Robert C. McLeod

The numbers that I gave were the applications that we received for the coming fiscal year, the ‘11-12 fiscal year. Those assessments are still underway. We’ve only had about a week and a half since the close of the applications. So as far as the actual numbers that were approved, we don’t have that number yet. Once the assessments are done, then we’ll have the number of applicants that have been approved. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In some of the communities it would be a one-year cycle. In some of the smaller communities, as you can see from the list, materials are brought in one year and then labour. So it’s a two-year cycle, the short answer.

No. Then he’ll say he’s got three four-plexes. No, Mr. Chairman, I said our budget’s been allocated. Our infrastructure’s been allocated. If there’s opportunity, if something changes and there’s an opportunity to possibly be looking at working with Mr. Jacobson to get a unit into his particular community, then that is what I will commit to do.

Mr. Speaker, I’d have to check on the numbers. As far as I know, in the past few years Yellowknife has been fortunate to get a few more public housing units. As far as rent supps go, us subsidizing people to stay in private accommodation, when I speak of the rent supps, I’m talking about the ones that are rented to the LHOs and they administer them. As far as the rent supps go, I mean, 932, if we were to assist a portion of those, I mean, this would be a huge investment on the part of the NWT Housing Corporation. It’s something that we’d have to look at very carefully, because we don’t want to...

We feel like we’re starting to take into account some of the numbers from the Needs Survey. I think in the Member’s riding, a lot of his communities don’t have public housing or local housing authorities and I think that’s one of the biggest challenges we face there. I think there’s a lot of people that say there’s a high need for public housing. So we’ll obviously have more of a discussion during the budget session and to some of the money, and I think I’ll be able to provide the Member with a lot of the investment that’s going on into his riding.

But I feel we’re making an attempt to deal...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s our intent to try and get as many people into homeownership as possible. That’s why I’ve asked the corporation to come up with a few different options as to how we can fit more people in the program. The core need income threshold is one of the arguments that we’ve heard quite a bit. It varies from the different communities as to the number of bedrooms in that particular community, the maximum construction costs. I have a list of all the core need income thresholds for all the communities across the Northwest Territories. I can commit to the Member that I can have...

The Member is very correct; that is the direction as a corporation that we’re trying to go. With the changing demographics across the Northwest Territories, we’re finding that we have a lot more younger people, small families, single people getting into units, and seniors. This is one that works well with the declining funding. We need to try and be as efficient as possible.

There is a move towards more multi-family type units, duplexes, triplexes, four-plexes. We have some nine-plexes in some of the communities. That is a direction that the Housing Corporation will go. It used to be that the...

I’m sorry; if I could ask the Member to repeat his question. I think it was something to do with staff housing, housing for staff in the communities and if there’s opportunity for the local communities to take advantage of these. If he could just repeat that, I’d appreciate it.

I’m not sure if the Member is referencing 930 that are paying 30 percent in market housing or public housing. I don’t believe we have that many public housing units in Yellowknife. Are we talking homeownership? Private homes financed through the bank? If the Member would clarify his question, I’d be prepared to give him an answer.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Some of the projects here that are going to the Member’s riding – I mean, he’s seen the numbers here -- there’s been a huge improvement in, actually, the repair dollars, the CARE dollars that are going into the Member’s riding. Then there’s some M and I that’s happening. So this is just some of the infrastructure that’s going on the ground. We felt that with putting more money into CARE, we’d be addressing some of the issues that were identified through the core needs study survey. Thank you.