Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the other day I was listening to the Aboriginal radio channel, and I heard an elder speaking about social housing in the NWT. He asked a question and he was just contemplating with the reporter, and one of the questions he had asked was: I wonder why the government no longer builds a federal government that no longer builds houses for us directly. Federal governments used to build houses for us directly. I'd like to ask the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation when the federal government will start building homes in the NWT. Thank you.
Masi. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to start by qualifying before I answer the Member's question about that, the information that I have on hand is just my understanding at this point and hasn't been qualified or researched. I will answer it, but based on my immediate understanding, not stuff that I can actually say I've researched and is factual, but my understanding is that the federal government started building homes in the Northwest Territories. They were built for treaty Indians, actually, and I apologize for the term, but that was the term used in the times from the mid- to the late 1950s. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, again, I'm referring back to that same elder. The same elder had indicated that the money had come from the federal government to the GNWT to house people, treaty people – treaty Indians, and that had evolved into something else. I'd like to ask the Minister: when were the first houses built by the federal government that became available to people other than treaty Indians?
Again, I'm going to apologize in advance. Some of the terminology that I'm going to use was terminology of the day; it is not politically correct at this time, but the answer that I have is that the housing programs actually incorporated Indian and Eskimo houses that were built from the early 1960s to about the mid-1960s. Recognizing that, again, that is not the terminology of the day, but at that time, that was the terminology used to name people.
I am aware the state of the social housing and some of the program. I would like to ask the Minister the next evolution beyond the Indian and Eskimo housing. What was the next evolution of housing which eventually led to what we have today?
As stated earlier, the housing programs expanded in the early 1960s to the mid-1960s to incorporate Indian and Eskimo housing. Then it evolved into Northern Territorial rental units and some public housings were built from about the mid-1960s to the early 1970s.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that the Housing Corporation is a vehicle for delivering social housing. I would like to ask the Minister when the Housing Corporation was formed. Thank you.
The Housing Corporation was formed in 1974. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
