Mr. Chairman, that is our goal. The numbers are very much correct and our target is to bring the core needs down. They are all relatively high. Based on 2004 information, we have to remember that and we should have our new core need figures for review or for public release in early summer of this year.
Our target, our goal, is to get all the core needs in the communities down to the national average, which I think is around 12 percent. We are still a long ways from that. We have, or will have, spent well over a million dollars in the last couple of years on housing and housing repair. We need to see the core need numbers come down and I would expect that is what we will see.
Again, Colville Lake is very unique and very challenging to put units into that community. We will probably have to work with the MLA and the community leaders as to a strategy and community plan for that area. We can probably look at doing some home repair, but the types of houses, and houses that can be accommodated there, we have to finalize and figure out.
I certainly look forward to the new numbers that the Minister indicated. That will be coming out sometime this year in terms of core needs that I am using the 2004 needs, so it might not be too fair to the Minister and his department, but I think those numbers pretty well reflect the needs in the community. It is not fair to the Minister to give a proper answer until he sees the new numbers that are coming out this year and I look forward to that.
Mr. Chairman, the seniors facilities, and I am going to make another pitch for the seniors facilities in our communities that meet the needs. With the list of information that I have for Colville Lake 60 years and over, they have 22 elders. They don’t have any public units in that community, they are all privately owned. I certainly agree with the Minister in terms of the uniqueness and the challenge for construction of units in communities like Colville Lake, so that is one. In Fort Good Hope, there are 61 elders that are 60 years and over. Our numbers are high in the Sahtu with elders compared to, probably the same as other regions, so I would like to look at ways that we could look at facilitating new units for elders that would meet their standards and bring down the core needs, also, at the same time.
In this area here, I have looked through the corporate summary. I am very excited that the Minister indicated that some new units are being designed and looked at, and hope that is part of the corporate summary in terms of how we deal with units. I think it is a good move. It is one that would be supported by our region in terms of how you look at housing for single units and single families that are very basic and simple. It is almost like a trapper’s cabin, if you want to put a name to it. You have to learn some skills, you have to have some discipline to live that kind of lifestyle and that is what our elders have been telling us. The units that we have, our young people right now are being too used to, too spoiled, and they are depending too much on these units. We haven’t done any justice by teaching them what it is like to be self-sufficient, self-disciplined, in terms of having a unit. I am very excited. I know some of the smaller communities are probably happy to look at something like this. Some design that is affordable, with the help of some good people around the Northwest Territories, to show how to have an energy-efficient homes that they could rely on no matter where they live, in town or the community. They will have a sense of they could make it. So I am looking forward to some directive from the Minister in terms of how he puts together, with some discussion with this Cabinet colleagues as to what is affordable, what is reasonable. I hope we are successful in that.
Those are more comments, I know Mr. Chairman, in terms of the Minister, but I am very happy that he makes some mention of these issues here. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, again, I certainly agree with the Member. We have heard and we recognize that there is a need for probably a new type of housing design; a very basic facility, a very basic unit. Possibly something that could be built in the community. We are looking at ways to use this as an economic stimulus, whether it is log -- that is a question that we haven’t quite figured out yet -- stick built, and the other option that we are looking at for consideration is a modular. We have some communities that are saying we need units right now, so we are looking at all fronts, all angles. We will come forward with some possibilities.
Mr. Chairman, the Member raises public housing in the community that he represents, Colville Lake, and I think Mr. Menicoche also raised it for Fort Liard. Mr. Chairman, I also have, personally, one community in my riding that historically did not want public housing units and do not have public housing units in those communities of Colville Lake and Fort Liard. There is now a push to have those units. Our challenge is, in order for us to build a public unit, a public housing unit, we would have to take it out of our stock somewhere else, as we do not have new money for operations and maintenance. It is something we have aligned ourselves in partnership in other jurisdictions. We need the federal government to sit down and listen to us, hear our arguments.
Mr. Chairman, this year, I think our reduction is $750.000 in the area of operations for our public housing stock and I believe it is 2011 that we are going to see a significant reduction of $3 million that is going to force us to do either of two things: either reduce, take some houses off the market or raise our rents. Mr. Chairman, we are quite concerned of where we are on this issue, because we recognize we are a couple of thousand public housing units short of what we need to really service all the communities, so we are going to need to be very creative and we’re going to have to be very convincing with the federal government not to pull out of the public housing subsidies that they provide for us. Thank you.
Thanks, Mr. Minister. Next on the list I have Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a brief comment. First, I heard the term “modular units.” I guess there were certainly initially problems with them meeting the EGH 80 guidelines, but I know that they were working on that and perhaps they’ve achieved that goal.
My question is on the Affordable Housing Initiative carry-over such as for Ndilo and Dettah. Given it’s for affordable housing, if we can’t resolve the land tenure situation in this particular case within a sufficient time frame, can those dollars, in fact, be used for energy upgrades to EGH 80 for existing houses in order to make housing more affordable in Ndilo and Dettah, and perhaps other communities that have a similar situation? Thank you.
Minister of Housing.
Yes, Mr. Chairman, first of all I should thank the Member for his office to help us try to come to some resolution on the issue. I should mention on the land issue we have put together a committee that involves MACA and CMHC and Indian Affairs, I believe, and ourselves to see how we can find our way through this. We are, of course, going to have to make a decision on the carry-overs at some point if we can’t resolve the land issue. Putting into retrofits is certainly an option. Any retrofits or whether it’s a modular unit we’re going to be putting together, that number that was asked about would have to meet the EnerGuide 80. So that’s something I want to reassure the Member is our goal and using these monies.
But I should also mention that through these new dollars that are coming forward and through this budget, we’ll see more investment targeted for those communities. So that pot is continuing to grow.
Mr. Chair, I move that we report progress.
---Carried
Can I have the report of Committee of the Whole, please, Mr. Krutko.
Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Tabled Document 11-16(3), NWT Main Estimates 2009-2010, and would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Motion is on the floor. Do we have a seconder? Honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
---Carried
Orders of the day for Thursday, February 19, 2009, at 1:30 p.m.:
Prayer
Ministers’ Statements
Members’ Statements
Reports of Standing and Special Committees
Returns to Oral Questions
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Acknowledgements
Oral Questions
Written Questions
Returns to Written Questions
Replies to Opening Address
Petitions
Reports of Committees on the Review of Bills
Tabling of Documents
Notices of Motion
Notices of Motion for First Reading of Bills
Motions
First Reading of Bills
Second Reading of Bills
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Tabled Document 7-16(3), Ministerial Benefits Policy
Tabled Document 11-16(3), Northwest Territories Main Estimates 2009-2010
Committee Report 2-16(3), Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on Matters Referred to the Committee
Committee Report 3-16(3), Report on the Use of Laptop Computers and Blackberry Devices in the Legislative Assembly
Bill 1, An Act to Amend the Historical Resources Act
Bill 3, International Interest in Mobile Aircraft Equipment Act
Bill 4, Public Library Act
Bill 5, Professional Corporations Act
Bill 7, An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act
Report of Committee of the Whole
Third Reading of Bills
Orders of the Day
Thank you, Madam Clerk. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until Thursday, February 19, 2009, at 1:30 p.m.
---ADJOURNMENT
The House adjourned at 7:56 p.m.
