David Krutko

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I’d like to recognize Shona Barbour who is originally from Tsiigehtchic, but she’s abandoned us and is now in Inuvik. Shona is here in Yellowknife as part of the NWT Scott women’s team from the Northwest Territories and they received the NWT Team of the Year Award. Welcome, Shona.

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Also, I’d like to recognize the former Sergeant-at-Arms in the House, Nicole. Welcome back.

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Good afternoon, my friends. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate a number of graduates in my riding. Over the past few years, the number of high school graduates in the Mackenzie Delta has increased. More and more graduates are walking down the aisle and picking up their diplomas. This positive atmosphere has a lot to do with our teachers in our communities, and the will of the students to strive to better themselves and to be role models to future graduates.

In Fort McPherson we have a total of 16 graduates that will receive their diplomas on June 10th. In...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, we are working with the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs and also the different aboriginal tribal councils and Indian Affairs, because Indian Affairs does have responsibility for band lands. I think that is where the problem is. There are ongoing meetings with Indian Affairs to try and find a resolution to this problem and I think because of the capacity problems in a lot of our small communities, we’ve realized through Municipal and Community Affairs that we have to put more money into those small communities so they can develop those...

But I think more importantly the EDAP program was originally designed to help people move from public housing into home ownership who were paying the high end with regard to the rent scale. So I’d just like to note for the Member that the EDAP program, as it was originally laid out, was to assist small communities and individuals to move out of public housing into home ownership. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I am hoping to have the document tabled in this House by Wednesday.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, we do have unique challenges in small communities and we also realize that the cost of living is a lot higher and that the clients in most cases have minimum wages in the $50,000 range. In regard to construction of a lot of these units where you have to bring them in through the winter road or by barge, there is a higher transportation cost associated with that. We take that into consideration.

Like I stated last week, this program was designed to get people out of public housing and into home ownership, and a lot of those people are in the bracket range...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, there is a process in which we encourage the applicants to reapply in regard to the following year because of change of circumstances. Like I stated last week, there are certain responsibilities in the application that the client must consider. They must be able to show that they’re able to sustain a house in regards to the operation of the unit, but also more importantly they have to retain a mortgage through the bank for a portion of the payment for the unit.

The other problem that we have in a lot of small communities is land development. A lot of...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, in regard to the EDAP program, as we all know that’s probably one of the programs that we’ve been able to get the most mileage out of and I think, if anything, in most communities that’s the only program we can get people out of public housing into home ownership. They have been taking advantage of that. Like I stated in my statement over the last week, we’ve put some 570 people into this program and we’ve put some $67 million into the Northwest Territories economy.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I will be tabling the information that I was requested to table in the House, but because the Member's question was so technical, I will have to take a little time to research it and make sure that I get the information to the Member so that I am accurate in regard to the issue that he raised so that the information that he receives is valid and hopefully it will take care of his question. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, as we all know, the program is based on the amount of money that we do have in the pot and the number of applications you have received. On that basis, it depends on the amount of applications. Yes, we have turned people down time and again. That’s why people continue to go back year after year to reapply on these programs, because there is only so much money in the pot. If the Member would like to ensure that they increase the budget next year for this program so we can assist more people, I think that is the way we can solve this problem. Thank...