As the territorial governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 Anti-Poverty Roundtable shines a light on housing and homelessness, the NWTSA国际影视传媒檚 minister responsible for housing says the solutions to these chronic problems lie in working with the smaller communities.

Housing and homelessness was the theme of this yearSA国际影视传媒檚 forum on May 3 and 4 in Yellowknife, which featured MLAs, non-governmental organizations, representatives of Indigenous governments and other stakeholders. Last year, the theme was food security.

Housing remains a deep-seated issue in the NWT: a report published in June 2021 by the NWTSA国际影视传媒檚 Standing Committee on Social Development found that 43 per cent of residences in the NWT had a least one significant problem. The territorySA国际影视传媒檚 smaller communities suffer the brunt of these problems. The report also found that in the 29 smaller NWT communities, 50 to 77 per cent of homes were in need of major repairs.

In addition, the City of YellowknifeSA国际影视传媒檚 2021 point-in-time homeless count found that 312 people in the capital city were homeless, representing about 1.5 per cent of YellowknifeSA国际影视传媒檚 population.

In speaking with the media during the second day of the forum, Paulie Chinna, the minister responsible for Housing Northwest Territories, said she wouldnSA国际影视传媒檛 characterize the situation as a SA国际影视传媒渇ailureSA国际影视传媒� of services in either Yellowknife or the smaller communities. However, she stressed that the solutions to these problems lie in working with the smaller communities.

SA国际影视传媒淚 think it would be more (about) looking at our resources that are available at the smaller community level,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淥ne of the things I really, really emphasize is partnership, and working with the Indigenous governments as well, too, and trying to find solutions that would better meet the needs of the people of the Northwest Territories.SA国际影视传媒�

This approach is backed up by the City of YellowknifeSA国际影视传媒檚 most recent homeless count, which found that 93 per cent of those who were homeless in the city had migrated from elsewhere. In addition, 66 per cent of respondents said their home community is in the NWT.

Poverty reduction targets

Also on May 4, Health and Social Services Minister Julie Green said she intends to renew the three-year anti-poverty strategy that expires this year. Although the 2019-SA国际影视传媒�22 strategy includes goals for things like improving services and introducing new ones, it doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 include targets for reducing poverty, or related measures like homelessness. Green said she couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 say why the 2019-SA国际影视传媒�22 strategy didnSA国际影视传媒檛 include these targets. She was still a regular MLA when it was drafted in 2019.

SA国际影视传媒淕overnment is generally risk averse and concerned about setting targets that they canSA国际影视传媒檛 meet, so maybe that factored into it,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

However, she acknowledged that it would be useful to include these measures in the next anti-poverty strategy.

SA国际影视传媒淚 think thereSA国际影视传媒檚 some advantage to doing that, because it does give you a tangible goal to strive for. So thatSA国际影视传媒檚 something that weSA国际影视传媒檙e going to want to consider, I think, going forward,SA国际影视传媒� Green said.