David Krutko

I’d like to call Committee of the Whole back to order. We agreed prior to the break that we will begin with the NWT main estimates for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. At this time, I’d like to ask the Minister if he has opening statements or comments.

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Tabled Document 11-16(3), NWT Main Estimates 2009-2010, and would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

Committee agree?

Thanks, Mr. Minister. Next on the list I have Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe this is such a significant shift in government institutional change that it will have a major effect on the Government of the Northwest Territories’ ability to deliver programs and services, but more importantly to integrate those services into seven boards.

As I stated earlier, we have some 33 communities in the Northwest Territories. We have different institutions by way of housing authorities and DEAs. We also have regional bodies by way of divisional boards and regional health boards. I think as a government we realize that everyone has a significant role...

Thank you. Mr. Yakeleya.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly believe it will. As being a private negotiator with the Dene-Metis claim, the Gwich’in and the Sahtu, the Government of the Northwest Territories and Canada has always had the principle that you can only negotiate for existing programs and services and nothing more. So has the Government of the Northwest Territories changed that position? If so, is it in writing?

I know this matter came up the other day at the Dene leadership meeting when the Premier was there. The issue was why couldn’t you give the money directly to the band to build houses for their membership and let them deal with the federal government and the land issue? At the end of the day it is their membership that needs these houses and they definitely need the units that were allocated based on core need. Is there a possibility that you get the band in Dettah and Ndilo and let them build the houses themselves through their development corporations and whatnot and give them houses that...

Mr. Speaker, in regards to my opening statement, I talked about the impacts this board reform will have on self-government negotiating talks up and down the valley. There are several tables in place. In my riding, there are two tables presently negotiating, the Inuvialuit and the Gwich’in. Again, I think it should be their choice in regards to what type of structures that they would like to govern themselves going forward in the future. My question is to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Mr. Roland. Has the government consulted with First Nations governments who are negotiating self...

Mr. Chair, I, too, would like to congratulate the Minister and his staff for acquiring the $50 million from the feds. I know the last time around it took a little arm-twisting of other jurisdictions and other authorities where we’re one of the few jurisdictions where we actually matched the funding that we got from the feds. When we did that, we also came forward with a housing needs survey or study that we identified core needs. We identified areas where we have overcrowding in the communities, where we have conditional rating of the different units we had in regard to having to replace some...