Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up with the Minister of Housing on the line of questioning that Mr. Krutko had with regard to an appeal system. That is something that I have been working with the Minister and previous Ministers in establishing an appeal system for the clients out there. The people that are telling them no aren’t the people we should be appealing to, Mr. Speaker. That is why we are looking towards setting up an independent appeal system. In fact, it was approved last fiscal year. They had the appeal system. Where exactly is this appeal system, Mr. Speaker?
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. In my answers to the Member for Mackenzie Delta before, I did say that there was no official appeal process right now, which is true. We are in the process of developing an appeals process for both those that have been turned down for the Housing Choices Program and those that are in public housing. We are developing an appeals process and we are just in the process of finalizing that. We will probably share that with the Members, and it will go out there and we will have a communication plan to make sure that all the clients, tenants and the regions have an opportunity to know that this is coming into play and they have an appeal process. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, that is what the constituents are looking for. They are looking for a fair independent review process for their issues of arrears, long-term arrears, et cetera, and refusals of the Housing Corporation for accessing programs. I would like to ask the Minister again. I thought the setup of this independent appeal system was imminent, and last spring and during the summer I am hearing again that it is imminent. Mr. Speaker, the importance of the appeal system is to have it established as soon as possible. Will the Minister do that? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I understand how important it is for those out there to realize they do have an independent appeal process and then that is the beauty of this. It would be an independent appeal process. I can follow up, but we are hoping to have this roll out right away. We are obviously through this particular application stage for Housing Choices Program and then we will be hearing some of the concerns that residents have had. We will have this in place. We are looking to have this in place by the next application cycle. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that when clients get a refusal letter from income support, at the bottom it says contact this person for an appeal if you are not comfortable with the decision. Our Housing Corporation letters say nothing of the sort. It doesn’t even say if you have a mechanism of appeal. That is what the people want. I believe this appeal system should be in place as soon as possible. Once again, is the Minister saying we are looking at April 1st? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I will follow up with the corporation. I know from the notes that I have, that the actual layout of the process is pretty well complete and it is just a matter of timeline. I will follow up with the corporation. I will communicate that to the Member. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
