Robert C. McLeod

Well, we’re looking for more innovation. I mean, if somebody wanted to put in a proposal to do a design-build, I mean, we’re always looking at ways where we can get… At the end of the day, as long as we get a quality product out there, how we come about it, I don’t think that’s set in stone. If there’s an opportunity for someone out there to do a design-build, I mean, we’d obviously welcome that too. I think that would all be part of this expression of interest that we’re proposing to put out.

I would be more willing to accept the Member’s invitation to visit his community and it gives me an opportunity to listen to their concerns and see what our product is on the ground there.

Going back to the Member’s wish for a four-plex, he was talking about the community taking the initiative and that is something that I have committed to the Member, that as a corporation we are always willing to listen to the communities and some of the initiatives that they come up with and we will do what we can to work with them, realizing that some of the units that they want to put on the ground, we are...

Perhaps I can get one of our more experienced managers to explain that from up there. Maximum rent is looking at the cost to operate the unit in the community and you’re looking at the water and the power and all other utilities. So it’s actually the cost of operating that unit in the community. Thank you.

That’s exactly what it says there, Mr. Chair. It’s the replacement of two public housing units.

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...