Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would suggest to the Minister, that if you call Mr. Les Rocher in Yellowknife, he would say that there is a lot of value added in doing business in the North and that it is not fair for the government to apply BIP just in 15 percent of the projects and not to larger centres. I think he would tell him that he doesn’t appreciate the government competing with him in the whole selling of the mobile home business. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Minister responsible for economic development, for fair business practice, for fairness of all in Cabinet, how can he justify the government continuing to waive their own policy in spending $2.5 million? How can he justify that, Mr. Speaker?

Mr. Speaker, I think the Minister should realize the fact that three teachers are sharing a mobile home in Fort Good Hope says that the costs were not brought down. Why else would they have to share the unit, Mr. Speaker? It does not address the problem of lack of housing and it seems that this government applies BIP to communities, but not to businesses in Yellowknife. That’s another topic that I’m going to address at another time. Mr. Speaker, the point is, this is not addressing what the government intended to do and the Minister is not willing to consider any other suggestions and look...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the Minister is stating because of the needs of housing in the North that the government wants to provide housing by way of purchasing mobile homes and that is the government policy, let’s have a debate on that. This is a total backdoor way of breaking all the rules, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to remind the Minister and the government that this policy was extraordinary. It waived the BIP and it undertook having mobile homes instead of building stick-built homes. The government had an onus to meet that this was going to work, and so far it hasn...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you how displeased I am at the way the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation and this government have handled the market housing initiative introduced last year. Mr. Speaker, as you might recall, we had a very extensive debate on various aspects of this policy all during the spring and summer sessions in 2004. At that time, the government begged us to waive their own BIP policy and allow them to bring 22 trailers from Sherwood Park in a hurry, because this was a cheap and efficient way to bring needed...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I must say I am very impressed with how the words roll out so well from the Minister, Mr. Speaker. I wonder if all his intentions are dreamed up and practiced in his sleep.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, as long as this government brings up this urgent policy at the last second and says unless we order these homes, we aren’t going to have housing for the seniors and we have to go as cheap as possible. How is that going to create an industry? Why is it okay for the Minister to provide all sorts of subsidies for all sorts of industries in the North because we want to create jobs...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Seeing as I gave away my last question by not asking a question, I want to re-ask the Minister of RWED about the implementation and application of the BIP. I would like to know if he can answer how he can justify saying that there is no value added in services that local businesses do provide. They bring in mobile homes, they set up land spaces and they do all sorts of work that puts down mobile homes in the North. How could he say that there is no value-added work in that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if he and this government operates under that policy, how does the government have credibility and justification to force all of the northern multi-national corporations in their obligations to hire northern, buy northern and do things northern? How can the Minister and the government have any credibility in insisting that when they don’t even practice their own principle? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of RWED in his capacity as the Minister responsible for the BIP. I would like to know if the Minister and the Cabinet have decided whether or not to waive the BIP with respect to 22 additional mobile homes under the market housing initiative. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I’m saying to the Minister that he is not meeting that objective he just stated. Mr. Speaker, this is not addressing the lack of housing in communities. Fourteen of 22 units are sitting empty in Tulita, Fort Good Hope, Fort Liard, Lutselk’e, Fort Resolution, and they have to be sold on the general market. So I want to know if that is a policy now, that the NWT Housing Corporation is officially now the middleman to be a dealer for mobile homes down south to go to communities. Is that what the government’s policy is now? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.