Mr. Speaker, in regard to the policy, there are challenges implementing the policy, especially when we’re putting roadblocks in the way of the communities by way of student-teacher ratio. The system we have now is 16 to 1. The community of Tsiigehtchic basically has maybe 38 students. Because of the ratio, the most teachers they’re going to get are two. For me, that is the problem with the policy and being able to implement the K to 12 strategy of getting high schools in all our communities.
As the Minister, I believe that you have to take into consideration the unique situations and you have to revamp the policy in regard to student-teacher ratio so the ratio is realistic and achievable in communities where you have low populations of students. I’d like to ask the Minister, would you consider looking at that as an area that we can work on to solve this problem of getting high schools in our communities?
Mr. Speaker, this is an area that we can explore. We have explored other areas as well, and the policy development or establishment, and made some changes and amendments to certain policies. When it comes to student-teacher ratio, we’ve made some changes in the past that reflect on whether it be the inclusive schooling or other programming area. I’m committed that we can look at this area and if we need to make changes, I’ll definitely notify the standing committee, my colleagues, to say if we need to do this, we need to start planning together with the district education council and also with the district education authority as well. Mr. Speaker, I will look into this and see what can come out of this. Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, another area I think the Minister should seriously look at is the whole area of boarding of the students that have to leave their home communities and go to the regional centres. In Inuvik they had a hostel that was designed for the students from the Beaufort-Delta to go to Inuvik and take high school, which was costing over $400,000 a year. Since that, they’ve revamped the program where they’re basically allowing now for home board, or basically boarding the students with families in Inuvik, which is costing in excess of $200,000. So there’s a surplus of $200,000 somewhere in the system that could be used to enhance the programs in those communities that need additional teachers. Would you also consider looking into that as an area that we can find revenues to implement that idea?
Mr. Speaker, in respect to the boarding, it is at the board level, the education board level. We provide funding for the students, the enrolment, and they provide funding to the various organizations to establish such as a boarding home. So if there’s a surplus, it goes back to the school board and it is at their discretion to allocate the funding to various programming or other areas as well.
As the Minister, I need to work with that with the school board and I can’t give them the direction to say you should spend that money in that area. I have to respect their decision, as well, but I will commit to this House that I will be working with the school board. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister to use some ministerial discretion here, because I believe that we’re failing our students in the small communities who are dropping out, who are going back home because they are not fully accommodated for their education like other students in their home communities. I’d like to ask the Minister to take some direction on this and look at the resources that you’re giving to the education boards and give it directly to the communities that need that resource. I believe that is where the bottleneck is and I believe the Minister has to take some action on this one, and the Minister should use some of his prerogative and make sure that those dollars are being spent in the communities where we’re seeing those students failing because they’re not achieving their high school abilities because of having to fall out of school because basically they’re not back in their home communities because the supports aren’t there.
Mr. Speaker, this is an area that I’m fully committed. The Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative, I’m looking forward to the Members’ discussion at that level when we’re in the Beaufort-Delta in May, along with other discussions, the solutions that will be brought to the table and this will definitely be a part of it. We’ve heard from other Sahtu and other regions as well about the boarding and also the Deh Cho. I’m glad the Member is raising that issue and I’m looking forward to that discussion in May. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Public Works. Mr. Speaker, it’s regarding the Commissioner’s house of the Northwest Territories. Our present Commissioner won’t be taking up residency in the Commissioner’s house that we’ve allocated them for their privilege, of course, if that’s one that they want to exercise. It will be sitting empty for four years. Mr. Speaker, in the past, Bob Engle, a well-known aviation Northerner, has offered to give his house to the Northwest Territories for an appropriate tax credit. It’s more of a regal style of house to accept important foreign dignitaries, guests and whatnot. As anyone knows, a tax credit really doesn’t fall on the backs of the taxpayer. It really comes to it would work in both interests.
Mr. Speaker, has the Minister of Public Works ever entertained that type of discussion about accepting the Engle house as a potential formal Commissioner’s house, and maybe even looked at considering selling the present Commissioner’s house, which will sit empty for four to five years doing nothing? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Michael McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think there were about three questions there. The answer to all three is no, we haven’t looked at it. It’s not a responsibility that falls under the Department of Public Works so we haven’t had any requests come to us about some of the suggestions he’s made and we have not reviewed any correspondence to that effect. Thank you.
