Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS quality and affordable housing promotes health, social and economic well-being of people and communities;

AND WHEREAS the Government of Canada has been a vital funding partner in the development of affordable housing in all 13 provinces and territories;

AND WHEREAS CMHC Operating and Maintenance funding for social housing is currently declining and will lapse completely by 2038;

AND WHEREAS the Government of Canada has not committed to making additional capital investments in affordable housing in the future;

AND WHEREAS 1.5 million Canadian households continue...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, have reviewed Hansard. I’ve also reviewed Hansard from last February 18, when we were in Committee of the Whole. The Member for Hay River South called me on a point of order when I was speaking, stating — if I could quote from page 387 of Hansard: “I have a point of order. Is Mr. Miltenberger speaking to this as a Minister of the Cabinet, or he is speaking to this as the MLA for Thebacha?” The chair at the time, Mr. Krutko, said, “Mrs. Groenewegen, you do not have a point of order, since you didn’t specifically state your order. But to be fair to all Members...

Thank you. We'll give you the information we do have. I do agree with the Member that the issue of land tenure is the significant one, to the extent that we've put some land where…. In fact, we're looking within the Tlicho, for example. They're looking at bringing in a lands person to help sort out some of the land issues. I'll get Mr. Polakoff to speak as much as he can to that type of detail.

That facility has been through the government process a number of times, to see if there was any interest within government.

This is the first real deal we’ve been able to sign, and it’s a lease arrangement that has a three-year life which could possibly be extended or evolved into ownership at some point. But we’re very glad to be able to report that we’ve finally got a paying tenant.

Mr. Chairman, we’re in the final year — actually, the final months — of the current needs survey that was done in 2004. Granted, it’s in its last year, and as the Member suggested, the information is somewhat dated. We are looking at moving forward in January to March of ’09 to look at redoing the needs survey, working in conjunction with the Executive as well. We’re also using, where it’s applicable, the 2006 census data, which gives us some information that’s more current.

The move and consolidation of 14 programs into four was done after a process of consultation. One of the big concerns...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There’s been an arrangement made with the Mine Training Society. After the first three months, part of the getting-started agreement is going to be covered by us. But after three months they will be covering all the O&M and mortgage costs. We’ve been paying the mortgage to CMHC.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The issue of housing for professionals is clearly a source of concern. As the Member indicated, we travelled around Nunakput, and it was raised in almost every community. We’ve offered up a couple of things. If there’s market housing units that are there that are available, we’re prepared to look at those. We’re also looking at the issue of loan guarantees so that we can work with hamlets or development corporations or businesses, to look at putting some houses in for professionals that are basically a business opportunity for the community. We’ve started working with...

Clearly, we’ve evolved and matured as a jurisdiction over the years. We’ve built up our capability in the North. We work closely with industry, but we also work closely with Indian Affairs and the federal government, as well as the aboriginal governments. I believe — all the complaints about timeliness aside — that we have that ability.

Under the CARE program seniors are a priority. That’s where the money for those types of initiatives would be housed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re involved with the processes directly on the land. Yes, there are comprehensive plans. There’s a very rigorous regulatory process that has to be followed.