Thank you. I appreciate the clarification. Can the Minister advise us how many market units and HELP units are presently part of your inventory? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Martin.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Housing Corporation has 200 market units and approximately 200 HELP units. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Previously in meetings with the corporation we talked about a performance evaluation framework for the local housing authorities or organizations, so can the Minister elaborate on what the status of that is right now? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As Members know, we know through an audit practice every year, so through that audit, we also do the performance evaluation. It is an ongoing thing, and we support the work that the LHOs are doing in their communities, obviously, and working with our residents, so it is an ongoing thing. Thank you.
Thank you. It is a warm day. There is some snow melting off the roof. Mr. Thompson.
---Laughter
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Previously, when we were talking to the corporation, we were asking: were they developing a performance evaluation framework for LHOs? My understanding is it was happening, so that is what I am trying to find out. What is the status of that? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Williams.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, it is very critical to have a performance evaluation measurement in place for all LHOs. They are our agents for delivery, so we meet them with the LHO managers on an annual basis. Actually, our annual meeting for this year is next week, here in Yellowknife. All the LHO managers are coming in, and we will be talking about performance management. We will be talking about budgeting. We will be talking about programming. It is an annual training session that we do with LHO managers, and we do it with other staff, too. We have technical workshops. We have the tenant relation officer workshops on an annual basis, too, so it is building the local organizations' capacity is critical for us to be successful. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you. When we were talking with the corporation previously, we were under the understanding that the LHOs were to develop their own business plans to be used within the corporation. What is the status of this work? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Williams.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. On an annual basis, I know we asked each LHO to come up with a plan. It is not a business plan. It is what to do with their surplus, a surplus plan. What we want is a surplus reinvestment plan into housing, so each LHO with a surplus amount would sit down with our officials in the Housing Corporation and we would determine where it is best to meet the needs, and what are the needs in that particular district, in that particular community. Then they will put forward a reinvestment plan, a surplus reinvestment plan, that we would consider and approve, and it is reinvested back into the housing stock. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. With this reinvestment plan, is it looked at yearly or is it just quarterly? Do you have a mechanism? You have developed a plan, but have you developed a process so that you can ensure that they are following that plan? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, we do look at it on a yearly basis, and we are working with our LHOs, but something that we really focus and are committed on is that, as we develop this plan, we do get with the community housing plans, as well, and that we get feedback from community membership and community leadership on how that is reinvested. With these community housing plans, they are going to be a game-changer in terms of what our priorities are in our communities and moving forward on that. It is done yearly. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I understand the community plans, and that is very important, but I am looking at this reinvestment. If we are only doing it yearly, how do we know that they are actually fulfilling that commitment? Should it not be quarterly or biannually looked at? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We do receive the proposals from the LHOs on a yearly basis. With all of the programs and services that we do, if we asked them to do something quarterly, it would be taking away from the main impact that we want to make, and that is providing programs and services to our residents. It is done on a yearly basis. As our president and CEO has mentioned, there is going to be a meeting and a good discussion, and I am sure that all of our LHO chairs and members are listening to this, and it will be a discussion at that meeting, as well.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. My problem is that, if we have a plan, we look at it at the year-end. We wait until the next year. That is a problem. To me, we need to do it at least biannually so that we know that we are on the right track and that they are fulfilling what they said they are going to do. We are reinvesting, and we are talking about a surplus. We are trying to make sure that this money is reinvested back into housing and making sure it is done properly. Will the Minister get the department to look at that and come back to committee to tell us if it is a feasible option? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. There are reinvestment plans. We look at that, and it is up to $2 million to look at any needs that are given in the regions, and we also do look at exceptional proposals. We do work very closely with our LHOs and with our district offices. As all Members know, housing is a big concern here, and our Housing Corporation does have a strong communication with the LHOs and through our district offices, as well.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't think that I am going to get a commitment to look at it biannually, so that is disappointing. The Minister is talking about, and the president talked about, this meeting happening there. Is there training that occurs? What type of training? Is it just once a year, or is it ongoing yearly? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Williams.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Our training is ongoing, but we also have these annual workshops. For example, next week is an annual LHO managers workshop. One of the items that we will be looking at is we have the Office of the Auditor General here, the GNWT auditor, to do a presentation on fraud. We always do try to build capacity of our managers and our agents who work for us on our behalf. There is always an educational component put in there, and we also talk about planning. It is a planning strategic exercise, as well. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Nothing further from Mr. Thompson. Next, Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to pick up where my colleague from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh left off. I wonder if there are people who are living in public housing who have incomes where they may be able to afford to pay for market housing if they live in a market housing community. I am just going to take the number arrived at yesterday by the Alternatives North living wage report. Of the three communities they surveyed, let's say, about $90,000 is the common threshold of income that someone would have to earn to pay their own way. Is the Minister able to give me any idea of how many people in public housing earned more than that amount of money? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have to get the specific details for the Member, but I am pretty sure that it is definitely under 10 percent. As I mentioned when we talked about the lease-to-own program, we do want to reward good behaviour of people who are in public housing to own their own homes. We are looking at other options moving forward and maybe through you, Mr. Chair, I will ask the president and CEO just to add a little bit more detail. Thank you.
Thank you. The Member's question was a specific one about the number of people. I will give it to Mr. Williams here, but if he can just keep his answer brief and to the point. Thank you.
Yes, we certainly could come up with the exact number, but as the Minister said, it is a small percentage of people who are paying the max rent, but these are people who we want to target. As long as they are good tenants, we will be targeting them for home ownership opportunities. I would say that that is one way of adding to the inventory without adding to the inventory, because we don't have to worry about O and M costs. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Even if the number were 10 percent, that would be 240 units, which would be a considerable help for the availability of affordable housing. I'll say that, here in Yellowknife, where I am, that would be very helpful. Is there any thought of setting an upper limit that people can earn and still stay in public housing? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are going through a strategic renewal process right now. In terms of the numbers, we all know that Yellowknife, with the public housing waiting list, the need here is the most significant in probably the Northwest Territories. We will look at that, and we will have the strategic renewal information out in April. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that answer from the Minister. I am glad to hear that this option is on the table. It would free up units for lower-income families in Yellowknife. The uptake on buying houses from people who are clients of public housing has been low, and I think that that is primarily because the incomes are low. How is the Housing Corporation going to entice more people to buy? Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Williams.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are doing a number of things. We are reviewing the Core Need Income Threshold. That is one method. We are looking at coming up with a new CNIT for April 1st, and that usually determines the rents that we charge.
As to getting more people interested in home ownership, it is one of our big priorities this year in this budget. We are rolling out the new home program, which is going to be a multigenerational home. It is kind of modelled after the old program. We are very encouraged there. In this budget, we have five units, one in each district, that we will be rolling out as a start. We are going to really promote the lease-to-own program for rewarding good behaviour for our tenants in public housing who are paying max rent, are looking after their home, and are good tenants. We want to reward good behaviour and move these people into the option to lease-to-own the unit that they are living in. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Just for confirmation, in government we always use acronyms, CNIT is Core Need Income Threshold, just so that all Members know when we are looking at that. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. I know that the people in Hansard appreciate that, as well. Ms. Green.
That takes a question off my list, so that's awesome. I appreciate that the Housing Corporation wants to reward people who are good tenants with the opportunity to own their own homes, but the whole premise of public housing is that people have low incomes, and so then, as a result, they have less money for operations and maintenance of a home, as well as paying a mortgage on it. I would like to know how the Housing Corporation is going to address that need, and what they would consider to be a successful number of people taking up this program in the next fiscal year. Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
