Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I have questions for the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation. In the past, Mr. Speaker, the Housing Corporation had programs such as the Senior Citizens Home Repair Program, Seniors and Disabled Preventative Maintenance Program and so on. Those programs have been eliminated and replaced with other programs; mind you, but there doesn’t seem to be a clear indication that the NWT Housing Corporation identifies different groups like seniors and families and so on. Seniors are usually on fixed incomes. So I want to ask the Minister if the Housing Corporation has a strategy for addressing the needs of senior homeowners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Housing does do what it can to assist the seniors. There is the Senior Preventative Maintenance Program out there. The seniors would apply and once they are into the system, they are given the system every year. This includes the servicing of their furnace and that. We are always trying to address the needs of our seniors. Thank you.
Staying with the core needs of the various communities, I had discovered in the past that some of the core needs in some communities were as high as 80 percent in the Sahtu and as low as 6 percent in other parts of the Northwest Territories, which is well below the national average. I want to ask the Minister if the Housing Corporation has plans to address the communities with the highest core need and maybe move some funds to the communities where the highest core needs percentage is in these communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We are just in the process of doing our housing needs survey and this goes a long way in determining the core needs of the communities, and if there are adjustments that need to be made so infrastructure or units are put in those communities with the highest core needs, then those adjustments will be made then and hopefully that will adjust some of the core needs of the communities most in need. Thank you.
Does the Minister and the Housing Corporation have a plan to help families that are clearly in core need but appear to be outside of the four programs, that don’t seem to be captured within the four programs that are currently offered by the Housing Corporation but are clearly in core need? Thank you.
The Housing Corporation is committed to try and help as many people in core need as possible. There is always the criteria that they have to meet to get into some of the programs, but we are always looking to address the issue of working with those that are the highest need. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister speaks of the needs survey being completed soon. Once the needs survey is completed, is there a plan to expand the programs so the majority of the constituents across the Territories can be captured within one program or another that the Housing Corporation will be offering, as opposed to staying within the current programs and hopefully the people who are core need fit into those programs? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Housing Corporation is always trying to fit people into the programs. They’ve expanded the scope of the programs sometimes to try to fit as many people in as possible and we are always looking to find ways that we can address those that are most in need. We have to understand, Mr. Speaker, that a lot of the people that are in need, they have to meet the criteria of the housing programs to be eligible to participate in some of the programs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr Speaker, today I am going to dial into the 911 issue and I certainly hope the Minister of MACA is willing to pick up the call and the urgency of this concern.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister has talked about not being able to help facilitate this problem even though it helps 77 percent of the population of the Northwest Territories. So I’ll take a different approach.
The NWTAC, that’s Association of Communities, 27 of the 33 communities have supported the 911 initiative over the last three years. I am just curious as to what is holding the Minister back with that type of support in our North. That’s 27 out of the 33 communities support this initiative. What’s holding the Minister back from moving forward on this initiative? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Bob...Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will let him answer.
---Laughter
Mr. Speaker, in our attempt to treat everybody across the Northwest Territories fairly, I think sometimes we are being portrayed as treating some unfairly and I don’t think that’s fair, Mr. Speaker. They have had a resolution passed by the NWTAC, as far as 911 goes. Seven of the 33 communities had originally wanted to get into the program, had the capacity to get into the 911 service. But, Mr. Speaker, since then, there has been a couple of communities that have decided that it’s not in their best interest right now to take part in the implementation of 911.
We do fund the communities through the capital formula funding and the gas tax money, which this particular program would fit. So if it’s a priority for the community, then they have the means to implement 911 if they choose to do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
May I thank the Minister for moving right into my next question ever so perfectly. He talks about priority. Mr. Speaker, the priority is that when this initiative first was born, MACA was one of the leaders in this initiative. When he talks about some people backed away, Mr. Speaker, that’s because people are tired of waiting for the initiative to come together. It’s really only focussed on the fact that it’s a funding issue with a couple of these communities that have backed away and that is 27 out of 33 communities that support this. Speaking of numbers, seven of the 33 communities represent 77 percent of the communities.
