Thank you. Ms. Nokleby.

Thank you for that. I think that the Minister's colleague over at ECE might want to have some of this be taken care of so we can create some of those day home spaces that seem to be needed under our new policies. And I'm going to move on here. This one actually has so much in it. And really I feel that I would be remiss to not comment that this is one of the most important priorities for myself. I think if our communities are stronger, then Yellowknife will only be stronger so -- even though it's not riding.

My next question is around the makerspace programs. It does say that it is fulfilled and that they have been developed and implemented, but it's my understanding there has been some delays in that work. Could the Minister speak to whether or not that is correct and when they will be complete. Thank you.

Thank you. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That would be the Minister of ITI. If you can -- she's online I think.

Minister Wawzonek.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, so there is -- there's a few different things happening with respect to the makerspaces. The makerspace project here in Yellowknife did experience some delays, although I think they are on track or catching up as of now and do have funding to see themselves opening up a fairly significant operation.

There are other initiatives that are underway. There is the arts, craft, technology manufacturing centre in Inuvik that was opened in 2019, and they are partnering with a number of regional organizations in the Beaufort Delta to bring the makerspace concept and the makerspace initiative to other regional centres, including for example Tuktoyaktuk and I believe Aklavik as well, as well as I believe a couple of others.

There are also initiatives happening I know in Lutsel K'e, and I believe one other here. I apologize I don't have it in front of me, but. So when they're saying it's complete it's because a lot of these initiatives are already well underway in that regard. But, you know, certainly we encourage communities that are interested in exploring this to come forward because there's -- they just seem to be very successful both from the perspective of starting up the arts, crafts, technology but also just as providing communities spaces where people can start to share entrepreneurial ideas. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Ms. Nokleby.

Thank you for that. I guess I was just confused how it could be fulfilled if the timeline was fall of 2023. So I appreciate the explanation there. I did have a chance to visit that centre in Inuvik and found it amazing. And one of the things about it is that it does give the people the ability to start small businesses. So I'm -- because, for example, there was a silkscreen or a shirt screening so people could start a T-shirt business. You know, there was the 3D laser printers, all of that kind of thing.

So I guess my next question is part of this work being done to marry or merge the business side of ITI supports in providing small businesses with like accounting skills, all of that kind of thing, in with the makerspaces. If you're already going to have community people coming there to create product, why not then have that be the space to learn about business as well. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Ms. Wawzonek.

Thank you. Ms. Cleveland.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, just a -- oh sorry, I've got -- sorry, I've got really bad feedback right now. So just in regards to this -- this priority here, I see a lot of our priorities of course are very connected, and so in conjunction with increasing employment in small communities from the inside out, there's also a potential for increasing employment in small communities from the outside in. And when I think about our priority of increasing regional decision-making authority and also the drive to ensure that some positions within the GNWT are also returned to communities, that kind of brings the subject of housing into this conversation and something that really might be missing from -- from this priority item as far as targets under here.

We've heard from the Minister of Health and Social Services, for example, that one of the positions that they were looking to fill within Tuktoyaktuk was unable to be filled because of a lack of housing in the community. And so, really, one of the barriers to achieving the success that the GNWT would like to achieve in some of our priorities really relate back to the availability of housing.

And so I'm wondering how the GNWT is tracking housing needs in relation to increasing employment in small communities and where the ability to put positions into communities is further hampered by the lack of housing in our small communities. Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON Thank you. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll start, and then I'm not sure if the housing minister would like to expand on it, but I'll begin with it.

I agree that you can't look at employment in small communities or look at increasing employment in small communities without looking at the need for housing. So I'm giving you a heads up on what -- but basically I do know that the Minister is working. We just had a discussion today actually and the Minister is working with the federal government as stated earlier today on a working group. She is also working with the Indigenous governments. Indigenous governments are getting money from the federal government for housing programs. We're hopeful that -- we believe that the federal budget will be released I believe on April 7th tentatively. That's -- so we're hoping that we will also receive money for housing.

I think that the Minister was hoping that the Indigenous governments, again I'd like her to expand on it, would be looking at not only the needs of housing that they have in their communities for their membership but also looking at ways to make it an economic -- economically viable, such as getting into market housing to address the needs of people that might be coming up for business or for healthcare or for teachers or for all of their needs. So Mr. Chair, I think that I've given the Minister enough time, and if she'd like to expand, I'd like to give her that opportunity.

Thank you. Minister Chinna.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And my apologies, I just went out to get some water. But I didn't expect there to be questions, but what I've heard is that increasing employment in smaller communities.

One of the things that I'd really like to elaborate on is that through the 90-unit delivery, we are requiring for the need for apprenticeship and that's built into those contracts. But not only that we've also been requested by the Indigenous groups to acknowledge those Indigenous groups where our houses are being placed, when they are to be built, to give them an opportunity for employment and training as well in their own communities, and looking at partnerships for them as well too if they're not -- if they don't have the capacity to fulfill these contracts. And we have put at least one house in every single community, 33 communities, and looking at those -- at those deliveries as well too.

And then also working with the Indigenous groups and looking at the -- the influx of funding that they will be receiving. Market housing has been brought up. You know, I always like to, you know, reflect on my riding. I do have one of my smaller communities as Colville Lake that has zero almost -- no, I don't want to say zero but pretty much no government resources in there unless you're a teacher or a -- teacher pretty much I want to say that. And, you know, we have like lack of housing as well too so we need to start working together in partnership with these Indigenous groups. And I want to have the opportunity to expand and give them the updated information that we have as a corporation and what is needed in the community, what we can construct and build, repair, programming in those communities. Like I said, we do have a limited budget as well too, but we try to be very strategic with that budget. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Ms. Cleveland.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, my question was in regards to tracking. And so I'm wondering how the government is tracking housing needs as it relates to increasing employment in small communities? And I use the example of the communities of Tuktoyaktuk wanting to hire a mental health counsellor but that they could not do that because there was no housing in the community for that person to live in. And so that meant that Tuk was unable to hire that person to work in the community. And so how is that information being tracked by the GNWT and supplied to either Executive or the Housing Corporation so that we know what communities cannot bring in employment into the community because of lack of housing. Thank you.

Thank you. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to defer that to the Minister of Housing. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ms. Chinna.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will have to get back to the Member because it does fluctuate throughout the territories as well too and looking at those specific programs and services, and I have heard this as well too with the positions not being fulfilled in the communities because of lack of housing and looking at how we are looking at distributing those units as well.

Right now, the delivery that we do have, the priority is public housing and to deal with our waitlists. So I would have to get back to the Member and looking at market housing for GNWT employees. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Ms. Cleveland.

Yeah, thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I think this is a really important subject and really important question because although I know that there is a huge push to increase public housing, and I understand the huge importance of that, there is also a need for us to be -- or for the GNWT to be able to fill vacant positions in communities that they are creating both because the communities need it, this -- and there's a huge push to put a lot of these support services back into communities to serve residents of the Northwest Territories. And so it's -- it's one of those, you know, catch 22s, where you need both, and without properly tracking our needs then the GNWT can't fulfill them.

And so my next question there was going to be a request for understanding how the GNWT is addressing staff housing needs in small communities. And I appreciate that the Minister alluded to providing additional information on that.

And my next question is does the NWT Housing Corporation then have policies that support partnerships for private market rental agreements with Indigenous governments and with community organizations in order to increase those private market rental opportunities for moving these support services into communities so people have a place to live when they take these jobs? Thank you.

Thank you. Premier.