Thank you, Madam Speaker. Today, I spoke about proof of income in Housing Corporation using the T4 policy. Madam Speaker, will the Minister table the policy that tells the LHOs in the communities that they must use a T4 slip to determine the income of the public housing clients? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Looking at the policy that we currently have for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, I see that it was more meant for consistent income. It does not meet the needs of seasonal workers, and I see that. So then, looking at this policy, I want to review it. I want to see where we are at. I think that the decision made at that time was a perfect decision for that government, and it did reflect a lot of good intent. However, now, times have changed, and it does not meet the needs of the seasonal workers, so, yes, I am wanting to go back and take a look at that. I will follow up with the Member with the discussion and outcome.
Could the Minister table the policy, though, in the House in regard to the LHOs using that to determine public housing for the clients?
Sorry, I did not confirm that. Yes, I would like to table the document, and I would like to have the chance to review it and look at the changes going forward.
I am pretty sure there are going to be a lot of happy people in the territory today in regard to that. Thank you, Minister. Will the Minister commit to ensuring the policy and all of the Housing Corporation policies are posted on their website ASAP?
I did instruct my department to have the policies available online. I am not too sure where we are at with that right now. I am not too sure of the technical process or the administration for that to happen, but I will inform the Member when the policies are available online.
Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I was so excited at question one that I forgot to ask: what is the timeline? Can this Minister give me a timeline on you getting rid of the T4 system and just people being able to go in every month, they show their pay stub, and then get their rent assessed on a timeline?
I don't want to commit to timeline, because there are going to be a lot of reviews that are going to have to take place in order to look at this policy. However, I also want to be mindful that I feel that the intent for the policy was to accommodate the consistent income earners, but, looking at the T4 slips, it's not working for the seasonal workers. I see that, but also that the rent scale also accommodates -- I don't want to say "accommodates," but also works with the Northwest Territories, that we are the lowest at the rent scale for the rest of Canada. The rest of Canada is at 30 percent. We are at 19 percent. I just want to be very mindful of that, but then I see where the rent scale is very confusing to understand and very confusing to administer, but I am looking at the best results for the residents of the Northwest Territories.
If there need to be changes within that policy, I want to review it and speak with the Member, just to make sure that we are meeting the needs of the Northwest Territories. Looking at the T4 slips, I am not going to commit that this would happen anytime soon. I have to take a look at it first, before we end up making the changes, because our administration has to follow through with that. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
