I appreciate the Minister doing that. Now, going on to local housing authorities here, in particular, the new one in Fort Liard, when will we start seeing staff besides the manager there being implemented? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Martin.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, the Housing Corporation continues to work closely with the manager. It does have full intention of staffing up as soon as possible. That work continues. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can we get a definition of what "as soon as possible" means? I mean, is it going to be within the next month? Is it going to be six months? I know the corporation has brought this LHO in last year, and I greatly appreciate it. I am looking to see potential employment for local people. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We don't have that detail with us right now on where that process is in that individual community. We were more broad in what we brought to present. I did hear him ask if it could be a month or six months. I can commit that the process will be done within six months. That gives me some leeway. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that. At least, now I can go back to the community and explain to the band and the hamlet what is going to happen there. My next question is: where are these guys going to be housed? Right now, you are renting out Aviva Enterprises there. Has the corporation found a spot that they are going to have the office and the yard for the material? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. At this point, they are renting a space. It is important to note that the local housing organization, the board has just been formed. It is a new service. At this point, they are fine in their accommodations. As they progress and become more sustained as a board of directors, then we will look at the needs of their individual housing. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I greatly appreciate that she is talking about the board and the manager. I am talking about where they are going to locate their staff. Where are they going to locate the materials that they need to help renovate the housing units? Right now, they have to either bring in contractors or utilize the Fort Simpson area to provide this material. Has the department looked at that and come up with a situation where they are going to put their shop? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As stated, this is just a new entity. We are working with the board sustainability, making sure they know rule and procedures and getting the support. We are looking at what will be needed. We will need an office. We will need a warehouse. Once we look at the various options, we will be putting that out for a request for proposal. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is this going to be all done within the next six months? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just confirmed with my staff. They say within the next six months we will assess what space they will need and then we will put it out to RFP process. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson, your time has expired. Finally on my list, Mr. Nakimayak.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. My colleague Mr. Beaulieu was talking about electrical power earlier. I noticed the decreases through the years. This past winter we had an emergency at my hometown, and we lost power to half the units in the community. With the unemployment rate so high in my region, with people who cannot afford to pay their power bill, I am wondering if the number of disconnects are going to increase, which may cause tenants to use other sources of heat to heat their homes where they can suffer from CO2 and possibly cause a fire in the house, or on the opposite side, when it freezes, freezing pipes. I am just wondering if the Housing Corporation is looking at all of those avenues to ensure that people don't really end up homeless and that they are still maintaining their units? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are watching it carefully. It is important to note that people who need additional income support, who are at the lowest end of income, in fact, have no jobs or very minimal income, can qualify for other programs that are offered through ECE, such as income support. Income support rules, I hate to speak on behalf of the Minister, my understanding that if it is a family, they will pay for the cost. Individuals, there is a set amount that can be paid for. There is other support besides the Housing Corporation for people who have no jobs or very minimal employment. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Nakimayak.
Just one more on maintenance here. I see the decrease to $11,359,000. There are a lot of units in the territory that have mould in them, whether it is in their crawlspace or the entrances. I am just wondering if this is going to affect or increase the amount of mouldy units that the Housing Corporation owns. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Martin.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe we are referring to the minor modernization and improvements category expenditure line item. On that line of discussion here, the amount from 2017-2018 to 2018-2019 has increased by approximately $925,000. This was a result of the NWT Housing Corporation allocating additional dollars to this line item using the incremental federal funding that the Housing Corporation received under budget 2017. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you. Nothing further from Mr. Nakimayak. NWT Housing Corporation, community housing services, operations expenditure summary, $56,634,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Moving on to the second activity of the first department. Executive, beginning on page 379, $1.8 million activity. NWT Housing Corporation, executive, operations expenditure summary, $1,871,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. The next activity, finance and infrastructure services, begins on page 381, $12.5 million activity. Comments or questions. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, during the business plan review, we talked about the possibility of making the NWT Housing Corporation's website better populated with current information and easier to use. Is there money in this budget for that activity? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Mr. Martin.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As part of the NWT Housing Corporation's strategic renewal initiatives, there will be additional investment into modernizing our website. This expenditure will be accommodated within the contract services budget of the executive activity. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Martin. Nothing further from Ms. Green. Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I wonder if the Minister could advise me if all communities in the NWT are eligible for the co-op 2 per cent write-down and a non-profit 2 per cent write-down? Sorry, Mr. Chairman, I apologize. I'm on page 383. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. Martin.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm just looking at the amounts here. The policy in this area has not changed since the Housing Corporation has taken over this responsibility for supporting the groups under this former CMHC program. The two groups being supported under that non-profit 2 per cent write-down program category is the Salvation Army and Hay River Community Help Board. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you. Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I wonder if the Minister could advise the House if the homelessness assistance fund is fully utilized? Same page, Mr. Chair. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The homelessness assistance program is currently fully utilized. We are, however, looking at changes to that program as well because currently it's a one-time access to it and it's a maximum of $1,500. The whole goal of that program actually is to address homelessness, and sometimes people get into trouble more than one time. Now we're looking at, instead of one time, we're looking at trying a maximum amount of $1,500. For example, previously if people needed a ticket to their community and they were coming from Yellowknife and wanted to go to Hay River, that's not $1,500 for that airline. We're changing the program so that the $1,500 can be utilized for one person instead of a one-time up to the amount. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, I was, I guess, just looking at the line and thinking that it was a bit underfunded. That was not so much specific to how much each pot can max out at, so that was my question. It appears as though it is fully utilized, but the corporation hasn't added to the budget in a couple of years, a couple of fiscal years. I guess it's just more of a question and I got the answer. It is fully utilized and I guess the corporation will do what they can with that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Would the Minister have a response? Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, if that does go over, we will accommodate within. It's important to note that homelessness is one of the major concerns of mine and the corporation. It's the reason I ran for politics.
We're currently doing a homelessness review to look all the programs that we offer to ensure that we're providing the proper supports and at that point, if we need to increase on certain areas, we will be looking at doing that. Everything is under the microscope, and homelessness supports is one of my critical and most important aspects within this policy review. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Anything further? Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I noticed that, under the transitional rent supp, there was a certain amount used at one point and then the budget was brought to a certain level. Has the Minister been able to get all of this money out the door? Is this budget fully utilized in the Territorial Rent Supplement Program? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. Martin.
