates to have this work done and ready and presented to the committee prior to February sitting of the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm starting to feel like it's my birthday, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister just said something pretty amazing. She said that housing is the number 1 priority of this government, and I think that's a pretty incredible statement and one that I hope that I can capitalize on for my third question.

So I'm wondering, Mr. Speaker, has the NWT Housing Corporation asked the GNWT to replace the lost CMHC funding for O and M; and if so, why is Cabinet expecting these lost federal funds to be found internally if this is their number 1 priority? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Housing Corporation has had this funding decline on the radar with both the GNWT and conversations with Canada, and has continuously engaged on this issue since the declining began in 2003. There have been some contributions from the GNWT but those have not countered the full impact of the declining funding.

The Housing Corporation has also developed some mitigation measures that are set out in the Housing Corporation's business plan and main estimates. The conversations continue as part of both the federal engagement and the internal process for the annual business planning cycle. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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