Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And again, I can't really mandate glad things but we do do our best to develop the resources and provide the resources, promote the resources at no cost to educators. So the LGBTQ2S+ equity, safety, and inclusion guidelines training is available upon request from ECE. In addition, we have safe school regulations that mandate that all 49 schools in the territory provide a safe school plan which includes identifying LGBTQ2S+ resource people in the school and gender sexuality advisors. ECE works with local partners to put on the triannual rainbow youth conference. Unfortunately, the last one was scheduled for April of 2020. It was fully planned and ready to go but obviously that did not happen for reasons we're all too familiar with. And so we do work to develop and promote this training and provide this training at every opportunity. Thank you.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that there are a lot of expectations on all of us right now, especially educators and mandating something like that, through maybe a ministerial directive, can be a tall ask sometimes. But when the -- when the repercussions of not doing it are far too great, when the repercussions of not using informed language are far too great, sometimes making that extra step to mandate something is worth it and is important.

Even here in the Assembly, as busy as all of us are, especially our ministerial colleagues, we took the time together to do a blanket exercise. And while all of us in this room are aware of the history of the Northwest Territories, the act of going through that was incredibly powerful as a group. And so would the Minister consider putting together a ministerial directive in order to mandate training like this for the Northwest Territories to better serve the children of the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Being the Minister of Education is all about relationships. We have to work with the teachers; we have to work with all of the education bodies across the territory. And I think that we have a good relationship with both of those entities and, as a result, we're able to make things happen without having to mandate them.

I think there is desire among all educators to have this training. That's why there has been uptake on this training. The local school boards see the value in this training, and so that's why it happens as well. So I don't think this is a situation that requires a mandate. I think that much of the work that the Member is talking about is actually happening. So I want to give her that assurance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was going to ask the Minister of Infrastructure some questions about airships but she isn't here today so I'm going to put the Minister of Housing on the spot. Could I please get an update on where the Aspen Apartments is at in my riding, and what the plans are for its future? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Right now currently the Housing Corporation had negotiated with Canada to extend our rent-free lease with Aspen Apartments. I'm not too sure when that rent free lease would expire. I'd have to get back to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess that I would like to ask the Minister what she thinks about using Aspen going forward for potentially the vulnerable population given the number of children that are in the apartment buildings nearby and the safety issues that I raised earlier in week? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the Aspen Apartments, that is a government -- I mean a federal government-owned building. So we've been trying to work with the federal government in order for us to maintain and keep that lease. But there are other conversations going forward that they would like to acquire that building back. But we are looking at the response to COVID and using that building and with programming as well. And I do hear the Member speaking about our youth, the homelessness in that population as well too, and the corporation is working strategically with the Department of Health, and it's more of a wrap around service delivery as well too. But just on the movement that we have been making so far, that we also acknowledge the need for youth homelessness as well too. But presently right now, we are just working in Yellowknife with the transfer of the -- sorry, I can't remember the building that we just purchased. But we're working in that -- Nordic Arms, sorry. Yeah, Nordic Arms, thank you, transfer right now. But I can follow up with the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the housing minister for her answer. I guess I'm just going to take this opportunity to reiterate my comments from earlier this week that I would like to see some changes being made to the prioritization list of housing clients for the Nordic Arms in order to prioritize vulnerable families. If the Minister could speak to maybe committing towards doing that, that would be great. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So right now we are looking at, you know, finalizing the purchase of Nordic Arms. What I can tell the Member right now is that we don't have anything set concrete. We have a lot of scenarios that are out there. We're wanting to work with the waitlist. We're wanting to work with the transfer list. We're looking at mobility issues as well amongst our clients and if those units are actually suitable to meet those needs. We're also looking at seniors and a variety of programming as well, too, and how we're going to better serve the people in Yellowknife as well. But just taking very careful consideration on how we're going to be looking at the transfer, and I know that we do have a number of issues here in Yellowknife, and the Member has expressed to me really looking at the transfer list and the safety of our clients as well too. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With respect to the Nordic Arms, I've heard the Minister say that they're working on the current tenants that are there in transitioning them. Does that mean to say that there will be some private tenants within the building, or is the plan to eventually transition all of the private renters out and put in solely housing clients? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The plan is to eventually transfer all tenants who are currently in the building. Our priority is low cost income housing for our low cost income clients as our priority. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Member for the question as well because the -- the date of -- of 2038, 2036 is, you know, greatly fastly approaching, and the Housing Corporation has been working very closely with the federal government and to acknowledge this date and also to acknowledge our aged assets in the Northwest Territories as well in looking at how are we going to look at replacements. Also for home ownership as well too, providing home ownership is another priority of this government, and it's a mandated issue as well too that I have to meet.

