David Krutko

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is the direction that was given by Cabinet when this was taken out. It had to be at full cost recovery and that’s exactly how it has been operated. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have to wake up to reality here that we do have a housing crisis in the Northwest Territories and, at the pace that we are going, we cannot afford to put 2,000 units on the ground with the existing budget that we have as a government. We have to find unique ways of being able to accomplish that, with realizing that this is one of the ways that we can do that. I think that, as Members can note, you go to every community up and down the valley and see that there are people living in trailers, either here in Yellowknife or other places in the Territories...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with regard to phase one, the 22 units, we do have 18 units occupied. There are four units that aren’t occupied. Sixteen units are occupied by professionals, but we have sold two units in Tulita and one in Fort Resolution. Interest has been shown for other units in Fort Good Hope and Fort Liard.

Mr. Speaker, people have taken up housing units in those communities. Because they are available and people realize they are there, they understand what the cost of renting these units are. With the promotion of the Department of Education and ourselves, people...

Mr. Speaker, I would like to, again, remind the Member that I have presented this to committee. We have given documentation out. Again, this will not see the light of day unless there is a pipeline. We have to work with our different parties that are out there, and that it is all hinging on a decision to go forward for a pipeline. Without that decision, we will not have this project.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the main component of the new mandate change is getting away from focusing on social housing and social issues, and getting into property management and expanding the properties that we do have. We want to find ways of partnering with different groups, individuals, and corporations, to try to leverage more funding from federal program dollars, CMHC. One of the main components we are working on is to ensure that we do have resources to manage. Because we are running this as a business, we have to be more proactive. I think the Member's concerns are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have been working, in conjunction with the NWT Seniors' Society, and have been able to fund them through a grant in order to allow them to look at housing issues. Also, in regard to their partnership, there are other seniors' initiatives that are taking place, and I think that as a government we have to ensure that we include our seniors by way of consultation. We conduct annual meetings or even meet with the elders' groups and societies in a lot of our communities where we have elders' counsels and whatnot. I think that it is crucial that we do...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, under the new mandate change, we are looking at using the same people that we presently have in house. We may expand in the area of land management because we don’t have any expertise in that area. So we may be seeing a slight increase there.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a government, we do encourage seniors to stay in their homes through tax rebates, fuel subsidies, and also that we, as a corporation, have implemented the seniors’ maintenance repair program and are having to deliver it through our LHOs to ensure that the seniors’ furnaces, water pumps, and tanks are maintained every year so that they know that they’re inspected. So we are delivering that program through the Housing Corporation. A lot of our programs in regard to emergency repairs and whatnot are basically structured to homeownership, but a lot of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this process, as I mentioned, has been going on for the last year. It’s not something that’s come up overnight. We have been working with the different boards and agencies, and also we are working with Education on how this is going to be laid out; how we are going to work with the different housing authorities; how we are going to deal with the management of the lands, the property that we have. We have not just brought this up overnight. It’s been in the works over the last year. I feel that Cabinet will have an in-depth review, and then we are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have had the chance to meet with the Tlicho leadership, and I have committed to them to do a tour of the Tlicho region with the Tlicho Government and local representatives of their government to ensure that we find a way to deal with housing in conjunction with each other. Also, going into each of the Tlicho communities, we are looking at possibly November or early December, whenever the time permits; but I have committed to the leadership, and to the Member I commit here today, that we are willing to go into the Tlicho communities in November.