David Krutko

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have had several projects we have done in different communities where they put space heaters in seniors’ homes to bring down the cost of energy and also ensure that they live comfortably but also realize that they also have a set income they have to work with. So we have done several projects like this in conjunction with band councils on behalf of their membership and we are open to that initiative. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do ongoing surveys. We know exactly roughly how many housing units we have. The majority of these units we are going to be putting on the ground are replacing the older 5-12s that the Member mentioned. Also, we are looking into more energy-efficient units by looking at multi-configured housing. So we are proceeding forward but also looking at exactly what we are going to be replacing and how we are going to get away from the old idea of the old singular constructed dwellings to multi-configured dwellings. So we are able to get a more energy...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are looking at more improved models of what we are constructing. We’ve constructed housing units for seniors, for people with disabilities, and also looking at multi-configured housing, which we are looking at improving the designs and the layout of what we have. But more importantly, we’ve evolved to a point now where we’re actually meeting the needs of the clients that we’re serving. I think it’s crucial that we have input from the Council for the Disabled, the Seniors' Society and other community organizations to identify what they need. I think from...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Minister responsible at this time in this House, I commit that they will do something in regards to those communities and they will be able to come forward with something, work along with yourself and the Minister to be…

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we do have several programs that are there, designed to assist seniors to be independent, to live in their homes as long as possible. We do have the seniors Home Repair Program. We have the Seniors' Maintenance Program. We have the Seniors' Independence Program. The heater that the Member’s talking about is a space heater, which is roughly in the range of about $3,500. I think that it is what we find the clients have had installed in their house and they are very quiet, they do keep the home very comfortable and I think it’s important that if this is the way that...

Mr. Speaker, again, it is the client choice at the end of the day of what type of unit they would like to require. Again, it is conforming with what we already have in place by way of it is either…If we are looking at a senior's facility, we like to ensure that a senior is going to move in there. You are basically putting in the mechanism so that you know they are going to be aged in this facility. You know that they are going to need hand rails. You know that they are going to need to be able to have access and eventually maybe in a wheelchair or whatnot. So you design these units with...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do take into account the family size and exactly who the tenants we are serving. It is either seniors, families, singles or elderly, but we have to keep that in mind.

Mr. Speaker, I had an opportunity to travel home to Fort McPherson last weekend and spend time with the Teya family. As we all know, William Teya has been missing since September 24th.

Mr. Speaker, Mary Teya and her family would like to thank the people who searched tirelessly day in and day out for over a month, and to the people who provided and prepared the meals for the participants in the search. The community continues to search for William Teya and the RCMP are still following up on leads. I encourage the public to do whatever they can to assist the community, the RCMP, and to help in...

Yet we are spending major dollars with regard to larger centres by way of institutions to institutionalize the majority of clients who come from the smaller communities; our jail facilities. There is talk about putting more facilities in place. If you want to talk about distribution of wealth, you should also talk about the possibility of distribution of governments. There are 5,000 employees in the government that are in the larger, regional centres which has an effect on the larger population base.

Mr. Lafferty touched on the representation of the number of aboriginal people that he...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are willing to send people into the community, sit down with each of the tenants and do an assessment tenant by tenant to see if we can come to the bottom of this problem. So I commit to the Member that I will direct my department to go into Behchoko and basically do just that by sitting down with the tenants and go with each one of them to ensure that we are being fair but also ensuring we try to find a way out of this problem. Thank you.