Michael McLeod

I believe it’s been three years now that this initiative to blend all the subsidy programs under one roof took place. We did hear the Members raise the issue. We have heard the concerns. We had recently met with ECE and we are working towards putting together an analysis or a review of how well it’s working. ECE has provided me with some information that I had not seen before, so I’m reviewing that and we will be getting together to decide how we will do a review. We are anticipating it would be an independent body that we would hire to do an analysis of it . Right now, that’s where we’re at.

W...

Mr. Chairman, it’s a flat rate; six cents no matter how many they use.

Mr. Chairman, we’d be glad to give a definition on each one and give the location and the projects that we’re doing in the different regions. I would also be glad to sit down with the Member if he had further interest in some of these areas.

Mr. Chairman, we would like to have it out for this year. That is what we are aiming for. I can’t say for certain that we will. We will be bringing something forward to committee for consideration when we start looking at the other initiatives and issues including budget allocations, we will have the first chance to present it to committee for their input and feedback.

I will certainly have to agree with the Member’s comments. It is an issue. It is not our issue. We are not alone in this. All jurisdictions across Canada are being treated the same. We have partnered up with all the other jurisdictions including other organizations in the South and in the other two territories to combine our forces and strengthen our arguments to the federal government. We have had, so far this year, one discussion on this issue. We intend to move forward with the new federal government to raise it and see if we can find a solution to this.

Mr. Chairman, all our clients are required to pay a portion of their power bill, so most clients are very diligent about how much power they use.

Yes, Mr. Chairman. The Member is referring to a program that we’ve decided to eliminate as part of our budget reduction program and also as part of our desire to incorporate the many programs that we had historically into a smaller grouping. This will be built into each region’s budget and will be able to be covered off through the different programs that we have. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, the Member raises a lot of issues. We totally agree there is a need to look at unique situations. When we do look at the core need and we adjust for a number of varying factors including transportation, the condition of units, overcrowding, costs, we also look at the condition ratings, the waiting lists and the LHOs and we try to make our decisions accordingly. This year, probably in a couple of weeks, we will be coming back to the committee to show what the plans for this year are, with the new dollars also included. There are a number of other requests that we need to report on...

I will have Mr. Anderson, who has a better grasp on the history on this, to explain why it is. Mr. Chairman, this amount here is the amount that we are repaying on our debt. The federal government also puts in $9 million that flows through us to repay the debt. Right now, as of April 1st, our debt will be at $66 million. Mr. Anderson would be pleased to talk about the history.

Mr. Chairman, it is a concern and it is on our agenda to sit down with the NWT Association of Communities and also to talk to MACA about looking at some solutions. Mr. Chairman, we know why the communities are doing it; they use the money to offset their costs, but I think the real reason is they know we get a subsidy or have been getting a subsidy from the federal government that they are also tapping into in a roundabout way.