Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Kam Lake is home to two of the Northwest Territories' housing cooperatives. These are great communitydriven housing communities that allow for housing options that are below market rent. In fact, the average price for a threebedroom apartment in Yellowknife is around $2,300 a month in rent, whereas, at one of the housing co-ops in my riding, it is $1,400. That is an incredible amount of savings. I am wondering if the Minister has looked into starting a pilot project to develop more housing cooperatives here in Yellowknife and across the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Masi. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Actually, the cooperative housing unit that the Member does speak to, I used to live in that just a couple of years ago, so I am very familiar with that unit that he addresses, and it is a nice unit. We, the NWT Housing Corporation, actually provides partial funding for those, as well. We provide funding to most of the cooperatives. In all honestly, I had never thought about that, but I am hoping that it will come up within the housing survey. Now that it has been brought to my attention, I will consider that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you to the Minister. Ask and you shall receive. Just a few more points on this: the Minister spoke to her own personal experience in one of these particular housing cooperatives. The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation did a study of the Borealis Housing Cooperative, and they found that over 2,500 hours of voluntary labour are produced by the housing cooperative every year, which results in considerable savings for the community. These projects, they also found that to get a new project like this, it requires the goodwill of the community. So if the Housing Corporation could commit to more than just looking at this but actually actively engage community members who want a change, perhaps through that survey, will the Minister actively engage survey participants and forge a new housing cooperative from those respondents?
As stated, being a resident of that cooperative, I do remember the volunteer hours, and sometimes it was not eagerly volunteered. It was more of a requirement of being in the cooperative, but it does give back to the community, and it is a way of working together, and it does build community relations. It made me actually go out and meet my neighbours, so I am an advocate of that type of housing unit.
However, I have committed to doing this survey and, depending on the results of the survey, we will be defining what I do within the coming year. It would be disrespectful of me to put my needs above the survey, so I will be waiting until the results are compiled before I define my action plan in the future.
I am unsure what the Minister's needs are, but the needs of my constituents are lower rents and more affordable housing. Mr. Speaker, it is not just the Housing Corporation that provides support for co-ops. It is also the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment and the Department of Justice who all provide either administrative support or are some way responsible. Will the Minister commit to forming a working group with those three departments to build on the success of housing cooperatives?
I have already committed to exploring the idea of more cooperatives as an option. I will also commit to bringing that to the other departments.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Finally, the Minister, in my honourable friend's questions, the Member for the Sahtu, she did make a commitment to a certain amount of shelters by the end of the year. Can she make a commitment to me today, Mr. Speaker, that we will double the number of housing cooperatives in the Northwest Territories by next year? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, like I said, that would be, in my opinion, disrespectful if I make commitments before the results of the surveys were in, so the answer is no.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are to the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. What I seek is, the urgency of the situation of the housing matter on the reserves, I am seeking some action. I am seeking a commitment from this Minister, also, at the same time, reassurance to the K'atlodeeche First Nation members that the seniormost official, the Minister of the Housing Corporation, will do something.
You know, thus far, in terms of this side of the House, every time we have raised our concerns and issues on behalf of our constituents, what we have heard from the Ministers and their departments is to say, well, we are going to respond by an action plan. I don't think we need an action plan at this point. I think we need to have some real action. My question is: the Housing Corporation has entered a tendering process to repair 10 previously unoccupied homes on the K'atlodeeche First Nation reserve; how will the corporation act to ensure those homes are available to residents as soon as possible, sooner than the estimated 12 months? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do want to say that I take a little bit of offence to the Member's statement. As the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation, I feel that we have done a lot of work with the Hay River Reserve. Especially, before, we didn't have land tenure; it was a huge issue. We have negotiated with the federal government. We have gotten the land tenure for the 10 units. We are still negotiating with the federal government to get land tenure for six more units. We are working with the community. The community can access services through the Housing Corporation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
What I'm expressing is, in my recent visit to the band or the K'atlodeeche First Nation are residents on the Hay River Reserve. I'm not saying basically to criticize her position in the GNWT, but these are real concerns from people who want access to housing. So building a relationship seems to be the steps that have been taken forward, and it's good, you know, we're making progress and we're trying to build homes. How is the corporation working with the Hay River Dene Band to explore new and innovative ideas to meet housing needs on the reserve, such as establishing a new local housing organization or supporting people in building their own homes?