Mr. Speaker, I will be the first to acknowledge that every community or every region has specific needs and I think it’s incumbent among all of us to make sure we try to answer those specific needs of each region or community. That includes Yellowknife sometimes. I know it’s a hard issue to deal with, but, Mr. Speaker, what would hold the Minister back from doing a current assessment of the partners out there who want this, to find out how much money they have prepared? Because I can speak to you right now for the City of Yellowknife, they have money set aside right now for this initiative. So what would hold the Minister back from doing a current assessment of the preparedness that several communities are ready to go with this? Thank you.
There is nothing holding us back, Mr. Speaker, from doing a current assessment. We can speak to the communities to see how many of them are interested and how many are ready to implement 911 and remind them again that we provide them with a lot of money through the capital formula funding and gas tax to implement 911 if they wish to do so. Thank you.
I will take that last as a commitment that they will reassess and do a current assessment. Mr. Speaker, speaking specific to the City of Yellowknife, they have moved some of the capacity money in preparation waiting for the leadership of MACA to help glue this initiative together. Is the Minister well aware of the fact that CRTC requirements, if I understand them correctly, say if we go to an enhanced 911 service, it causes our mobility companies to provide cell phone service in every one of our small communities and that would actually be the carrot that many Members really want about getting cell phone services in those communities. Mr. Speaker, is the Minister aware of that initiative, that if we push this 911 forward we will get that? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the CRTC ruling says that they would have to…it doesn’t obligate the phone companies from implementing cell phone service in every community. That was not the ruling of CRTC. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Mr. Speaker, I will respectfully disagree. What is exactly the ruling on getting enhanced 911 services that cause or force the mobility companies to put cell phone services in our communities? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I would have to dig up the actual ruling, but my understanding is they would have to put in the ability to locate the cell phones. They would have to put that inability in or it is available. It doesn’t obligate them to install cell phone service throughout the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, Mr. Speaker, my Member’s statement was on a family in the community of Paulatuk being evicted from the housing unit. Is the Minister willing to review this particular case in Paulatuk to advise us on how he will work with other NWT agencies and client services to stop this eviction? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister of Housing, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The termination and eviction process is a fairly long one. It is not one that they just decided to do on the spur of the moment. They usually give the tenants an opportunity to come up with a repayment plan. Sometimes it is all the local housing authorities are looking for, is just a commitment from the tenants to come up with a repayment plan. Eviction is basically the last notice, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
I would just like to remind the Minister that the Housing Association is run out of Inuvik. They fly people into the community once or twice a month to take all the proper forms they have to fill out to get their rental assessment. But, Mr. Speaker, the biggest problem is not having somebody there to contact the people and do these assessments with the client. Why is the NWT Housing Association having to evict people in the middle of winter and not able to work with the family? This is unacceptable, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, Housing doesn’t choose the time of year when people are evicted. It is not something that Housing enjoys doing, but there is a process that has to be followed. Part of the process involves paying your rent or making arrangements to pay your rent, coming up with a payment plan. Usually they are pretty accepting of any tenant that wants to come forward and work out a payment plan and then they will have the opportunity to stay in their unit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, if the family does come forward, will the Minister and his department accept his plan of going forward to stay in the housing unit? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to this point where there is an eviction notice, usually it goes through a rental officer. There is a local board and these tenants could speak to the local board about trying to work out a plan. When it comes to the rental officers, usually it is the last part of the process. When it is an eviction, that is when it is usually a court ordered eviction. But before it gets to that point, there is always an opportunity for them to speak to the board and try to get the board to reverse the process if they come up with a repayment plan. But what they would need first and foremost, Mr. Speaker, is a commitment from the tenant that they are willing to take part in this repayment plan. Thank you.
Can the Minister identify the huge costs of eviction of a family, which would involve emergency travel to another community like Yellowknife -- and emergency housing is already crowded -- shelter and perhaps temporary arrangements for children, compare the cost of providing positive supports for a family? So that, perhaps, the result is an issue for the Housing Corporation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, this is not a process that any LHO likes to be a part of. It is often the last straw when it comes to this particular process. I know from history, Mr. Speaker, that they are always willing to work with the tenants of the housing authority. At the same time, we need a commitment from the tenant that if there is a ruling, that they will abide by that ruling and work out a repayment plan, then Housing is usually pretty accepting of that.