So looking at those units that we do have on the ground, there is the opportunity to be working in partnership with those Indigenous groups. And I do hear the Member of, you know, $3.4 million, I need to look at my material, I don't have those numbers available in front of me, but I can follow up with the Member to discuss opportunities and what are we doing good forward for his riding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister share with the House their plans as to how they're going to deal with the -- all units in the Northwest Territories, as to how they're going to deal with it, whether they're going to devolve it to the communities or is there O and M costs that's going to go with it, or -- like, I know they want to work with aboriginal governments but, Mr. Speaker, there's still a lot of big issues with trust working with the Housing Corporation because of -- for years, their policies don't fit the aboriginal government needs in our communities, and we still have huge issues in our communities. So Mr. Speaker, I'd like to know what are their plans in this area. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, you know, for myself coming from a smaller community as well too and you know going back to my riding, like, I see the similar issues that the Member is expressing. And with the change of where we are going as a corporation and really looking at revamping everything within the corporation and the most -- the focus that I'm looking at is our policies as well that doesn't fit the needs of the people of the territories. Times have changed. Our approach is going to change and looking at face-to-face client service as well, and looking at what type of relationship are we going to have with the federal government. And -- but presently right now looking at those units that are on the ground, we have to take into consideration that we do receive funding for those units, operation and maintenance funding that is crucial right now, and looking at replacing them. And also looking at the local housing authorities and looking at their capacity. Are they able to program deliver on our behalf? Are they able to operate and maintain those units at the ground level? But also working with the Indigenous groups too and looking at what are they forecasting and how are they going to be addressing community -- housing at the community level.

We can't address and solve this issue on our own. We need the Indigenous groups. We need to be working in partnerships and looking at stakeholders throughout the Northwest Territories and finding those opportunities. I do understand that in the smaller communities, we're very isolated with limited capacity and limited response to even responding to freeze-ups, to responding to pilings being replaced, and we need to further look at those and take those into consideration as well too, what type of capacity do we have at the ground level.

But I'm more than willing to be working with communities, with leadership, and looking at should they be wanting and interested in the federal funding that is out there as well too, that the housing Housing Corporation is more than available to be seeing those applications successfully submitted and working with those Indigenous groups. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And it's good to hear what they're -- the Minister's reply on that, is that when we say we talk about working with aboriginal governments and that kind of thing, we still need to work and build that confidence and trust with the aboriginal governments. For too long, you know, the -- we've been trying to fix the problems in our communities on home repair programs. I got -- like, I have a constituent in my community, they have sewer backup drain in the bathtub and they're making too much money; they can't qualify. And if -- so there's just so much barriers in place trying to deal with these issues.

So my question, if we are going to look at building any relationship with governments, the thing is that the -- you know, we talk about co-investment, and you mentioned that earlier. If we're going to build that relationship, my question is does the Housing Corporation policy supply in that co-investment when we work with aboriginal governments? Because if that's the case, it's not going to work. So my question to the Minister, that would be my final comments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I hear the Member when it comes to smaller communities that when we come in as a corporation, that that relationship needs to be improved. Like I said, I do come from a smaller community. I have even purchased one of the Housing Corporation units years ago and was not satisfied with the service that I was provided with.

Myself as a Minister, I bring that grassroots real conversation to the table, and the Housing Corporation has responded, and it's responded into creating a Council of Leaders working group where we put the Indigenous groups, and we speak with them in collaboration and in partnership, hearing what they've got to say and also making those changes and driving our policy change as well too, to better meet the needs of the people of the Northwest Territories, to qualify for our programs, and taking into consideration as well too the cost of living is drastic and our employment and training in our smaller communities is very limited.

And also looking at if we do -- the other question that was asked if we do have a policy looking at the co-investment fund, that we don't have but we've reacted anyways. We do have an employee that does work on these federal applications, and the Housing Corporation is more than willing to be working with those Indigenous groups and bringing those applications forward.

During the lifetime of this government, I would like to see every Indigenous group submit for that co-investment fund. I would like to see the Housing Corporation work with them and also identify their needs coming from the grassroots level. And when we are housing -- when we are delivering housing programming, the Council of Leaders working group is the table to be expressing those changes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.