Michael Miltenberger

Mr. Speaker, like many things we do as a government, there are things scattered across different departments. We talked about some of them here today. There’s the tax relief from MACA; there’s a fuel subsidy from Income Support. For the Housing Corp, it’s people paying no rent.

Clearly, the issue of aging in place and working to keep people in their own homes as long as we can is, in the long run, the most beneficial for us. While the Housing Corp has no specific plan, it’s clear, as we move into a business-planning process, that it’s an area that does need attention. There are things I hear...

Mr. Speaker, this is a lease arrangement. We haven’t reached a point where there’s any proposal before us to actually buy the unit outright.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Even though there’s no specific question, there are a lot of good points raised. In terms of funds going to Inuvik, out of the $41 million this year for all our programs, it’s $5.1 million. There are 20 units scheduled to be built this year as well in Inuvik to help meet some of their housing needs. The issue of having to take this step program before as opposed to after you get approved is one that we agree with as well. We’re going to look at revamping that so that once you’ve been identified as a successful candidate, you can take that. We do have arrangements...

It generally goes forward with the responsible Ministers — the appropriate Minister from the Northwest Territories as well as from the federal government. In this case it would be myself as the Minister and then generally the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs.

Mr. Chair, I’ll ask Mr. Anderson to give you the number.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, we do.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Clearly, if there is a repatriation circumstance and there’s a case planning function that involves other departments or other agencies, be it Health and Social Services or whoever it may be, we want to work as well with the community where the person’s being repatriated to.

As we work with the mandate for this new homelessness committee, that ability to make sure that we have a consistent approach that is not going to trip ourselves up as we move them from one community to another is one of the things that is going to be looked at. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, from the actual physical–infrastructure point of view, the Housing Corporation collapsed 14 programs into four. Seniors’ home repair and such is now encapsulated within the broader CARE program. There have been some concerns raised that while we raise the amount of money that individual seniors may be eligible for, it’s more difficult to access. While we’ve made that change, we’ve committed to taking a look at that, along with committee. The aging in place also speaks to other issues across the department, things like home care support so that individuals who need some assistance...

I’ll get the name from the Member, and I’ll make sure that we get any information and make sure that they’ve received fair, full and due process.

Mr. Chairman, we have a small settlement homelessness fund that’s been in place for the last number of years as well. We stand ready to work with communities with whatever housing stock may be available, providing there is a group or some agency in the community that is prepared to play the lead in terms of dealing with the hard-to-house homelessness issue, where there are addiction issues and other social issues that are probably at play in terms of the lifestyle of the individual. We have the two approaches. The opportunity is there. It requires the community to step forward, either through...