It is a huge cost, obviously, if they have to put them up in a shelter or move them to shelter, but there is also a very huge cost in the amount of arrears that are with the Housing Corporation every year. We are up to $10 million now in public housing arrears. We are also up to $10 million now in mortgage arrears. Mr. Speaker, this is not a process that any housing authority enjoys, but it is one where steps have to be taken to come up with plans and work with the tenants. All we are asking for is a commitment from the tenants to take part in this process. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I spoke today about priorities for the next capital infrastructure budget and the 2011-2012 budget. I know it is a long ways away, but I think it is time we start considering priorities of the government. I suggested that providing cell service in the 25 communities that don’t currently have it should be one of the priorities of this government. My questions are addressed to the Minister of Finance. I would like to ask the Minister where the provision of cell phone service to all communities in the NWT sits in terms of this government’s priorities. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Members have copies of the five-year capital plan and going forward. Cell phone service is not on the list that I am aware of. What was once a luxury is now considered an essential service, but it’s not there.
I will also point out that we have also been told at different tables, look after your costs, control your growth, don’t grow government and don’t go too much into debt in this Legislature. Now we are told 911, cell phone service, we want more houses, roads and bridges and all good things, recognizing that there is a limited amount of resources and a far greater list of needs than we will ever be able to afford. The debate is what is it going to replace. Thank you.
I thank the Minister for his answer. I can’t argue that we have set a capital plan out. However, I can argue that these plans are not set in stone. I don’t think they should be considered firm and concrete from day one when we first establish these plans. In a four-year period of our election, we have to be able to respond to the various concerns of our constituents, and not just my constituents but across the Territory. I would like to suggest that, certainly, priorities can change. I think they do change. I have seen that already in two years.
I would like to know from the Minister whether or not…I mentioned a number of possible funding scenarios in my statement. There are any number of different ways that we can fund this particular project and one or more of them may not cost us the full cost, maybe not even 25 percent of the cost. Has the government, has the Minister or his Department of Finance ever looked at how provision of cell phone service in these 25 communities might be funded? Thank you.
Yes, Mr. Speaker. Work was done looking at that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Minister. How? What sort of options did you come forward with? Could you please explain to me what considerations were taken, what options were considered and what the decision was? Thank you.
There are two fundamental approaches. There’s one where cell phone provision is seen as a business opportunity where the private sector will go in because there’s money to be made. The other approach, similar to the Yukon one, is where the government agrees they’re going to come up with a significant amount of money, because they want to have cell phone service across their whole jurisdiction similar to the Yukon which, I might point out, has far less geographic challenges than the Northwest Territories does in terms of distances to cover. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Your final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree that the Yukon is not the NWT. We certainly have different geography, but the information I’ve been given from a technical perspective is that really all we need is a cell phone tower in every community. So that’s 25 towers. We certainly don’t need to have towers in between every one of our communities.
My last question for the Minister -- hopefully, he can give me an answer that I will like, I guess -- but what will it take for this government, this Cabinet, to make cell phone service provision in providing cell phone service in all of our communities a priority? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A little over two years and I’m still trying to give the Member an answer that she likes, depending on the circumstance. The Member is very well aware we have a capital planning process. It’s intensely participated in. There’s huge interest given now coming forward that after the two years of stimulus money, that the capital plan is not going to be as big as it has been over the last two years. So the challenge for us as a Legislature is to look at the priorities on that list and if we want to replace something, what is that? If we are going to collectively decide we want to spend more money than we have already and run a greater debt than we are currently contemplating, those are the kinds of discussions we have to have and it’s about making choices. It’s not just, I would suggest, the government, this Cabinet that’s going to make that decision in isolation. The Member well knows that if Cabinet comes forward and tries to insert something into the capital plan, should they ever be so foolhardy, we’d be dealt with in short shrift by this Legislature. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. It has to do with the Income Support Program and the client with a disability, people who apply under this program. My understanding is there was an issue that was dealt with in Deline and as a result of that, there are other issues that have come forward in terms of the disability aspect of this program. Right now, Mr. Speaker, I understand there’s a family that has some issues that deal with a disability and this family with small children is living in a warehouse behind some sister’s place and is living elsewhere in Deline.
In terms of this issue, I want to ask the Minister, is his department willing to work with the Department of Health, work with the Housing Corporation in terms of how to deal with this family with small children that are living in a warehouse in Deline?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