Well, Mr. Speaker, I did inquire with that office regarding the cost of how much it would be to heat and power that empty Commissioner’s house that will be sitting empty between four and five years. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister of Public Works have the figures that it would cost the government to have that house sit empty for those four to five years? Thank you.
Once again, the Member’s asking me questions that I know full well he has the answer in front of him. Mr. Speaker, it’s not something I have any information on at this point. I’m sure we have compiled that information. I did have staff talk to me about some of the costs, I just don’t have it at this point. I’d have to, if the Member wanted to, provide it to him again. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, it is not so much about the cost; it is about the waste of money. The fact is the house will be sitting between four and five years completely empty and there is no guarantee the next Commissioner of the Northwest Territories will be taking up residency in there, regardless if they are from Yellowknife or any other jurisdiction in NWT. Mr. Speaker, my question is simple. Would the Minister be able to work with the cross-Cabinet officials, depending on whether it is the Minister of Finance or even the Premier’s office, about looking and evaluating the offer made by Bob Engle a couple of years ago to this very government about accepting his house for a tax credit and perhaps maybe using the money and the proceeds of the present Commissioner’s house in sales to fix up that house for a proper regal house deserving of the people of the Northwest Territories that are represented? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, once again, the request hasn’t come to my office. I believe the request did come to our government, but in the life of the 15th Assembly, so it is not something I am currently reviewing. The request I believe at the time went to the Finance Minister’s office.
Mr. Speaker, if there is a suggestion that the Member is making, we can certainly consider them and bring it to the appropriate department. There are a number of rules that have to be followed that we have agreed to as a government with the Commissioner’s position and tax laws and federal requirements that we have to abide by. I would certainly welcome any suggestions that the Member has, if he wants us to consider putting the building up for sale. We would have to see what the circumstances around that would be and what the requirements that we would have to follow are. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Minister for that offer. I just want to put it officially on the record. Would the Minister be willing to entertain a meeting, if I can put one together, to discuss this very matter about looking at addressing possibly the Engle house as the new Commissioner’s house and, of course, further discussions about selling the present Commissioner’s house even though it is sitting vacant for four to five years? If he would be willing to agree to a meeting, that would be great. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, if the Member would care to put it in writing, I would certainly consider it. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to address the Assembly on the subject of devolution resource revenue sharing and why it is so important to the riding I represent in the Inuvialuit.
In my riding, we have some serious social and economic problems. For example, Canada in 1991 had a graduation rate of 61.8 percent. The Northwest Territories had 59.9 percent. In the Inuvialuit settlement region, including all students, was 53.8 percent, a difference of 6.1 in the Northwest Territories and 8 percent in Canada. By 2009, it increased to 17.8 percent to 79.6. The Northwest Territories increased 9.4 to 69.3 percent and the Inuvialuit settlement region went only 5.5 percent to 57.7. Statistics on Inuvialuit graduates have been only collected since 2004 and to 2009, graduation rates 38.6 percent, a difference of 34 percent within Canada; 30.7 percent of the Northwest Territories, almost twice the difference, Mr. Speaker.
There is also a dependency on the government for income support, low income levels in the region with average medium family income in 2006 in small Inuvialuit communities of Tuktoyaktuk, Aklavik, Paulatuk, Ulukhaktok and Sachs Harbour of $37,395 compared to Canada’s $63,600, 1.7 times greater in the Northwest Territories of $88,800, 2.4 times greater than those in the communities. This is also coupled by a high cost of living for these four small communities that have an average of twice the cost of living compared to here in Yellowknife. In reviewing education income levels, disturbing trend, Mr. Speaker, but curing the gap between Inuvialuit and territorial, national levels are widening. This means the efforts of this government do not focus on reducing the cost of living or improving the ability and skills so the next generation is able to achieve higher standards of living.
