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.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are many reasons that the core need would rise. It’s not just a matter of putting the product on the ground. The affordability is a contributing factor; suitability of housing and adequacy. We’ve taken steps to address the core need. With the money that’s been invested by the federal government and matched by this government, we’re quite confident that within a year or two we’ll have addressed or made a serious dent in the core needs in the communities.
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?
We have a pretty good idea that we know what it will take to address core need. That’s why the corporation, using the money that is due to run out next year -- the federal infrastructure money is due to run out in 2010-2011 -- we’re taking steps to channel a lot of that money into the communities with the highest core need so we’d be able to address a lot of the issues, whether it be major M and I projects, which is one of the contributing factors to the high number of core need, talking about the adequacy. We’re taking steps to address that and there’s a huge investment being made in repair projects across the Northwest Territories.
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?
The strategy that we have to address core need is to make an investment in the communities with the highest core need. We’re quite confident that will address a lot of the issues as far as core need goes. We have about a year and a half left of the federal money they have invested plus what we’ve contributed. Since 2004-2005 we’ve actually invested about $224 million into trying to address this and the money has gone to a lot of the communities that are in highest need. That is our strategy for the next couple of years, is to take what we’ve learned from the Community Needs Survey and allocate money based on the numbers that we receive.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that response. Will the Minister do a complete review of the NWT Housing Corporation’s programs and policies with means of lowering core need and developing programs that can be delivered effectively in the small communities?
We’re always looking at ways that we can bring the core need numbers down and the investment that we are making, whether it be in the public housing stock or through the Homeownership Programs. It’s an ongoing process. We’re always looking for ways that we can improve the delivery of our programs with the investment that we have. We’re quite confident that when we meet again next year for the budget session that some of our numbers should go down. The communities that need the most investment to bring their core need down will be getting the most investment. We’re quite confident that we’ll see a decline in the core need numbers. We also have to understand that affordability is a contributing factor to the core need numbers too. If the economy picks up, I think that plus the investment we’re making we’ll see the core needs start to come down.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