I do believe that we are working with the Hay River Reserve as best as possible. These units that we're talking about, the 16 units, actually belong to them. Because they did not want to deal with the provision of community housing we did an agreement that we would take them on as NWT Housing Corporation.
We are more than open to meeting with them if they wanted to look at other options and other suggestions that they have to address the housing needs within their community.
It's good that the Minister is offering to meet with the Hay River Dene Band; I hope that happens. In that meeting, perhaps the Minister could explain what new actions will the corporation take to change its working relationship with the Hay River Dene Band, such as regular meetings and a subsequent action plan or the development of assured projects?
The Government of the Northwest Territories does meet bi-annually, I believe, regularly -- actually, two times a year, with all of the First Nations Aboriginal governments. We will commit to continuing to do that, and, as stated, if the band wishes to meet with me individually, I am more than open to meeting with them.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in September 2016 the GNWT and the K'atlodeeche First Nations signed an Intergovernmental Memorandum of Understanding, and in that agreement they wanted to enhance their working relationship and only the subject matters that they want to work on is housing. So my final question to the Minister: what will it take for action to be taken to address the housing issue on the Hay River Reserve? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do believe, as stated, that we are working in partnership with them. I am more than willing to meet with them and to continue regular meetings if that is their desire to address the needs within their community.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier today I talked about the need for innovation in housing and how it might meet some of our serious housing needs here in the Northwest Territories, and in particular I spoke about tiny housing. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Mr. Speaker, we know that tiny housing will help with housing of singles. It, of course, helps reduce the cost of living and helps us meet some of our affordability goals, and, of course, it has a great impact of preserving the environment and, in particular, reducing our carbon footprint.
Can the Minister tell us if the Housing Corporation has had any discussion about tiny housing and the possibilities of the Housing Corporation investing in tiny housing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It seems like I'm getting up and down a lot; I want to remind Members it's anti-bullying day.
We have looked at the idea of tiny houses, Mr. Speaker, in seriousness to the Member's question. We are bound, however, by national building codes and our own standards around energy efficiency, so those are issues that we are conscious of, but we have made agreements with some municipalities to actually explore some options around tiny houses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you to the Minister for her reply. Mr. Speaker, recently the City of Yellowknife conducted a survey last spring and some of the results of the survey indicated that folks were fairly supportive of tiny housing and in promoting some development of tiny housing. I wonder if the Minister can indicate whether the Housing Corporation's survey had any questions along the lines specifically toward tiny housing?
At this point the survey is starting to be compiled. It's still open for feedback, as I agreed to leave it open for the extra month, so I haven't seen all the results for the survey, but I do make an assumption that tiny houses will be one of the issues on that survey.
I appreciate the Minister's reply. I know that tiny housing seems to be a fairly significant conversation going around the territory. Not just in Yellowknife; I've heard it in other communities, and so I expect that there will be some responses on the survey relevant to tiny housing.
I guess at this point can we get some kind of commitment from the Minister that tiny housing can be put on the Housing Corporation's kind of, call it, agenda for consideration, at least for future consideration? It just has so many positives for checking off so many of the goals and objectives that we're trying to achieve as a government. Will the Minister commit to that?
I can absolutely commit that tiny houses will be one of the areas that we look at, and go further to stating that we are looking at developing partnerships with municipalities and Aboriginal governments to address their own housing needs within their communities, and we are already forming partnerships with some municipalities on a form of a tiny house.