Communities still continue to pursue subsistence harvesting to close the income gap to feed their families. However, there is a concern and dependency on social housing, and income support reduces the motivation of individuals to improve their education, employment skills and seek meaningful employment. This is likely further coupled by the lack of economic activity in the region. With the Inuvialuit beneficiaries, the unemployment rate is 2.5 times higher than the Northwest Territories rates and three times higher than Canada’s unemployment rates. The Inuvialuit culture remains strong, mainly through the dedication of our elders and growing interest of Inuvialuit youth. However, the youth of Inuvialuktun continues to decline, with 37 percent of Inuvialuit fluent in the language in 1984 to 23 percent in 2009.
There are also severe health and social problems in the communities, in particular addiction to alcohol and drugs. In our home community, last year’s survey conducted by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation of close to 90 percent of people surveyed responded they experienced problems of addictions. This is something wrong, Mr. Speaker. The Inuvialuit are seeking to improve the standard of living. I would say the primary goal as set out in the Inuvialuit Final Agreement that we will continue to work towards the achievement of the goal without support of this government or other Aboriginal governments.
Devolution will provide additional resources that can be used to provide better education to address all social problems, but more importantly, to use as a tool to control major economic decisions. Implemented properly, we can control the resources that will generate wealth for all the people of the Northwest Territories including additional revenues for the Northwest Territories governments, both public and Aboriginal.
As you are aware, negotiation of the devolution of powers from the federal government to the North has always been difficult, particularly the relationship of land resources in which are a great concern to Aboriginal people. The Inuvialuit have consistently participated in these negotiations since the signing of the Northern Accord 20 years ago. Throughout this period, the Inuvialuit represented their interests and at times the negotiation process was stopped because there were differences between the parties. Last time the negotiations were halted, in 2007, the Government of the Northwest Territories refused the final offer from the Government of Canada. The Inuvialuit supported the Government of the Northwest Territories efforts to obtain a better deal and also agreed to a revenue sharing agreement-in-principle. The Government of the Northwest Territories did not achieve that all positions that there were some improvements, of course, and some realities we must all face.
The sharing of wealth, since 2007 the world economy has crashed; an economic downturn we’ve never seen and never known. Governments are continuing to address the problem by stimulating the economy. Canada is in no position today to increase the share of revenues but did achieve an equalization formula that is provided for a new sharing arrangement for the resource revenues. It is extremely unlikely at the time that the Northwest Territories will be able to get a special deal or change the formula until the economy can support and improve transfer payments for resource sharing.
In regards to sharing the revenues, the Aboriginal people’s current revenue sharing arrangement, the Inuvialuit are part of 25 percent net fiscal benefit. The revenue sharing AIP also allows the sharing arrangement to be revisited through the context of self-government and transfer payments to the Aboriginal governments. These revenues will help the Aboriginal governments to address many social and education disparities and continue to strengthen their cultures and languages. Is it enough? No, Mr. Speaker, but it’s a start.
With an improved economy and control of the economy, other revenues negotiated with the Government of the Northwest Territories we should engage Aboriginal governments to fully achieve arrangements to share the government revenues and relationships and responsibilities. Again, there is no provision in the current AIP that allows for a revenue sharing arrangement to be negotiated before the final agreement between the Aboriginal governments and the Government of the Northwest Territories. These bilateral negotiations should begin as soon as possible to achieve mutually and beneficial arrangements for all.
The sharing of powers, the Inuvialuit Final Agreement was the first land claim agreement in the Northwest Territories and the fourth comprehensive land claim agreement in Canada. Since 1984 the Inuvialuit have worked hard to ensure the goals of the IFA be implemented with the spirit and intent of that agreement. That has not been an easy task, Mr. Speaker. Since 2007 we have encouraged our Government of the Northwest Territories to begin negotiations of the bilateral agreement of sharing of responsibilities related to the land, resources and water. The Government of the Northwest Territories refused to enter these negotiations until the AIP was signed and this created some discomfort with the Inuvialuit and other Aboriginal groups, because at the same time the Government of Canada proposed to reform regulatory systems that may impact the provisions of the land claim.
We have promoted the devolution and the instrument to take control over our land and resources, but we’re not working together to meet this goal. Negotiations between the Aboriginal governments, the power sharing arrangements should begin now to provide the necessary to all stakeholders, including industry and the authorities under the stakeholders the devolution agreement will be exercised in a responsible manner and improve implementation of the treaty and land claim arrangements.
