Debates of February 24, 2005 (day 43)

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance just said that he would be interested in looking at the kind of thing that my colleague Mr. Ramsay was talking about: tax breaks, tax situations, and what the cost would be to the government. But here we go, we’re looking internally again. We’re saying oh, gee, this might hurt us. What about the positive impact it might make for the families and the people out there in the Northwest Territories, in the communities, who are coming up short right now because we’re not able to think outside that box? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Roland.

Return To Question 476-15(3): Benefits Of A Tax Credit To Homeowners

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we would look at any initiative that would come forward that would cost the government in delivery of that initiative, if we forego taxes in this area of an incentive, we’d have to look at the total cost of that, because if it means we have to come and find another $10 million or $15 million from our own-source revenues, we have to balance that off. Yes, there could be some positive aspects. It would get more construction happening and more people into their own homes. We would need to balance both of those off; I agree. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 476-15(3): Benefits Of A Tax Credit To Homeowners

Mr. Speaker, the impacts and the consequence of our housing prices hurts the people of the Northwest Territories in so many ways; in health, in education, and their chances for having stable and steady employment. Is there a willingness, an appreciation, an understanding at the Cabinet level, that housing is an across-the-board responsibility and not just something that lands in the lap of the Housing Minister or the Finance Minister? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 476-15(3): Benefits Of A Tax Credit To Homeowners

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think we again, as a government, can demonstrate the fact that it is across the board and the cost of living impacts on the health of residents. There are a number of factors that we’ve looked at, as a government, in trying to wrestle with the shortage of housing across the Northwest Territories, and the Housing Corporation has undergone an initiative to try to bridge that gap to a certain degree. Members of this House have put a motion on the floor to decrease the core need, and all of that requires much more money than we have right now, and we either have to come up with new sources of revenue or come up with another way of trying to bridge that gap. So I think we have demonstrated, as a government, that we are interested in that, we’ll look at some options. But at the same time, because we are in a tight fiscal environment, we’re going to have to measure off both sides of the equation to see if in fact there’s a positive enough benefit that we will take the initiative. I think one of the things that has been debated in this House is trying to think outside the box. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 476-15(3): Benefits Of A Tax Credit To Homeowners

Mr. Speaker, I believe that there are options out there; we just have to be bold enough to go out there and put the case on the table. There’s one very apparent one that comes immediately to mind in the Aboriginal Development Corporation who, through land claims settlements and cash injections to the Government of Canada, are, I think, very well positioned to be major players in finding an answer to this solution. Are the Aboriginal Development Corporations and First Nations on that list in our toolbox, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 476-15(3): Benefits Of A Tax Credit To Homeowners

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, I think we can show examples of how we’ve partnered with other governments from across the territory, aboriginal governments in some of the initiatives, either through supporting them through negotiated contracts in the smaller communities to help build housing, as well as universal partnership agreements in delivery of the housing program in those communities. There’s definitely an option there. At the end of the day even for example in the community of Inuvik, a developer wants a core tenant to be there to make sure that they can afford and they are making a good decision in building multi-unit apartment buildings and so on. They want somebody to backstop that investment. That takes dollars. We’re trying to wrestle with that in the big picture. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Your final supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 476-15(3): Benefits Of A Tax Credit To Homeowners

Mr. Speaker, this is an issue across Canada, but it’s so acute here across Northern Canada. Has the Finance Minister taken this extremely serious situation up with his counterparts in the other territories to see what we could do if we linked arms and moved this along? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 476-15(3): Benefits Of A Tax Credit To Homeowners

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I meet with my counterparts from the other jurisdictions in the finance area, we use the information we have available to us; the housing information, the cost of living factors and we use that to build our argument to try to get more revenues to our own jurisdictions. So when I go down to meet with Minister Goodale, I’m carrying in my briefcase or my backpack the arguments we’ve developed in the Northwest Territories to try to convince them in fact we need more dollars to deliver the same level of programs that southern Canadians have already. The cost of living is extreme in the North. We realize that and we’re trying to get the rest of Canada to realize that, too. Thank you.