Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS the 15th Legislative Assembly vision statement identifies as a goal housing that is adequate, affordable and accessible;

AND WHEREAS the 2004 housing needs survey has identified 2,260 households in the Northwest Territories that are considered to be in core need;

AND WHEREAS there are many houses in communities throughout the NWT that are boarded up, and that could potentially be brought up to standard and made habitable at a lower cost than new construction;

AND WHEREAS the policies and standards of the NWT Housing Corporation and the Canada Mortgage and Housing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice of earlier today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My written question today is for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation.

In each of the Sahtu communities, how many log homes are in need of major repairs?

Can the Minister provide the specific amount of dollars that it takes to build a three-bedroom stick-built unit?

Can the Minister provide the status in the Northwest Territories on how many "made-in-the-North" materials or supplies are used for houses from the NWT?

Will the Minister provide information as to how the department plans to keep or secure long-term funding in the federal government?

Ca...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Minister. I want to take this a little step further. Would the Minister work with the Minister of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment in devising a training program that would take out some of the young people to do a training program in terms of log building, putting a house together that would cut down costs and look at that as being a pilot project in the Sahtu region? So then we could have some long-term viability for the people in our region and the rest of the communities in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is also to the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. Mr. Speaker, I understand that in the year 2038 the federal government is hoping to get out of the housing business. In saying that, Mr. Speaker, the recent surveys done by the Housing Corporation indicate that 35 percent of houses in the Sahtu are in core need. Can the Minister tell the House and tell the people in the Sahtu what plans are in place to decrease the number from 35 to an acceptable number that would be sufficient to the Sahtu people? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said in my earlier statement, I am very passionate about this issue about housing in small communities. I grew up in my grandfather’s house, and my grandfather's house was taken down by the Housing Corporation who said that they would build a new building there for us. I'm still waiting for it today. In saying that, this is one of many stories that people in small communities have in terms of housing and that’s why I’m quite passionate for the people in homes. Like my honourable friend mentioned to me and mentioned to the House here, that is one...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I fully support this motion. Mr. Speaker, looking at the housing needs survey in the communities, visiting the people in the communities and looking at the conditions of housing and seeing where the federal government’s obligations to our people are, in terms of giving us affordable housing in our communities and giving us places where we can stay that don’t run into many problems such as our honourable Member for Nahendeh mentioned about mould. Some of our houses in our communities are in bad shape. Hopefully, this motion will give the Minister some good...

Thank you. I’m going to clean my glasses, Mr. Speaker.

---Laughter

I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice of earlier today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, October 29, 2004, I will move the following motion:

Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation identify and recommend to this House viable options to sustain our long-term public housing investment;

And further that the Government of the Northwest Territories sets as a target the reduction of core housing need in the Northwest Territories by 10 percent by the year 2007;

And furthermore that the Minister responsible for the NWT...