Again, a whole chapter of the devolution agreement and the principle of obligations that the Government of the Northwest Territories be negotiating bilateral agreements to clear evidence that these negotiations are going to be difficult should motivate the Government of the Northwest Territories to engage Aboriginal governments immediately. Aboriginal peoples and representative governments, the complementary of the world land claim of the agreements of opportunity to continue to work with the federal and territorial governments to clearly define their respective roles and responsibilities. The Inuvialuit will continue to protect the provisions of their land claim agreement and believe that they ought to be the primary beneficiaries of wealth generated by the resource development and devolution agreement is one step to achieving this objective.
This does not preclude others from making money, but impacts the Inuvialuit as a people of their region that face the social and cultural impacts of employment, business opportunities and programs, services that will help raise the living standards and manage potential impacts.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to make it clear to this Assembly that I do support the devolution agreement-in-principle and I’d strongly encourage the Premier to initiate discussions with further bilateral agreements between the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Aboriginal peoples necessary in order to conclude the final agreement. Mr. Speaker, we must work together for the betterment of all the people in the Northwest Territories and make sure that everybody comes away from the table wanting to work together in an open-handed approach and not taking things personally. At the end of the day we’re here for our people, our people are suffering and this is a good way to help the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled Caribou Forever - Our Heritage, Our Responsibility, A Barren-Ground Caribou Management Strategy for the Northwest Territories 2011-2015, Draft, February 2011. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to table today testimonials and drawings from 16 of the young students at Dettah’s Kaw Tay Whee School describing the enormous benefits they’ve received from the recently cancelled Healthy Food for Learning school nutrition program.
Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, February 28, 2011, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that the GNWT develop a reliable, trustworthy and confidential measuring tool to verify the percentage of persons with a disability within the GNWT workforce;
And further, that the Government of the Northwest Territories reassess and, if necessary, revise the staffing priorities assigned to the affirmative action groups identified in Section 101 of the GNWT Human Resources Manual to ensure the priority assigned to persons with disabilities relative to the other groups is in keeping with the spirit and intent of the Affirmative Action Policy and is adequate to support the goal of a representative public service;
And furthermore, that the GNWT develop a plan to ensure that the percentage of persons with a disability employed by this government be maintained at, or increased to, no less than 5 percent of the total workforce within five years of the date of this motion;
And furthermore, that the government report back to this Assembly within 120 days as to the government’s plan to achieve the goals of this motion, and each five years thereafter.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on Thursday, February 24, 2011, it shall be adjourned until Monday, February 28, 2011;
AND FURTHER, that any time prior to February 28, 2011, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and shall transact its business as it has been duly adjourned to that time.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Motion is on the floor. Motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question is being called.
---Carried
The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
WHEREAS seniors are valued and respected members of our communities who have contributed throughout their lives and deserve our support to live independently as long as they are able;
AND WHEREAS the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation is currently undertaking a review of its programs and services;
AND WHEREAS most communities in the Northwest Territories do not have independent housing units specially designed for seniors;
AND WHEREAS many seniors are on fixed incomes and, therefore, especially vulnerable to increases in the cost of living;
AND WHEREAS seniors are especially at risk when their homes fall into disrepair and many of them are not able to perform repairs themselves;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Sahtu, that this Legislative Assembly strongly recommends the NWT Housing Corporation reintroduce a home maintenance and repair program for seniors.
Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Motion is on the floor. Motion is in order. To the motion. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Over the course of the last three or four years when the NWT Housing Corporation amalgamated its programs and services into four distinct packages, they had some real nice acronyms: HELP, CARE, et cetera. What it didn’t address was the need for seniors in those programming packages. Previously we had a strong seniors package within the NWT Housing Corporation. There was the Elders on the Land Program, some repairs programs, some maintenance programs. They were all distinct to help seniors in our communities and regions.
The last couple of years I have found that as I deal with seniors’ issues, I support them as they apply for Housing Corporation programs and services and I keep getting the response that there’s no specific seniors program that covers them at all. I go to ask further and they say, in reality, there are no seniors program, it was all deleted. Their applications are based on the general population.
I don’t think it’s fair. I think that we had distinct seniors and elders programming for the very reason to take care of our elders and seniors. I really think it was an oversight, a mistake by the Housing Corporation to lump them together with the general population. I don’t think they really thought this through.
There are many issues that myself as MLA and other Regular Members, and even the Ministers as MLAs themselves address many of the same concerns I’m sure in their specific ridings. I believe that we should move back to some distinct senior repairs and maintenance programming at the NWT Housing Corporation.
A lot of the issues that are out there are that they must address arrears. I spoke about having an independent appeals system to address arrears but our seniors’ arrears that are showing up are 20 years old. It counts against them when they apply for programming. I’m not too sure how this works, but somewhere in our laws and legislation, it might be federal, we have a statute of limitations that’s only seven years. I don’t know how they can apply something that happened 20 or 30 years ago against our seniors. That’s a real inequity there and it’s not really fair. I believe that must be addressed.
I don’t want to go too much further other than there’s a need that’s missing. It worked before. I believe we should introduce it. I look to the support of my colleagues and this House in urging our government to reintroduce this program and make it work for our seniors and elders in our communities.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. To the motion. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the Member for Nahendeh for developing and asking me to consider seconding this. I’m very pleased to second the motion.
I’ve also looked at the seniors home repair initiatives that this Housing Corporation has put into our communities. It makes it quite difficult, even though the programs are there, for the seniors to apply to them and receive help. Sometimes they’re lucky, they can get the support. Sometimes they miss out because they don’t understand the applications or the process itself. It’s quite foreign to them. Some of them don’t understand the policies. There are some elders that are quite frustrated because of other issues that they’re unaware of or just the nature of living in small communities that prevent them from taking a step further in their application being accepted or looked at.
There were a lot of calls from my communities, especially Fort Good Hope where a lot of elders needed help. For example, the land issue of tenure becomes a real problem for the elders. When I go into the communities of the Sahtu and I go into Fort Good Hope, for example, they say we need our house fixed and Housing isn’t there. I explain to them that they need to put an application together and need to get that land tenure into MACA so that Housing can look at the application and go ahead. They give me quite a lecture on land and housing and when housing was first introduced into the communities.
If we could look at something that’s comprehensive, that seniors can go there and have one dedicated personnel from Housing Corporation just to work with the seniors, because right now we have the resources that work right across the board and sometimes we have personnel from the Housing Corporation that go into Deline. Sometimes the person doesn’t have a translator or interpreter with them. They go into the house and try to explain a program, as complex as we have them or as simple as we have them, to an elder that doesn’t quite understand English. So the elder nods his head or doesn’t quite know what’s going on. I have run into a few occasions in Deline where the Housing Corporation has gone into some of the homes there and the comments I hear back from the elders I say, well, did Housing come? They say, eh-heh. Did they talk to you? They say, eh-heh. What did you understand? They say, don’t know, they just went out. So there’s a real communication issue there with housing programs.
We need to take our time with these elders. The Sahtu has the highest core need in the region. I think that a seniors housing program can work. It takes a little more time with them and I think we need to put it in a separate area where they can just look after seniors and work with seniors and help them out.
Some of the programs are only so much dollars in each community and it’s first-come first-serve sometimes. Sometimes some of the houses are well beyond the dollars that are dedicated for a program, so the department has to look at how much money can be spent there.
Just in closing, the one incident that it brings to mind right now is an elder in Fort Good Hope -- and the Minister is well aware of this -- is an elder that lived on the land, he was well in his 70s or 80s, he left for his family on the land and his house froze up. The Housing Corporation did go there, and there was nobody there. The elder came back to a frozen line, sewer. This was late December. He went to see the Housing Corporation and apparently the person that’s responsible for Fort Good Hope and that area went on holidays for a couple of weeks, so the elder had to live in his house without any running water or the use of a flush toilet. Things like that are nobody’s fault, it’s just how things have worked out.