As the corporation, though, I do want to stress that my own worry is that when we only look at tiny houses within an independent, solo idea, then we're not perhaps looking at the cost of living and the energy efficiency. So I am also looking at ideas that we can use, things like shared boiler systems to address the cost of living and the energy efficiency.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I'm glad to hear from the Minister that some effort has already been under way with regard to working with communities and municipalities in this effort. As the Minister even alluded to earlier, there could be some challenges around building codes and the like. Will the Minister commit to working with her colleagues to make sure that red tape and regulations that would stymie this good opportunity can actually be reviewed and given full consideration so that we can actually work towards some successful development in tiny houses? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I can commit to working with my colleagues to actually look at how we can address red tape within housing standards, but I also should make the Speaker aware that some of the red tape will be on behalf of municipalities because the municipalities will have to make sure that their bylaws accommodate for tiny houses as well, and that I have no say over.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of the Housing Corporation, also known as the Minister of Yes. What I described in my Member's statement is an immediate problem. This solution isn't tied to the housing survey or a new federal housing deal; it's a matter of assessing what the applicant's income would be on the day after they retire. That's all we need to do. So will the Minister direct her officials to adjust their own processes and initiate talks with the low-cost housing partners to take into account the differences between their pre- and post-retirement income? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Although I do not want to be known as the Minister who always says yes, in this case I will say yes that we will consider that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to ask my favourite Minister to consider that the best solution is to enable seniors to stay in their homes as long as possible, whether those homes are owned or rented. It may be financially advantageous to offer a rental subsidy to seniors to stay in place when they retire. To do so would probably be both less expensive than moving them into public housing and also less of a drain in having them move. So I wonder if the Minister will consider some kind of a rental subsidy specific to seniors that would allow to stay in own homes?
I am feeling like it is my birthday. In all honesty, seniors are a huge issue not only for myself but for all the Ministers sitting at the table here. We will be focusing a lot of effort within our program renewal on our provision of supports to seniors. So, yes, we will contemplate a rent-subsidy program on top of what we already have to accommodate seniors to age in place.
Just to clarify my question, I think the Minister understood the question, but I am not talking about people who own their own homes. I am talking about people who are in public housing. So they would get a subsidy to stay -- no, sorry, I am making things worse. I am talking about keeping seniors in their current rental units with transitional housing support, and then that would bring them off the waiting list for public housing. That is where I was going with that.
Moving on, the lack of available spots demonstrates the need to devote more of our limited budgets towards meeting the infrastructure need and, as I said, to keep people here in the territory. We keep hearing about meeting our road-work needs in the first two weeks of this mandate and easing people's misery later. Can the Minister offer any assurance that someday shelter for people will get its turn at the till?
I do want to address it even though it was just brought up as a comment. The Transitional Rent Supplement Program would not be one that I would look at to address with seniors in its current form, in that it is only a two-year program and it is one of the policies that I do want to change. I do not believe that a twoyear program is the most effective use of that funding. I also state that, when it comes to the till, to the money for housing, we are strong advocates federally. We have been knocking on the federal door. Our Prime Minister has promised us that there will be exciting news in the budget. I was hoping that would have come out at the end of this month, but it looks like it will come out in March. So we have been lobbying as the three territories -- not just the Northwest Territories, the Yukon and Nunavut as well -- in partnership, and the federal government has committed to having a three-territory housing strategy. So we are assuming that we will be receiving more money in the till soon.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I think it is a two-pronged approach. I think that we need more housing units, and we need to help people who cannot afford housing on the income that they have as retired people, and so I am interested to hear that the Minister is working on both of these fronts. Would she consider a rental subsidy program that would tide seniors over from the time they retire until they get to the top of one of the waiting lists for subsidized housing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I will consider the suggestion brought forward, and even though it was not suggested, I was hoping it would come out. We are looking at other options for seniors. I did have seniors come to me since I have been the Minister and state to me that it is not only a matter of accessing affordable housing, it is a matter of accessing safe housing. So I have had a number of seniors come to me and say that they do not feel safe in some of the apartment buildings in this community, and so we are looking at perhaps doing a pilot project where we can actually blend seniors, so only a seniors' complex that has market housing and low-income housing to provide more safe, secure housing that addresses the socialization and the safety needs of seniors.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask some questions to the Minister of Transportation. Mr. Speaker, I brought this issue up a couple of days back, which is the overflow at Georgetown. Mr. Speaker, as you know, with climate change, many of the regions are facing extreme warm temperatures. All this winter, even before Christmas, we have had melting up in the Mackenzie Delta, which started a lot of overflow up in my riding, two locations actually that I mentioned the other day. They are both creating a lot of damage. As you know, the Minister may be aware of all the work that is being done on the way from Tsiigehtchic to Inuvik, but at Georgetown, which is just across from Tsiigehtchic at kilometre 140, there nothing really has been done except the work that has been taken on by George Nadichi-- sorry, Mr. Speaker -- as George himself has been doing.
Mr. Speaker, today I would like to ask the Minister: will the Minister ensure that work is done to divert the water flow at kilometre 140, also known as Georgetown? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
