The Minister Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing says they are working with Indigenous communities on addressing homelessness in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

Minister John Abbott, Premier Andrew Furey, and other members of the provincial government gathered last night in central Labrador for a roundtable with Indigenous leaders.

Many topics were covered in the discussion, which ran two hours over scheduled time, including cost-of-living, housing, and health care.

An acute response team was developed this past summer to address transient homelessness in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and plans were announced to develop a new multi-purpose shelter.

Abbott is meeting with the team today to discuss the progress made over the past year. He says one of the issues they’re seeing is people leaving the north coast of Labrador for Happy Valley-Goose Bay without suitable accommodations.

He says they’re committed to ensuring that anyone in need in the central Labrador region has shelter or a home. He says he’s been speaking with people to ensure that their are other options when the Housing and Homelessness Hub has reached capacity, and that those continue throughout the winter until the new facility is built.