Robert Villeneuve

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Just to follow up on my Member’s statement about the rent scale policy that this government never seems to want to revisit. Mr. Speaker, just seven months ago I was asking the then-Minister of Housing, the Honourable Dave Krutko, about this same issue and just looking at the Hansard I see words like "review," "revisit," in conjunction with the transfer to ECE having something ready in the next number of weeks to review. You know, all this on the review of the rent scale policy, Mr. Speaker, and it’s seven months now in the works. As a committee member, I have seen...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess my point of advice, when we’re reviewing this rent scale, everything that this government reviews is based on Yellowknife. Our power is based on Yellowknife; all our subsidies are based on Yellowknife; our rent is based on Yellowknife; vacancy; everything Yellowknife. When we’re reviewing this, can we go out to these communities and really do some real analysis of what people are actually willing to pay and what it costs to build a unit there and how much people can rent it out at a fair market rent based on that community only, Mr. Speaker? Not on...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, the rent scale ranges from $32 a month to about $2,000 a month, Mr. Speaker, on the rent scale that this government holds. I don’t think you can get any rent from people asking to lower my $32 a month rent. You know, actually, some people are willing, probably, to pay more rent if they could probably get a fair assessment of their rent based on perhaps their net income, not gross income. If somebody’s netting $1,500 and taking home $900 but their rent is still coming in at $1,800 a month, Mr. Speaker, that’s…In Detah or in Colville Lake, you know, $1,800 a...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me just start off by welcoming all the Members here back into the 15th Legislative Assembly. Mr. Speaker, last year and the year before and I’m sure many years prior, myself and many other Members of this House, from this side of the House and that side of the House, have raised the issue of our rent scale used in our public housing here in the NWT many times, Mr. Speaker. There are many concerns about the disincentive it creates to seek meaningful employment by the clients in our public housing, the animosity it raises between the clients, the LHO staff...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for making that commitment, I guess, just for the public interest. I would maybe want to ask the Minister for a commitment that either the Public Utilities Board or the NWT Power Corp or his department, whoever, because we’re already into one month here that this has been approved; it’s been approved effective February 1, 2007, and I don’t think people even really know what it is that has been approved. Just for the public’s interest and how it’s going to affect their power bills, I would like to see something maybe in Monday’s paper, perhaps...

On January 10, 2007, before this interim refundable rate rider was effective, the Power Corporation’s fuel rider and the rider T was approved by the Public Utilities Board. So we have the fuel rider and the rider T approved by the Public Utilities Board. Now we have an interim refundable rate rider. I don’t understand what the differences are and what effects it will have for people on hydro on diesel. Could the Minister explain that to me? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I am going to use my Member’s statement to talk about this government’s policies on the rental arrears kind of spiralling out of control here for the past five to 10 years at the Housing Corporation. I do support all of the initiatives that do assist people to address their outstanding accounts with the Housing Corporation or the local housing organizations, but this government definitely has to make some fundamental changes to the rent scale policies and their eviction processes if they wish to recover any significant amount of the $8 million-plus that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The information I have, okay, we have the approval of the fuel rider and the rider T for the consumers that are on hydro, and now we have an approval of this interim refundable rate rider. Is the Public Utilities Board, or is the Minister responsible for the Public Utilities Board, going to be putting out any kind of a public notice that will explain to myself, my constituents and the people of the NWT, what the effects are of this fuel rider? The rider T is pretty cut and dried, but explain what is this interim refundable rate rider going to be and what the changes...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on January 26, 2007, the Public Utilities Board approved the Northwest Territories Power Corporation interim refundable rate rider effective February 1, 2007. I want to ask the Minister responsible for the Public Utilities Board, what is the interim refundable rate rider and how is it going to affect people that are on hydro as opposed to people on diesel? Can he explain that just for the public’s interest? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this committee recommends that mandatory orientation and training be implemented for all new Workers’ Compensation Board employees before they are allowed to engage clients. The committee further recommends ongoing professional development be programmed for each employee, manager, executive and member of the Governance Council and Appeals Tribunal and documented and reported annually as a key component of performance measurement. Thank you, Madam Chair.