'Vicious brawl' leads to verbal battle
MLA, homelessness minister square off in debate sparked by fight between two intoxicated people outside the legislative assembly
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Two Yellowknife MLAs witnessed the chronic problem of homelessness, public drunkenness and violence first-hand on Monday outside legislative assembly, sparking a debate inside.
It happened at about 8 a.m. behind the assembly building. The brawl led to a verbal battle between Kam Lake MLA Kieron Testart and Caroline Cochrane, the minister responsible for homelessness.
"This morning, I had this misfortune to encounter two severely intoxicated homeless people engaged in a vicious brawl here on the grounds of the legislative assembly, no less. Unfortunately, this is an all too common sight here on the streets of Yellowknife and Yellowknifers have had enough," Testart told the house.
"I'd like to ask the minister responsible for homelessness what is the plan to address the severe need to do something about the homelessness problem here in Yellowknife?"
A testy Cochrane responded:
"I as well, coming into work today, encountered two individuals out back who were intoxicated. However, even though my history has been working with homeless people, I for one cannot attest that those two individuals were actually homeless people. I often think that sometimes people see them all and just automatically claim homelessness which is actually an insult to people."
Testart said the two combatants, a man and a woman, told him they had nowhere to go so he assumed that meant they were homeless. But more important to the story he said, is what the minister is actually doing to fix the problem.
The City of Yellowknife's Housing First model would see homeless people housed in market housing buildings.
According to Testart there would be one homeless person housed by August and 20 more over the next three years.
It is believed the GNWT's plan is for about 30 homeless people to be housed in assisted living facilities or shelters, such as an expanded Centre for Northern Families. But Testart said Cochrane has not been clear on exactly what the territorial government's plans are.
Cochrane said the government will in fact continue to partner with the City Of Yellowknife due to the strong advocacy of Yellowknife MLAs.
All four Yellowknkife MLAs - Testart, Julie Green, Cory Vanthuyne and Kevin O'Reilly say they favour the Housing First Model.
"In fact, I was even accused that if I didn't (work with the Housing First model), I wasn't doing my job," Cochrane told the house, adding she has listened to the MLAs and is going to partner with the city on its Housing First initiative as well as move forward with the GNWT's plan.
Testart said Cochrane left MLAs with the impression that under the Housing First project, only one person would be housed at a cost of $390,000.
She admitted in the house yesterday that she had been quoting from a media report and agreed the money would go towards housing 21 people in total over the next three years. Her plan, costing approximately $600,000, would house about 30 people in reconstructed shelter facilities in the city.
