Tom Beaulieu

Mr. Chairman, I have two separate situations where I’m dealing with land, and there’s an elder in a HAP unit that was built on what was essentially her cousin’s land where a unit that was constructed by the Department of Indian Affairs prior to any units being constructed for use by the NWT Housing Corporation. In essence, I’m talking about the Northern Territorial Rental Program, which was actually constructed under a program called Eskimo and Indian Housing. It goes back a long way. These other units were constructed in the late ’50s and early to mid-‘60s and they were homes that were issued...

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. As a representative from a small community, we were seeing one program in the Housing Corporation, the programs, I’m sorry in the Housing Corporation, are there to address all the housing concerns across the Territories, whether you live in a larger centre like Yellowknife, Hay River, or Fort Smith. That same program is used to address the issues in small communities. I would like to ask the Minister if in the transition document, the Minister could ensure that there is a different set of programs for small communities versus larger communities contemplated for the next...

Because it’s very important to communities and it’s something that the communities have complained about frequently over the last several years, I’d like to ask the Minister when he anticipates that there will be some sort of positive impacts of the rent scale in as far as developing work incentives. I mean, it’s not really the corporation’s responsibility to develop work incentives, to remove these incentives from the rent scale for working. Thank you.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize the returning officer from Tu Nedhe, Tony Lafferty.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.] Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk about the NWT Housing Corporation and how it must change its policies to allow them to address the issue of the public housing rent scale and the issue of providing support for homeowners in small, rural and remote communities.

Mr. Speaker, many times over the past four years the Legislative Assembly has passed motions asking the Housing Corporation to change the rent scale in order to improve incentive for people that want to work in the smaller communities.

In addition, I have made many requests...

It’s just my concern that when any act is passed that pertains to the town planning and any community planning and development, if it refers to land, then I would like to know that the Aboriginal governments that have not settled land claims yet, as Ms. Chamberlin said, Akaitcho, that they be afforded the full potential for obtaining lands under their land claim within the municipal boundaries and those were referring to those pieces of land as Indian Affairs branch land. But I’m aware that over a period of the last several years or even a few decades, that those lands have slowly transferred...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have a couple of questions along the same line of questioning as Mr. Krutko. In the communities what I’m being told by some of the homeowners that are now elders that originally go about to construct their homes on what they’re referring to as treaty land and may be legally called Indian Affairs branch lands but referred to as treaty land, I’m wondering if there was a process at some point where the federal government transferred their lands to the GNWT, and if there was a process, when did this process take place. Thank you.

The Public Housing Program for the most part should essentially be a stock program that helps people in a certain state of their life. If the government is directing staff or putting in a transitional document removing the disincentives to work, then will this government or will this Minister direct staff to further develop a process so that public housing people can easily transition into homeownership? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I spoke of policies of the Housing Corporation that need to change to provide work incentives and try to develop some sort of market in small, rural and remote communities. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister if the Housing Corporation is going to be working on some sort of policy, or if he’s going to be directing the corporation to actually make changes in the rent scale to provide work incentives on reviews that are being done by the corporation now. Thank you.

As MLAs, we have the power of suggestion for the government, however, our suggestions are supported by the people that have elected us. Our suggestions must be taken seriously; they cannot be ignored.

Today I will have questions for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation on the policies that are affecting the people in Tu Nedhe.