Debates of March 4, 2005 (day 49)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to continue talking about the concerns of arrears with my favourite Housing Minister, the Honourable David Krutko. Mr. Speaker, if a person in market housing is being kicked out because they can’t afford to live there anymore, and obviously they owe arrears because that is what we are talking about, and they owe arrears so they can’t be put on the list, as the Minister clearly says, then where do they go if they are being kicked out of market housing and they can’t get on the list for social housing? Where do they go? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Krutko.

Return To Question 548-15(3): Qualifications For Public Housing

Mr. Speaker, if the tenant is in public housing and they have arrears, they know, if they have been given an eviction notice, that they have six to eight weeks to respond to that notice. In between that time, they can go to the local housing authority and work out a payback plan where they commit themselves to pay back their arrears over a period of time through an arrangement they work out with the authority. If they commit themselves to that arrangement, and they pay on the time they say they are going to pay, they can remain there. But if they break that agreement and they do not continue to pay and the arrears continue to go up, they would have to go through the eviction process. If they are already there, there is a process that can work them through their arrears payback plan. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Supplementary To Question 548-15(3): Qualifications For Public Housing

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister was absolutely right on his answer, but that was not the answer to the question I was asking. I am saying that you are in market housing, you are renting from the private industry and you are being kicked out because you can’t afford to live there anymore and you are not paying your costs. So you are in private housing, not public housing, not social housing owned by the authorities. I am talking about private housing, you are being kicked out. In the past, you owed arrears to the Housing Corporation. This is what I am talking about; you can’t even get on the list. So where does a person go if they can’t even get on the list for public housing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 548-15(3): Qualifications For Public Housing

Mr. Speaker, as the Member mentioned, the individual he is talking about is in the private housing market; they are not in public housing. As the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, we are only responsible for public housing that are in our stock which includes some 2,300 units. So if the individual is talking about someone who is in the private market; sorry, we are not responsible for those individuals in the private market, only it is those individuals who are in public housing.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Supplementary To Question 548-15(3): Qualifications For Public Housing

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At least we agree that we are now talking about private housing out there in the private market. Mr. Speaker, that person in the private housing in the private market has a history and owes arrears in the past to our social housing side. Now, let’s agree to that point. Now, they owe arrears from the past dealings. Where do they go if they are being kicked out of private housing initiatives? Where do they go now because they can’t qualify for public or social housing? So where do they go now? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 548-15(3): Qualifications For Public Housing

Mr. Speaker, again, it is a confusing question because, like I stated, the Housing Corporation deals with clients in public housing. Those are our clients. But if someone wants to get into public housing, they have to be in good standing. If they go from one community with arrears and move to another community, there is an agreement between all of our local housing authorities, the 23 authorities that we have, that if you go from one authority to another authority with your arrears, in order to get into that other community, you have to work out those arrears before you can get back into public housing. Again, the Member is talking about an individual who is in the private sector who is trying to get into public housing. Again, it holds true that, if you are going to go from a private housing market, there are arrangements there where if you have arrears in that market and you are trying to get into public housing, those have to be worked out before you can get into public housing.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Supplementary To Question 548-15(3): Qualifications For Public Housing

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am trying to avoid names of places, but it may make it simpler. Mr. Speaker, you rent out of one of Urbco’s Garden Apartments right now in the public market and you are being kicked out of that. Maybe in the past, maybe you were from Fort McPherson, for example, just to pick a place, and you were in social housing. You had arrears but you moved to the city and you got an apartment in Urbco, like I said. But Urbco has now kicked you out, like I said, and you can’t go to social housing and you can’t qualify. Would the Minister look into making this policy fair and not discriminatory? This way, we will be able to get arrears back if we get people into housing they can afford and into a stable environment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 548-15(3): Qualifications For Public Housing

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The policy, as it sits, has been worked on for a number of years. It is clear and we have arrangements for people who have arrears to work them off. Again, if you move from Fort McPherson with the arrears and went to Yellowknife, got into the private housing market and then tried to get into social housing; sorry, you can’t skip that queue. You still have the arrears in Fort McPherson that you have to pay off before you can get back into public housing. So if the Member can understand the notion that if you have arrears with one authority, we can’t just skip the queue and move to another community and figure we are going to write off those arrears. We don’t do that. But we do have a policy that allows the system for people to pay off those arrears, work their way back into public housing so that they can get on the list and get back into public housing. Thank you.