Caroline Cochrane

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to acknowledge Doug Schauerte. I remember when I came into this building two years ago, and the most impressive thing I found was the light that comes into the building. Politics is not always about sunshine and light. It is often very cloudy and dark and gloomy. One of the things that carried the light throughout the term that I have been here for the two years is Mr. Schauerte. No matter when I see him, no matter where he is, he always has a positive outlook. He always has a smile on his face. I will miss that smile. I will miss that ray of sunshine...

No, I cannot. I would have to actually talk with the department and see. I want a complete plan, not a plan that is rushed to meet political viewpoints, so I will make sure that the plan is done properly before we release that plan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

No, I am sorry, we are still working on the finalization of the long-term plan, so I do apologize if I made a commitment that I would table it in the fall. I wish I would have said that we will be completing it in the fall, and not mentioning when I would table it.

It is important to note that the modular units that are currently being delivered are built within the Northwest Territories, and my ambition is to have northern-built homes for northern people, so that is my priority, and I have still stuck to it. As stated in my previous answer, communities that have barges, we are looking at a different model of building because of the difficulty getting modular units onto barges. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The lifespan of all of our units within the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation is about 40 years, so whether they are a modular unit or a stick-built unit, we do try to provide repairs and upgrades to make sure that they can last as long as they can. Some units of course suffer higher damage through a variety of reasons and so they do not make the lifespan of 40 years, but we do try to make sure that all units are repaired or upkept to meet that 40-year lifespan.

Yes, I will direct the staff to go back to the very original to see where the housing was, how many houses were turned over, and I will ask them to actually do research on the actual $28 million that is provided from the Government of Canada and to see if that money is actually being distributed properly, because maybe I am wrong. Maybe less than a million dollars a community is more than we are actually spending in Indigenous community, although I have a feeling that we are actually spending a lot more than less than a million per community per year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Currently, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation does have a community initiative that we work with municipal and Aboriginal governments to kind of look at how we can work together towards providing more housing in their communities. Quite a few of the communities have come forward and are putting things like land or labour on the table. Therefore, we are putting things like material on the table. I am more than willing to work with any government that is willing to look at a kind of partnership model.

In regards to meeting with any specific Aboriginal government or nation at this point...

I just want to remind the Regular Member that, before I came into politics, I came from the non-profit sector, which didn't get paid for holidays as well based on if it is fair or not. The reality is that that is not our determination. We fund each local housing organization at a comparable rate to Government of the Northwest Territories levels. Each local housing organization has the ability to define their pay and their benefits and their compensations to their employees themselves. Those wages and benefits are determined by their board of directors. Some of the local housing organizations...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again, I appreciate the efforts. I do understand the intent of it, and I agree with the intent of it. I will abstain from this motion just because I do wish that there was something more concrete as a solution, so it is not that I oppose it. It is that I just find that it is not concrete enough for me. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I believe those were two questions, but I will answer them. I do apologize. I had said that the contracts would be available on the procurement website and for some reason, I have learned that there is some issue with not getting them on there. If the Member would like, I will be able to provide her with a manual copy of the contract. I will commit to doing that.

As for the money, some money was provided up front to help. It is not a normal practice, but it was provided up front to support the manufacturing strategy and recognizing that this is a new strategy that we are trying. To date, though...