Debates of May 27, 2004 (day 14)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation with respect to my Member’s statement. I spoke about mould. It really poses a serious health problem and given that, the problem seems to be increasing with time. I just wonder if the government or the department has an existing policy in place to address this growing problem. Thank you.

Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. McLeod.

Return To Question 153-15(3): Mould In Housing Units In The Communities Of Nahendeh

Mr. Speaker, I am trying to recall if I ran across a mould policy…

---Laughter

I don’t believe we have a policy specifically dealing with mould. We do, however, deal with deficiencies in our units. There is a problem and we recognize that there is a problem in the Nahendeh riding. At this point we believe it's in Fort Liard. There are a number of units there that are causing concern, and we totally agree that there are health issues surrounding the problem with the mould in the units. We are looking at them and we have reviewed the situation in all the different units that are there. We are compiling a report and we will be developing a plan and a way to deal with this whole issue of mould.

Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Supplementary To Question 153-15(3): Mould In Housing Units In The Communities Of Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the Minister responsible for housing have any specific contingency plans in place to get rid of the problem as it exists now and as it occurs? Thank you.

Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 153-15(3): Mould In Housing Units In The Communities Of Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the mould problem in Fort Liard is an issue that is isolated to a number of houses that are managed through a co-management agreement with the community and a non-profit society there. These units were built in 1991 and they were transferred over to the NWT Housing Corporation in 1997, so the houses have been under our management, along with the community, for roughly seven years. The issue of construction and the issue of upkeep is something we're looking at. We are preparing a work plan. We are providing some of the costs and we're looking at what some of the causes may be with this issue, and we're also looking at putting together a time frame and different recourse we have to eliminate this problem and to identify the cause so that we won't see this return. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Supplementary To Question 153-15(3): Mould In Housing Units In The Communities Of Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister speaks about the assessment of the problem being highly technical and scientific. I'm just wondering if the department or the Minister has any plans to provide people who have this problem with information that they can easily understand. Thank you very much.

Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 153-15(3): Mould In Housing Units In The Communities Of Nahendeh

Mr. Speaker, we have hired an environmental specialist to look at this whole issue. As I said earlier, we are compiling a report that will deal with the cost, the time frame, the causes and some of the solutions. I certainly will commit to providing that to the community, to the people who live in the units, to our partners in the…(inaudible)…Housing Association, and also to the Members as they desire. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would just like to recognize the clock. The time for oral questions has expired, but I will allow the Member to ask his final supplementary. Mr. Menicoche.

Supplementary To Question 153-15(3): Mould In Housing Units In The Communities Of Nahendeh

Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. My final question is certainly the government is aware of the problem that exists in my riding, and probably other communities as well. I'm just wondering if they have in place any plan to raise public awareness of the problem and to educate people about the dangers and perhaps ways to avoid mould problems within their homes. Thank you.

Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 153-15(3): Mould In Housing Units In The Communities Of Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue of contamination or safety or health issues in our units are always a very great cause for concern. We have standard procedures within the corporation for dealing with these issues. In this case, we have hired an environmental specialist to look at the situation. We would like to identify the cause of the problem, we would like to look at a number of issues that revolve around this whole mould issue. We are also looking at maybe upgrading our mechanical systems in the units which may be contributing to this whole issue. We take it very seriously. We will share all our information with the community, we will share all our information with the people in the units, and we also share our information with the Member and keep him up to date on what the status is of this issue. Thank you.