Date
October
23
2006
Members Present
ITEM 1: PRAYER
Assembly Members
Debates of October 23, 2006 (day 13)
Topics
Statements
Member’s Statement On Incentive Programs To Address Housing Utility Costs
Jane Groenewegen
Hay River South
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have been talking a lot about the cost of living in the North. However, I would like to challenge this government for the somewhat unobvious and intangible things that they are doing to address the cost of living.
We, as Regular Members, went around to communities in late summer and talked to residents of the North about the cost of living. Now, fortunately for us, the weather is holding very nice. The long-range forecast is still good. It’s October 23rd and it’s still warm and summer out. I can say in my own house in Hay River, we have not turned the boiler on yet, but that doesn’t mean the cold weather is not coming and the cost of fuel is very high and many northerners are struggling to deal with the cost of living. A big part of that is their utility costs.
Mr. Speaker, when we take action as a government to address the cost of living, we think of things like the Arctic Energy Alliance. We think about public service announcements, we think about energy audits. We think about pamphlets and brochures and a whole bunch of stuff, which the only real value they have towards the cost of living would be if you are using it as fire starter if you are fortunate enough to have a wood stove in your house.
I think we, as a government, need to get a little more creative, do something a little more tangible. I think that an interest-free program for northerners to access money….Ironically, if you have an issue with the cost of living, you don’t have the capital money you need to install a pellet stove or a wood stove or put insulation on your house. So we need something that is a tangible, real measure that will go some ways towards helping people address that. So I would suggest that perhaps under the auspices of the NWT Housing Corporation, there should be an interest-free loan program that northerners can access and they can reinvest this money into their house. Enough with all those things that are out of everybody’s reach. Later today, I would like to ask the Minister of Housing how long it would take him to come up with something real in that area, something useful. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause