Debates of June 6, 2006 (day 6)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that $367,000 be deleted from the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, NWT Housing Corporation activity, in Supplementary Appropriation, No. 1, 2006-2007.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The motion is in order. We’re going to give…Has the motion been circulated? It has been circulated? Everyone has a copy of it? To the motion. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I listened closely to some of the comments from my colleagues on this issue and I think this is a fair compromise. The $367,000 that’s going to be deleted from the Housing Corporation activity is, in effect, the positions that are located in headquarters, and that’s here in Yellowknife. It doesn’t impact the work that’s needed on the ground in the regions. That’s the 10 positions, five technical officers and five lands officers, and those are in the regions. The six positions that this money, the deletion of this $367,000, calls for are the positions that are located at headquarters. So as a compromise, I hope that Members will support this motion that’s before you. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. To the motion. Mr. Braden.

Madam Chair, I support the motion. The information that I have is that the Housing Corporation has really not exercised any kind of degree of creativity or flexibility in this. It just wants to continue doing business the same way. Let’s just add some more PYs here, let’s just continue growing this government instead of looking at what I believe, Madam Chair, would be opportunities within headquarters. As Mr. Ramsay has indicated, the intent of this motion is to say where are existing resources, PYs, where are priorities that could be shifted and that could be applied to look after this new opportunity or this new situation. We’re not being, I think, very nimble or certainly very efficient in this venture here. So the consequence of this motion being approved, of course, is that the corporation will be then forced to go back into its own resources, into its existing shop and say, okay, what can we do better? How can we use existing resources to get a better job done? That is the point of this motion, Madam Chair, and that’s why I’m supporting it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. To the motion. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am going to support the motion because, like some of my colleagues were saying, it seems to be wanting to grow and grow and grow. I like the five technical officers in the district. If I had my way, the lands officers would not be in here at all. I would make a motion to put them as technical officers who can do some land work. The technical officers, the ones I know, can do a bit of everything. To have lands officers going into the district office, I would just as soon they be technical officers. That would give us 10 in the districts and I would be wiling to support something like that. With that, Madam Chair, I will be supporting this motion. Like a lot of my colleagues, I think there are existing resources within the Housing Corporation that could cover a lot of this work. I truly believe there are existing resources in all departments that could cover a lot of the work that we keep wanting to add new positions for. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. To the motion. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I know that the Housing Corporation has been having lots of problems delivering programs to the regions. I know that this is one of the ways that they want to address it. I know they have been asking for positions time and time again and there is just no support for it then. But now that the federal government is contributing some $50 million and we have a chance to get housing on the move beginning immediately, I am going to vote against this motion.

Often when I am travelling to the regions and communities and talking about their frustrations about getting their housing delivered, like Fort Liard, this is the third year that housing has not been delivered and a lot of the problems are because of a backlog and administration. This is one of the ways they are going to address it. They did hire a new president that I hope will be on the ground and getting out into the communities really quickly, and get out there with his new eyes and address all our housing strategy needs in the different regions and communities. It’s because the corporation had no eyes for a little bit that I believe nothing was happening. Just overall, Madam Chair, my gut feeling is telling me it’s not helpful to be deleting these positions, especially when it comes to housing. With that, I will be voting against this motion. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Hawkins, to the motion.

Thank you, Madam Chair. On the matter of the motion before us now, I won’t be supporting it. I see that we often complain about not delivering housing and meeting housing needs in the communities, and this is certainly going to cut them right at the heels and the delivery of the programs. I don’t think we are doing it any favours. Either we are in the housing business or not. If we start cutting half of this and half of that, we won’t have anything left over.

As far as identifying headquarters positions versus district positions, I don’t find that very responsible. I am not comfortable with that. Headquarters is in Yellowknife. Here we are creating an opportunity here in our community and I think it’s unfair that we have targeted Yellowknife specifically, because it’s Yellowknife and I can’t stand for that. We are focussing in on jobs that just go to Yellowknife and we are should cut those, that’s ridiculous. I can’t support that.

Lastly, I want to say when we talk about just the Yellowknife positions, those who want to cut them, I see that as lack of vision. We are cutting out the leadership and the administrative process on this. In other words, it makes it very difficult for the lands officers without the administrative component. At the end of the day, I am not comfortable with that. I will be voting against the motion. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. To the motion.

Question.

Question is being called. All those in favour of the motion? All those opposed? The motion is defeated.

---Defeated

NWT Housing Corporation, operations expenditures, not previously authorized, $1 million, total department, $1 million.

Thank you. Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, not previously authorized, directorate and administration, $59,000; education and culture, $6.8 million; advanced education and careers, $1.007 million; income security, $696,000; total department, $8.562 million.

Agreed.