I really think this government needs to put some emphasis on our seniors, on our elders, into the house and put a program like this. I support this motion 110 percent.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. To the motion. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I too will support this motion. I have a few reasons for wanting to see a program like this go. The main one is that I think we should focus on getting elders’ homes fixed, because of some of the things that Mr. Menicoche talked about. Mainly because in the small communities they do have fixed incomes and they can’t afford to fix their house. Even individuals that are working and would be considered working poor, actually have more income than most of the seniors who are living off of old age security.
The other thing is if we don’t address the issue of the seniors, and we’re not addressing it quickly enough with the CARE program, which they are eligible for but not frequent enough or there’s not as many CARE programs given out to the elders. I’m of the belief that all elders who have homes that they have to maintain their homes should be kept up to date and programs should be put in place to do that to ensure that their houses don’t fall beyond economical repair.
Just the whole idea of houses falling behind economic repair and the ramifications of that is quite something, actually. If a unit falls beyond economical repair, meaning that it’s costing more than 75 percent of the full value of the replacement of that unit, the government won’t put money into it. It just doesn’t make sense to because it’s beyond economic repair. But the senior will not move. So we have the option of having the senior either at one point saying the house is so poor that we’re going to have to build you a new house, which is going to be expensive; or we’re going to put you in residential care, which is going to be more expensive; or let the senior live in a dilapidated house. Those are the options as I see it.
If we put this program in place I think we will save these homes. We’ll save the government a lot of money in the future. And we will also make the first little move towards trying to develop markets in small communities, because markets in small communities would make it possible for the seniors to actually put money into their own home, their own money, because when there’s a market then that is considered equity as opposed to a non-market community where you can’t really accumulate equity.
I think elders owning their own home, that in general is something that is very good for this government. It’s economical for us as well. A lot of times the elders, as they get older, instead of moving into residential care they have somebody move in with them. So it’s always good to have a good unit for that to happen.
I’ll support the motion. I’m very pleased that the MLA for Nahendeh brought this motion forward. I look forward to the vote.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. To the motion. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am totally in support of this motion. I think for me there are two main reasons why I believe that this motion ought to be passed and taken action on. The first one is, I think, respect for our elders and our seniors. I think the fact that we at the moment lump them all together for home maintenance and repair is not a sign of disrespect, but we are not respecting them as we should.
The second issue for me is that I believe, and I believe I’ve heard the government say, that we want to keep our seniors in their homes as much as possible. We want to keep everybody in their homes as long as possible. I think if we have targeted funding for seniors’ home repair and maintenance, as Mr. Beaulieu has stated, their homes will remain habitable a lot longer.
We don’t want to take seniors out of their homes and put them into institutions. We, first of all, don’t have the spaces or institutions where we can put them. Secondly, I don’t think anybody wants to go to an institution until they absolutely have to.
I believe a targeted fund for seniors’ home repair and maintenance is something which will assist us in many ways. It will be more cost efficient than if we don’t do it. I think it would be relatively easy for the Housing Corporation to determine how many seniors we do currently look after to a certain extent. Take that percentage of the users of the Housing Corporation’s programs, target that percentage of funding to seniors’ home repair and maintenance. It should be a fairly simple thing to do.
The last time that we had seniors programs was in 2005, 2006, and the last numbers that we’ve got indicate that seniors did take up on seniors programs quite a bit. Preventative maintenance in the Sahtu, 60; South Slave, 87; North Slave, 104; Nahendeh, 27; and Beaufort-Delta, 89. Those are large numbers, Mr. Speaker, and I think it indicates that we have seniors who do want to stay in their own home, they do want their home to be comfortable, and they’re willing to look after it but they need some assistance. In my view, targeting funding for seniors particularly will accomplish that goal. I am in support of the motion. I urge my colleagues to be in support also. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. To the motion. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll be voting for this excellent motion here today. I want to thank Mr. Menicoche for bringing it forward. Mr. Menicoche, I think, truly hits upon a nerve that should be a value that we wear on our chest every single day here. I mean, this Assembly quite often talks about its respect for elders and our seniors, and this motion replies to that call for action. It says that we should be helping people age in place. Aging in place is a philosophy out there to ensure that aging people are allowed to stay as independent as possible with the support of those around you, and at time that actually means government coming to the assistance to ensure that we help people age in place. In some particular cases that means home repairs, sometimes it means changing the old style bathtub into more of an accessible style or just updating hand railing and changing doors.
