Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have a dollar amount but it is true that the funding that was extended to the Spruce Bough during the pandemic continues until September the 30th of this year, at which point we're hoping that the transition to stable and long-term funding from a variety of sources will be solidified. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I guess that September 30th date is the date I'm worried about, is that it requires, you know, the staff to know whether they continue to have jobs and the residents to continue to know whether they have homes. Can the Minister speak to what needs to happen to extend funding beyond September 30th? I really would like to walk out of this pandemic with some long-term funding for those people in transitional housing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Spruce Bough, the Yellowknife Women's Society does some great programming at the Spruce Bough. I've visited there myself and been part of their program in the common room where they support one another in their healing journey, and it's very impressive. And, of course, as the Minister I want this program to continue.

What I can say is that the department is working with the Yellowknife Women's Society with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and also with the NWT Housing Corporation, and there are several tasks that need to be done here. One is the Housing Corporation is working with the women's society and CMHC to facilitate the ownership of the building. That issue is not resolved. ECE is involved in preparing for the transition of eligible residents to income support that will pay for room and board and help the women's society run the building. And Health and Social Services is working on the potential continuation of the alcohol distribution or Managed Alcohol Program which has been operating at the Spruce Bough. So this is -- this is a multi-departmental approach. But I do believe that we all share the same goal, which is to ensure that the Spruce Bough continues to offer services well into the future. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess my concern is that the women's society is trying their best to navigate the CMHC process, the Housing Corp process, they -- trying to get all of its residents on income support and working with HSS funding. But that is a lot of things to get in line in a short amount of time. It's causing a lot of anxiety and uncertainty for that organization. Is there a path forward where we can get some sort of assurance beyond this September 30th date, that they will continue to operate? For example, if the CMHC funding does not come through, can the Minister of Health and Social Services work with them to make sure there is some guarantee that this continues beyond September 30th? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, thank you. Just to clarify, Mr. Speaker, the reason Health and Social Services is involved in this conversation is that pandemic response money has been funding the Spruce Bough up to this point, and we have a commitment of that money until the end of September. When it comes to working with entities like the Housing Corporation and the CMHC, then the Spruce Bough will need to do that. They don't need the Health and Social Services as an intermediary. So, really, that -- it all depends on the course of the pandemic in terms of this short-term funding. The funding was provided in order to give vulnerable people a place to live and, particularly, a place to isolate during the pandemic. If it turns out that there -- that there is no longer this need because the pandemic has turned into an endemic situation and we don't have access to that funding, then this is where the rub is, and these housing entities need to come in and support the Spruce Bough. Thank you.