Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, before I start I just want to let my community know that I'm very sorry about the chaos that happened in Fort Smith last night and I'll be home tonight anyways and I'll deal with it.
Mr. Speaker, we all know that homelessness is a huge issue for the NWT and indeed for the country. I mentioned the other day how Fort Smith has 212 people on the housing waiting list who are in line for public housing. Again, some people on that list have been waiting in line for housing for several years with seemingly no end in sight. That is a major problem. And some people fear they will never get to the front of a line to alleviate their housing problems. In fact, I know some people who have given up waiting on that list altogether, and they either moved out of the community or found other situations.
Mr. Speaker, to make matters worse here, there is currently no men's homeless shelter in operation in Fort Smith. There used to be one open before the pandemic but it closed due to social distancing concerns and has not had the funds to reopen.
I sent the Minister of Housing an email on this issue on January the 10th, 2022. And while her staff did acknowledge receipt of that email, I did not receive a formal follow-up about funding for the men's homeless shelter in Fort Smith.
Moreover, Mr. Speaker, Chief Poitras of Salt River First Nation sent a letter to the housing minister on January the 21st, 2022, outlining a brand new housing proposal - to build multi tiny homes in Fort Smith and seeking funds to get it underway. I was copied on that email and I responded right away to voice my strong support for that initiative to the Minister.
Once again, the Minister's staff acknowledged receipt of the letter but never provided any follow-up. It's now been six weeks since the letter was sent.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday at question period during the exchange with my colleague from Kam Lake, the Minister emphasized the need for the fairness and consistency when delivering housing in all communities. I agree with that statement. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
However, I'm not seeing the sentiment of fairness right now that the Minister speaks of in terms of homeless funding across the communities.
In January, right before MLAs were going over the main estimates for housing, that morning we received a document from Spruce Bough for more funding and Cabinet was quick to provide support. It seems in general the NWT Housing Corporation, along with the Finance department, are quick to provide funding to homeless initiatives in the capitol but they seem to lack any desire to fund outside-the-box initiatives elsewhere. It's almost like if the idea didn't come from them or their team, then it's not considered a valid or considerable cost. That is not acceptable.
Mr. Speaker, I don't take issue with funding homeless initiatives in the capitol. What I take issue with is the uneven consideration of homeless initiatives across the board. I know there is still time during this session to negotiate homeless initiatives in the NWT and I will use that time wisely. I will have questions for the Minister of Housing at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.