Thank you, Madam Speaker. It's a good day today, Madam Speaker. The Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation is going to make changes for us in regard to our T4 system. Can we try to work with the Minister to get a timeline and using her Minister's directive in telling her staff before April 3rd, before this House is convened, that we have something in place where the LHOs could just start utilizing the income verification by cheque stubs in the communities instead of a T4 system or make it optional? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Thank you to the Member. I am not familiar with policy changes and how fast we could make this happen. The policy that is in place currently, right now, I feel that it has been accommodating consistent income. Right now, we have changed, and we are recognizing that we do have seasonal workers. Going forward, I need to be very strategic and very specific on making these changes, so, unfortunately, I cannot commit to the April 1st date. I need to make sure that how the assessment was completed at first, that included the changes to the policy that we currently work with right now, what were the changes, what did they engage, what did they consider.
Looking even at the cost of living and what does it honestly take for our units to be maintained and for them to be administered, I want to take those into consideration, as well, because, as the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, we do spend $30,000 annually on the units; we do take care of the sewer, the fuel, the property taxes, the lease payments. I just need to make sure that, when we are calculating these rental incomes, it does accommodate the seasonal workers, just as we have made the adjustments to accommodate the consistent income earners.
In regard to that, policies can be changed anytime. Once the Minister has directed and once the Minister makes that decision to go forward with it, she can make change. Change will happen when she tells her staff to make it happen. In regard to it, I appreciate all the work and what she is saying to us and stuff like that, but again, we have to realize that, the housing units, we get $45,000 a year, per person per year. That is every man, woman, and child, babies, everybody. The thing is, the housing, they are substandard housing in my riding, anyway. They are 30-plus years old. We have some new ones but not enough. We are short about 300 houses in my riding.
Madam Speaker, this Minister could make change by April 3rd if she gives a Minister's directive. Would the Minister commit to me about making change and using no more T4s or make it optional? Even making it optional, you are still doing the same thing, the department, but you are making it optional for the person to come in every month to show you that slip, and you will get the exact amount, what you are doing, instead of ripping them off.
I would encourage the clients in the riding of the Member to get into the LHO offices right now, do a rent assessment. Looking at the T4s, if they feel that they are paying a lot more and too much for the current public housing units that they reside in, that is an option. We do use the T4 slips annually to calculate their rent, to be consistent, but also there is the option to do the rent assessment. That can be done month by month, and it does not have to be based on the T4 for the rest of the year. We do recognize that we do have income earners who are not consistent throughout the year. I would really encourage the Member to speak with his constituents to get into the LHO offices in his riding and have a rent assessment completed.
I thank the Minister. Everybody in Nunakput, go get reassessed, in public housing. That is what I want you to do, please and thank you. It's going to help you. In regard to that, like I said before, the reassessments, not everybody has government jobs to go off T4s. All the jobs are taken in our small communities, and people are hurting; so if the Minister would come up and just say, "Yes, by this day, you can use your T4 or your monthly cheque to get assessed," would that be possible?
That is exactly how the program works. Bring in your monthly income, month to month, and get reassessed for that month, and bring those T4s forward -- sorry, bring those income slips forward into the LHO offices so we can reassess those rental incomes.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Nunakput, final supplementary.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Minister commit to making this policy more flexible so that the documents used for income so that, again, I really want to make it clear for everybody, the T4 or a pay stub, to go and get reassessed every month? Are they allowed to do that?
I see that. You know I hear this throughout the Northwest Territories, that it's something that needs to be discussed a lot more. I think advertisement on the programs that the Housing Corporation currently has, but, right now, if the Member and their constituents are to get into their LHO offices with their T4s and their pay stubs, they are eligible for rent assessments, absolutely. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
