Thank you, Mr. Edjericon. I'm not sure if you were aware but you were cut off through a portion of it so if you could send us your statement, send us an email, and we'll have it printed for Hansard under Rule 10.4(1). Good portion of the middle part of your Member's statement was cut off. So I think the Minister has enough information to go on though. But we'll go from there.

Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These questions are for the Minister of Health.

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister of Health confirm what mental health supports are available to those persons impacted by flooding in Hay River? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Member for an opportunity to highlight the responses and supports that are available. I'm sure this has been a very trying time for people in Hay River and more so as time goes on.

So the community counselling services, the Member may know, is located in the Jensen Building. It's open Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 5. No appointment is necessary. The counselling services are also on call 24/7 during an acute crisis such as the one now. There are virtual mental health resources available to residents as well, including things such as the Kid's Help Phone, Wellness Together Canada, and the Help Line, the NWT Help Line. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister confirm how many mental health counsellors are on the ground in Hay River and if the department has sent in additional counsellors from other communities? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to say we have lots of capacity. There are two full-time mental health and addictions counsellors, one full-time child and youth care counsellor, one part-time practicum student, two community wellness workers, a clinic supervisor for CYCC, and a manager who also sees clients. Two additional mental health counsellors are arriving in Hay River from Fort Smith to facilitate community debriefings that are planned for later this week. We also, through HRSSA's communities counselling service, they attend the Soaring Eagle Friendship Centre sharing circle for any needs that they can support there. So it's a well-staffed response. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister confirm if there will be any outreach services whereby counsellors set up meetings with victims of localized areas such as the West Channel, Old Town, New Town, Paradise Valley, and the reserve? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we respond to requests and we make the services available in those debrief situations to the whole community so that there's confidentiality available. So crisis debriefs have been offered to key players in the flood response. And there are debriefs scheduled for Friday in the morning and the afternoon at the Hay River Recreation Centre. So I would appreciate the Member's help in making these known to his community so that people can choose to attend. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to actually thank the department and the Hay River Health Authority for having people available right off the start to talk to people, because what I found is that, you know, a lot of the people that were impacted, they needed, you know, somebody to hear their story. So I'd like to thank the department for that, and the Hay River Health Authority.

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister confirm how long we can except to have counsellors on the ground in Hay River to support those victims requiring mental health supports due to the flooding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that long list of health and addictions counsellors and wellness workers and so on, these are permanent staff in Hay River. And so they are there indefinitely. The additional resources really depend on the demand. So we are expecting there could be a surge in demand tomorrow after the -- or Friday, pardon me, after the community debriefings.

At this point, we haven't had an overwhelming response to our offer. But the resources are in place, and we encourage people who need them to use them. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Housing NWT.

Earlier this week, the Minister made a comment to my colleague from Inuvik Twin Lakes that the strategy as it is right now does not come with any dollars -- for the homelessness strategy, sorry, Mr. Speaker. So I'm wondering will the homelessness strategy end up coming with dollars once it is tabled, or will it at least be costed? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for Homelessness.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As of today, the Housing is working with the social development deputy's table which consists of Health, ECE, MACA, and EIA, to come forward with a plan that can be actioned that identifies the resources required for implementation.

Part of the delay is bringing forward a final document that desires the social departments to bring forward an approach that can be resourced and be successful with its implementation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, across Canada unique barriers exist for 2SLGBTQIAPPA+ youth accessing shelter systems. One in three transgender individuals are rejected from shelters for their gender identities and gender expression. So was, or is, the Northern Mosaic Network included as a vital stakeholder in drafting this strategy to provide homelessness solutions for our territory? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today much of the work has been done internally within the GNWT. The intention of Housing NWT has been that the action plan would provide an opportunity for input on the strategy once tabled but also that it would include actions that could be put in place immediately while some of those border conversations take place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering if it's intended to be a fluid document that can be looked at and feedback provided and then changed? Why has Housing NWT, after nearly four years of committing to this strategy, not provided it to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review and input? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And in speaking with my department, this became a very complex document that identifies several different areas that involves several different departments as well too. So bringing it back, we're looking at bringing it to standing committee, I want to say, in the fall of this year. And I need to see movement on this document as well too. But once again, once the document is implemented, we need to find resources to making sure that we continue with the implementation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the saying "perfect is the enemy of good" comes to mind here. And sometimes you got to let something go and let people have a look at it in order to get some feedback and let it fly because right now, as of today, Members in this House have requested the homelessness strategy 65 times since September of 2018 when it was first committed to in the 18th Assembly. And it is getting frustrated at this point, and I understand that it's very important. But if it sits in Housing NWT, it will never get actioned. And so I guess I'm asking the Minister now, have any of the resulted feedback or information gained by working on this strategy for the last four years resulted in any kind of housing policy changes on the frontline of Housing NWT? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, there hasn't been any policy changes at this point as a result of the strategy. The work with all social department partners is to ensure that we have an all-of-government approach and to try to avoid any unintended consequences resulting from the strategy. And I do hear the Member that this document is taking quite some time, and I want to commit that we would be able to present this document in the fall of this year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.