Mr. Speaker, it’s great value when we can allow a senior or an elder to be able to stay in their own home and not take away that independence. Mr. Speaker, it’s kind of like caging their spirit when you send them off to an institution or seniors home. I’ve heard the complaint from many seniors that there’s no way that they’re leaving their house, at least on their own two feet. It’s like taking their heart from their chest. To allow them to live in poor, unhealthy conditions, is society allowing to stand by and saying, but that’s okay. I believe that’s wrong. Mr. Speaker, I don’t want to see the spirit ripped out of seniors who can live on their own, and sometimes it’s in these unhealthy conditions that have been mentioned here that I think we could be doing a lot for.
Mr. Speaker, when a senior loses their house because it’s become either unaffordable or, of course, its maintenance has fallen into such disrepair, I’ve heard many people have referred to it as it’s like losing a loved one; the pain of being shipped off into a new place. Now, there are seniors' homes and they’re designed for certain reasons, but I think, by and large, we can allow ourselves to find ways to continue to support our elders in a loving way that shows them the respect and dignity they deserve.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, this motion is more than just home repair, it’s speaks to the spirit and the independence of our seniors and our elders and that can’t be lost. Mr. Speaker, again, I’ll be supporting the motion. I look forward to the rest of my colleagues in this as well. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. To the motion. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve outlined on several occasions in the past that under some of the new programs, seniors are eligible for more funding. Under the old Senior Citizens Home Repair they were eligible for up to $20,000 in funding. The funding we have nowadays is based on income, so a lot of seniors that qualify have very low incomes, so they quality for higher amounts of assistance. Then under the Preventative Maintenance Program the seniors are eligible for up to $2,000 each year.
Under the priority allocation and selection system, seniors and disabled persons receive extra points, so obviously they’re given priority ranking. Under the old program, forgiveness was fixed at 10 years and under the CARE program it’s between one and 10 years, depending on the amount of money received. So under the old program you had to wait 10 years before you were eligible to apply again. Under the new program, depending on how long, up to three years you could possibly apply for programs, so that would allow more work to be done on your unit.
In 2010, Mr. Speaker, there was 191 CARE applicants that were approved across the Northwest Territories; 136, or 71 percent of those, were seniors. Under the Preventative Maintenance Program 94 applicants were approved. Of those 94, 86, or 90 percent of those, were seniors. So that obviously shows that we recognize the importance of seniors and we respect our seniors and we treat them the way they should be treated.
Mr. Speaker, we also deliver some programs that are funded by CMHC that seniors can take advantage of. There’s the Emergency Repair Program. It provides up to $11,000 in assistance to low-income homeowners to undertake emergency repairs. We have the Home Adaptation for Seniors Independence Program that we deliver on behalf of CMHC, and it allows homeowners and landlords to pay for minor home adaptations to enable low-income seniors to live independently in their homes. There’s also the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program for homeowners. It provides financial assistance to low-income homeowners who own and occupy their house, in order to enable them to make some repairs to their house to meet a minimal level of health and safety.
However, Mr. Speaker, having said all that, we recognize that it may be beneficial if there are programs targeted specifically at seniors, and in recognition of this I have directed the officials at the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation to take some steps in advance of our next intake period, which is coming up next September, and we plan on introducing a targeted intake process for seniors that apply for all Housing Choices programs, including opportunities for seniors in each community to meet with district staff and be made aware of all the housing situations that are available to them. We want to implement a targeted communications strategy for seniors so they’re aware of all the programs that are available to seniors. We can allocate a portion of funding under CARE to seniors home repair as well as the Preventative Maintenance Program, and I think that’s one of the things that this motion speaks to. I think in taking these steps, we can increase the awareness of seniors of some of the programs that are made available to them and the enhanced benefits they can receive under our new program.
As well, as all Members know, Housing Choices is undergoing a full evaluation of all the programs that we offer. We see this as a way of providing an improved understanding of how the NWT Housing Corporation can better serve all residents, seniors included, and make some possible adjustments as need be.
Because, Mr. Speaker, this is a recommendation to Cabinet, we will be abstaining from the vote. Thank you.
