Tom Beaulieu

The Minister speaks of the money that’s going to be coming to the corporation over the next couple of years or so. Has the Minister looked at what exactly would be needed to lower core need? Has he taken a good comprehensive look at what is needed to lower core need?

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, between 2004 and 2009 the housing needs have grown from 16 percent to 19 percent across NWT. Mr. Speaker, that should not happen. My estimates are that the NWT Housing Corporation has in excess of $100 million per year to address social housing needs across the Northwest Territories.

In addition to that, CMHC’s affordable housing money, the NWT Housing Corporation, in my estimate, spent around $900 million to address social housing needs between 2004 and 2009.

Mr. Speaker, how does a corporation that is designed to address...

I am not really clear whether or not we can split it from the response, but I assume that we can. Can one of these pieces, whether it be resource revenue sharing or devolution, be negotiated to completion without the other one being negotiated to a completion? Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, I’m just asking, because of some caution in the future that I wouldn’t want to see a land use plan that consists of when everybody put all three governments -- the federal government, the territorial government and aboriginal governments -- put in their land use plans and then the area that each of them wished to… It’s not, I guess, essentially claimed for the various activities, whether it be resource development or parks or protection of the land or something that’s set aside for future resource development, that adds up to 100 percent and not 140 percent and everybody’s caught...

I’m wondering if the Minister could advise me if there’s any involvement at all such as taking the position in how the land use plans are laid out from the various aboriginal organizations, like any position at all in the area of land use plans. Thank you.

One more comment on that page. I would also support to see core funding increased to Metis locals. I have one Metis local in Tu Nedhe, so they are always finding ways to get funding to do various initiatives in the community. They are fairly active and so on. That is something I would support as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Social Programs has reviewed Bill 10, Exemptions Act, and the committee wishes to report that Bill 10 is now ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister speaks of a strategy and knowing what it takes to lower core need. Does the Minister actually have a strategy to address core needs in the small communities, to address the communities that have the highest core need? Has the corporation developed an actual strategy to address that issue?

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I spoke of the core need of the NWT Housing Corporation. I have questions for the Minister.

I realize that in five years, 2004 to 2009, this government has had at least six Ministers. I’m just making that point to see if the government is trying to maybe stay with one Minister to try to get things resolved.

I’d like to ask the Minister, in his year of being Minister of NWT Housing Corporation, if he has determined why the Housing Needs Survey has grown in the last five to six years.

This is along the same line and more as to maybe the next steps of questions from Mr. Hawkins. I am curious to know if the Minister is going to present to committee reworked numbers than what was there previously from other governments on the devolution and resource revenue pieces. I was wondering if the government or the Premier would look at what type of impacts, positive impacts that could be accrued at the regional and small community levels as well.