David Krutko

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.

Mr. Speaker, we are aware that this is an issue with regard to Behchoko by way of how their rents were collected. It was managed and administered by a community organization. We had to take this back a number of years ago. I think there is a system in place where we do have the ability to backtrack the accounts as they are on our records. But they were under a different management agreement a number of years ago, in which we realized we do have some problems with that. Again, Mr. Speaker, the principle through that local housing authority is that they do have to ensure that they do work with...

That was an issue we raised during the last time this court case went forward and it was raised in the context that small communities will become minorities in this Legislature and they will be losing the voice we had prior to division. It has lost the texture of exactly what this territory is supposed to be. The Northwest Territories has been known for its kindness and commitment to all people who come north. Yet the focus of governments and institutions seems to be focussing on the industries and the tourists that come from the South, but not really taking care of the people who really...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I wasn’t going to really speak on this because I went through this in the 13th Assembly. I will tell you back then is exactly what we see today happening with our rural and remote communities with programs and services, the have and have-not communities. It’s exactly what we were afraid was going to happen when they had the court case.

I don’t think you can say there is a difference between the larger centres and small communities. The little things the large centres take for granted like being able to get access to medical care, policing services, basic infrastructure...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the program is broken down into two areas. We are looking at replacing about 50 percent of those units with the public housing stock we have. But also we are looking at a homeownership component, which is the Supported Lease Program, which is for eligible clients in those communities to get to be homeowners. But again it's application-based for those families in those communities that would like to get into homeownership. Again, it’s for those people that we feel can sustain themselves in that type of a housing setting. Again, it is through an...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have seriously thought this through in regards to the type of construction we are going to use. We are looking at multi-dwelling facilities, getting away from the stick-built single housing construction, because we are looking at the energy efficiency of these units versus the old units, but also looking at new building methods and materials that we use, which will basically give you better R value. We’re able to heat the homes at less costs, but also ensuring that we do allow homes to be built for senior people with disabilities and also try to meet...

Mr. Speaker, at the present time, no, there is no such program in existence.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are looking at consolidating our programs into four general areas, and also we're looking at increasing the borrowing limits that we have had in these programs before. I think by increasing that, looking at especially the eligibility criteria that we have in our programs so that it's more accessible to all residents in the Northwest Territories. But more importantly, we do look at the energy efficiency of how do we improve homes to make them more energy efficient but also make them cost neutral so you're not spending more money. If anything, you'll be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to update Members on progress made to date on the affordable housing initiative that will provide a $100 million investment in affordable housing in the Northwest Territories over the next three years.

Mr. Speaker, commitments made by this government to invest in housing through the affordable housing initiative will give us a lasting impact on our residents, our communities, and our territory for generations to come. Our success in acquiring the federal funding to complement the GNWT's investment will provide us with an opportunity to provide residents...