This is page numbers 3559 - 3602 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was know.

Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

Thank you. Can the Minister provide a list of all the home mortgages that have been written off or forgiven in the last five years? Thank you.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have approximately 17 files throughout the Northwest Territories that we have forgiven those mortgages, and it would either be attempts that we were -- we didn't see -- we didn't receive any payment, and there have been surrenders as well too to those mortgages, and some that we had to deal with with the estates of for those clients as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Monfwi.

Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

Okay, thank you. Has the Housing Corporation ever reassessed a mortgage based on market value assessment? Can the Minister commit to reassessing the value of home mortgages in the Tlicho region based on the market value assessment? Thank you.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We do take into consideration the market value for these homeownership units but we are a social -- we are a social program. So our refinancing and our mortgage rates are offered at a subsidized rent, quite similar to how we administer our public housing units as well too. And just for the Member as well, that when we are looking at our rental rates as well, that we -- there is a comparison and we do take into consideration that if the client can actually afford the unit, we don't want to set anybody up for failure, but we want to make sure that they're financially secured to receive and to enter into a -- at that time, a mortgage client that is able to afford the subsidized mortgage rent. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.

Question 951-19(2): Process for Debt Forgiveness
Oral Questions

February 28th, 2022

Page 3567

Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

Okay, thank you. Final questions. But I think -- I know the Minister has said it before, we don't want to set anybody up for failure twice. I think it is up to the people to decide, that they should work with the people on that. So does the Minister -- does the Housing Corporation have a process where clients can have -- can apply to have debts forgiven? Can the Minister commit to creating a process where clients can apply for debts forgiven or write off? Thank you.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a process that the Government of the Northwest Territories does follow. We could put forward those recommendations, but we are also binded by Canada mortgage and Housing Corporation as well too. So looking at the extensive process that we do follow, we could make the recommendations but we have to really display that we have tried every single attempt to collect the money that is owed to the corporation and then we'd also have to follow the Financial Administration Act as well too to making sure that we are doing things correctly and fair.

But I do want to inform the Member as well too that the Housing Corporation does an extensive amount of outreach with the clients in order to try to collect the outstanding mortgage that is due, and it could be as well too as outstanding rental arrears as well that they do follow a process. But there is encouragement for those individuals to work with the Housing Corporation and just not avoid us, that we do have registered mail that does go out and the majority of the times, they're not picked up. But we're wanting to work with the clients and making sure that they do become successful homeowners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.

Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

Thank you. With reference to arrears, I think the Housing needs to take responsibility in this area because they did not intervene within the first few months of people missing payments and etcetera. I think it's -- the onus should be on the Housing Corporation, not the tenants, and then taking actions after that. I think the Housing Corporation should be responsible for that. So I just wanted to say that comment. Thank you.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do agree with the Member as well too, that we should have had more of a stronger outreach to these clients. And these are older mortgage programs that we did have with the access unit in the homeownership and the help as well too. And I've been put the -- I've working within my department to work with these files. There's approximately 268 mortgage files throughout the Northwest Territories, and I'm determined to work with these files. I would honestly like to see them closed and to see the homeowners throughout the Northwest Territories become successful. But I'd like to thank the Member for that, that, you know, we should have contacted those clients at that time should they have missed the mortgage payments to 30, 60, 90 days. But it's something that we're improving within the corporation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member from -- oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a few questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services in regards to community wellness.

I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to how the Department of Health and Social Services works with communities to identify community wellness gaps? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, each community provides its own wellness plan that is developed itself. The department has a staff of three community development and wellness planners who work with the communities and their wellness plans to support their actions and priorities which reflect their own preferences. The community plans are now a few years old. So there is going to be a territory-wide renewal process of the community wellness plans in the next fiscal year. And so that will give communities a chance to review what their priorities are and change them if they see fit. Thank you.

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister's response. I've taken a look at the community wellness plans, and they range from anywhere from three pages to some are 20 plus pages. So they are very different, depending on what community that they come from. Also taking a look through them, I've noticed that not every plan contains mental health as a community wellness priority, for example. And while I know that perhaps there are competing priorities within communities, mental health and mental wellness is definitely a priority across the board for every single community in the Northwest Territories. I think we definitely hear that every single sitting that we're together here.

And so what I'm wondering is how the Department of Health and Social Services reviews those plans, identifies some gaps like potentially mental health counsellors or other supports that can be available, maybe it's youth sport and recreation, and how they work with other departments within the GNWT to identify what they're seeing as far as gaps for mental wellness within the communities? Thank you.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That was quite a number of questions. What I want to say is that the communities develop the community plans, and they are uneven in length and content and scope. The point of having the community development and wellness planners in the department is that they go over these plans with the communities according to their -- this is a community-driven process. So according to the amount of interaction that the community wants to have. They are not obliged to engage with this.

We, of course, recognize that mental health is an issue across the territory, and it makes sense that they be in the mental -- that they be in the community plans but there isn't an absolute obligation about what these plans should contain. And so my hope is that having been through this process once, communities may have a better developed idea of what these plans can accomplish for the renewal that's going to take place in the next fiscal year. Thank you.

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, I do admit that I'm sometimes longwinded when I try to ask a question. That, I will take as a pointer for the Minister. Thank you.

But the point I'm trying to make is that we have a responsibility -- or the GNWT has a responsibility to provide options for mental wellness so that our mental health professionals aren't overburdened and how can we support as a whole-of-government approach mental wellness in communities.

For example, the government has the child and youth mental wellness action plan, and within that, there is an objective in there to support community-based organizations to deliver programs, and there's funding for the mental wellness plans that come along with that. But is there -- do the mental wellness plans support funding applications, then, from there? Are they a driver of funding to communities? Thank you.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Yes, thank you. In addition to the community wellness plans and that pot of funding, there are of course a number of different funds that communities can apply for. Those include addictions and aftercare supports, peer support, suicide training -- suicide intervention training, and so on. So they can be linked to the wellness plans or they may not be linked to the wellness plans. But when there is a deadline available for funding to a community on one of these particular subject areas, then I write to the community governments, Indigenous governments, and make them aware of this opportunity, and then they choose how they want to respond to that. People within the -- staff within the department are aware that capacity is an issue in some Indigenous governments, and they assist those governments in making sure that their application forms are complete so they can be considered for funding. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, another priority of Health and Social Services was to streamline application and reporting processes for various funding opportunities. In speaking with different NGOs, I know that there is a struggle out there for some of the expectations on some of the applications and reporting situations. Procurement does have a red tape working group and a mechanism for businesses to come back to the government and let them know what is lengthy or overburdensome and I'm wondering if health has the similar process. Thank you.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the priority of the Department of Health and Social Services, with the funds I mentioned, is in fact to ensure the money is taken up by Indigenous governments and communities governments so that they can spend it to the benefit of their population. And as I mentioned, there are staff in the department who work with those organizations to make sure their applications are complete.

We have, in the past, revamped our application process to make it as simple as possible, balancing that with the accountability around what is the money going to be spent on, what are the program outcomes expected, and what is the total amount of money that is required. So while we don't have a formal red tape working group of the kind that the Department of Finance has, we are always looking for ways to make sure that people are able to access the money we have on offer with our help. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Written questions. Returns to written questions. Replies to Commissioner's address. Petitions. Reports of committees on the review of bills. Reports of standing and special committees. Tabling of documents. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Aurora College Annual Report 2021-2022. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents. Notices of motion. Motions. Member for Frame Lake.