Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Monfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain how Municipal and Community Affairs is engaging community governments and Indigenous governments about shared responsibilities and what input they have had on the formula change? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Members are aware, the formula funding that has been reviewed previously, and a few times, has been out there for a while. Since September -- August/September to now, MACA's been out engaging with communities through regional superintendents, also reaching out to communities to engage with them in regards to the new formula funding. So we made every effort. We're continuing to make effort to reach out to the communities to speak about the formula funding. In fact, just previously, on Monday, I met with -- myself and the Department of MACA, we met with SAOs and community leadership throughout the territories through virtual. So the department is reaching out to all the communities, and it's been ongoing for a while. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, yes, thank you for the information. Mr. Speaker, I have an issue with this formula. I would like to know what studies were done to show the formula is adequately meeting the needs of small communities? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The point behind this funding is not to run a community fully 100 percent. It is to operate the community's essential services, so your water and sewer, your public works department, you know, and to make sure that the funding is there for those key services. Every community has a right to operate their community the way they want. They can charge fees. They can charge, you know, service fees or recreation fees, that kind of thing. So the whole formula based on their operations is how MACA distributes the funds that we have -- currently have for the communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Okay, well it would be nice if they can show us the formula. Can the Minister explain how the department knows or determines what amount of funding is adequate? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm more than happy to -- and actually, I think we're sitting with the committee here soon to explain all this. But it is a pretty detailed formula based on the community's assets. So for an example, if we're calculating the O and M, we're taking the infrastructure, taking the safety and recreation of the community, the administration and the services, and we're calculating it all together to make the formula up. So there is a few steps to it; it's not just one simple step. And that's all based on what the community's needs are to provide those key services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Final supplementary. Member from Monfwi.

Mr. Speaker, this is not good. Well, this is not good for small communities, especially, for example, Wekweeti. It's not really comparable to Yellowknife. Wekweeti relies more on funding because of the high cost of living. It's not just Wekweeti; it's other communities. Even the Sahtu region, we've been getting e-mails about the high cost of living and yet it appears they will be getting less. So can the Minister explain whether there is a different funding formula being used to take into account community size, or is this offset somehow? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the formula -- the funding provided for the formula we all know has been not enough for communities, and it's been an ongoing issue and it will continue to be an issue if it's not a priority. So right now what we're doing is we're taking the hundred -- roughly $110 million, we're dividing it, and our goal is to equitably divide it amongst the communities for their assets and their actual needs. And it's not ideal obviously. It would be nice to have 100 percent funding for all the communities, but the reality is we have to find a way that distributes this funding equitably and fairly across the territories to all 33 communities. The problem is in previous formulas, we've had some communities that have been overfunded, some over 100 percent, so essentially providing a lot of money to a community that doesn't necessarily need it. I mean, they all need it, but when you have a larger community or another community that can't operate because they're underfunded, there's a problem. And at some point, this has to be fixed in order for new funds to come in instead of throwing money at a problem. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further to my Member's statement last week, the Minister of housing stated that the waitlist across the Northwest Territories is 897 applications. I was just wondering how much authority does the board level -- the board at the local housing authority have, and my question is what is being done to clear the waitlist of nearly 900 applications for public housing programs? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Mackenzie Delta. Minister for Housing NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand the needs for housing in the Northwest Territories is difficult and that 897 families on the waitlist is an almost insurmountable task for the Northwest Territories and for this government. And the Legislative Assembly has made housing its number one priority. Housing NWT is up to the task along with this government, but that requires both federal funding, territorial funding, working with partners like our Indigenous governments, working with NGOs. So, again, it's not insurmountable but we have to make headway. We have been making some headway over the last couple of years, especially with the 19th Assembly, and we continue to do the work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my riding, especially in that community, you see a lot of people that are approaching me and asking me like what is the government doing. Where are all these -- where's the money to allocate housing. How many of those 897 applications include residents in the Mackenzie Delta communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, I wouldn't have that exact data at this moment, but I can commit to the Member to provide that to him for Mackenzie Delta riding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Minister, for that response; I await the numbers. What is being done to get more public housing units available and accessible on the ground in the communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the last number of years, Housing NWT has provided reports, done community housing plans with communities, has provided assessment reports with various contractors, has held NWT Housing forums, has met with Indigenous governments, signed collaborative agreements with Indigenous governments to work together. There's much work being done but the funding is limited again. So this is both a federal issue, a territorial issue, and something that we have to work together in partnership to get things done. But the work continues. Housing NWT has come up with a three-year notional plan that is willing to present to committee. And this would outline some of the ideas that Housing NWT has over the next number of years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. How is Housing NWT addressing the issue of suitability of housing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was trying to quickly look for the waiting list numbers for the Member while he was asking the question.

In terms of suitability for housing, again, this is work that's being done with Housing NWT. Suitability of housing requires many of our units to be modernized and improved. And this is something that I mentioned in the capital plan update last week, the ministerial statement that there's 364 units that were in the plan to be modernized and improved over the next couple of years. So this is an indication that Housing NWT is working, is planning, is looking at data. We also have a territorial housing needs assessment that's being worked on at this moment, that's something, again, that this House will have the information available. So work is being done. It's just information takes a bit of time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Housing NWT. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister of Justice be willing to explore a formalized relationship with an external oversight agency of the NWT's RCMP, an arrangement such as the one between the Yukon and the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.