Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes. These are vacant. I think they are shut-down, vacant, multi-builds. In the past few years, they've been renovated, they have brand new siding, they have new windows, and then they are sitting empty and now are being slated, I am understanding from a briefing that I got, to be possibly torn down. I am just wondering if there is an opportunity to sell them that people in my community with low income who may meet that threshold want to buy those before we tear them down after we spent money on putting new siding and new windows and stuff on them. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I would have to get back to the Member because I am a little bit confused. I don't know if these areas are meant for -- because we do have RCMP units that are coming up, and we do need to build in the communities. I believe that Inuvik is getting 17, I am assuming. Yes, 17 units. I just need to be clear on where these units are. If they were renovated and if we don't have anybody living in them and if they were vacant, I need to verify if we are the owners of these units or if they are potential sales. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The reason why I am addressing it is because it's been asked and I've asked the housing department why there are empty -- these were back from your department, from the Housing Corporation department, that they are slotted to be torn down. I just feel like there are some times we can make some money off these. Even if we need the lots for different functions, would they be considered to be sold because there are companies and people who may buy them and move them and put them somewhere else? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I would have to follow up with the Member because I would like to see where these units are located, and I would like to verify the location and the condition of these units. If we do own them, then I would get back to the Member to see what the plan is going forward for them. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you. I am good.
Okay. Thank you. Next on my list, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Madam Chair. If I could turn your attention to page 363, I had a question on heating fuel. I noticed from the actuals from a couple years ago now to the mains, there hasn't been much change in that. I know that heating fuel is very expensive in a lot of the small communities. I am just wondering why this number from the actuals from couple of years ago now to the mains, there hasn't been much change in that. I know that heating fuel is very expensive in a lot of these small communities. I'm just wondering why this number is staying the way it is. Does the Minister believe this will be adequate to help out our small communities with their heating? Marsi cho.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I was too eager to answer the question. I see that our heating fuel subsidy, our program that is available within the Housing Corporation, I look at the programs that are available for this program to go forward and the criteria that is expected of it. I'm going to have Jim elaborate on the dollar amounts and to reflect the Member's question. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Martin.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, the Housing Corporation at this time has maintained the current budget at the same level as the previous year for the heating fuel requirements. In the past, our expenditures actually were up around that range a couple of years ago, so we have obviously been pleased that the fuel rates have been somewhat lower than they were a few years ago. Our recommendation and how we've established this budget is to keep the budget consistent for the time being to ensure that we have those dollars sufficiently in place to deal with future fuel rate increases. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Martin. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Madam Chair, and marsi cho for that answer. I just want to make sure I get this straight. Part of this line item, the seniors' home heating fuel subsidy, is part of that that program, as well? Marsi cho.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The program that we're talking about is for public housing units. I'll have Mr. Carpenter elaborate on the response. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Mr. Carpenter.
Thank you, Madam Chair. As the Minister indicated, this whole section deals with our inventory of rental units. The majority of them are public housing units, and we have some units that we rent as market units. The heating fuel in here is the cost we pay for those rental units. It doesn't deal with any of our programming or the programming the Member alluded to. That's delivered through ECE. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Carpenter. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for that answer. Moving on, I'm looking at another item here, the rent supplement leasing. This number seems to have fluctuated in the last couple years. Can the Minister just explain to me what this rent supplement we see is and is this final number going to be adequate for this fiscal year? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. This is a program that is utilized, the majority of it is utilized, in Yellowknife. We don't have the number of public housing units that we currently have to meet the needs of the city, so this is a supplementary program that is used here to take care of the first month's rent and the damage deposit. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for the response from the Minister. What I'm gathering here is that there isn't a whole lot of access to this to the small communities, so this is mostly a Yellowknife program. Is that what the Minister is telling me?
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I would just like to clarify, my apologies to the Member, that I was looking at the program delivery that we have within the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, and this is actually our community housing services. My apologies. I'm going to have Mr. Carpenter elaborate on this because it actually has to do with our department. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Carpenter.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The rent supplement leasing refers to units that we rent off private developers, that we utilize as public housing. We own a majority of our units in our public housing program, but we still, for the major centres where we require more units, actively rent those units. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Carpenter. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Madam Chair. What I'm hearing right now still is that this is mainly a Yellowknife program. Was there still access for people in the regional centres and the smaller communities for this program? Is a lot of this money being used for those areas?
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I hope I can clarify this for the Member, but I just want to give a really strong example. We have limited public housing units available throughout the Northwest Territories, so the Housing Corporation actually leases out of private markets. We do have apartments that are within an apartment building, and the Housing Corporation leases a bunch of those apartment buildings within that from a private owner. We lease those out as public housing units. For an example, just to elaborate, two more seconds, is that, if we're in an apartment building and the person rents at $2,500, they could be downstairs paying $70 because it's a Housing Corporation unit. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Carpenter. Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Madam Chair. First of all, I want to make a statement on housing. Housing is probably the most critical thing in the Northwest Territories, as an issue. I want clarification on co-investment fund for partnerships. Could you clarify that, if a partnership is like the Salt River First Nation or the Fort Smith Metis Nation and if they went and put a proposal together, Madam Chair, would they be entitled to the co-investment fund if they wanted to build, say, 10 units for their membership? I just want clarification on that, please.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Madam Chair, yes, that is correct. If the Salt River wanted to put forward an application for the co-investment fund, that is correct. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Thebacha.
I also, Madam Chair, would like to ask a question on the home ownership program. The lease-to-own, how do they determine the assessment, the value of the actual home ownership program, on the assessment value of the municipality? How is that determined if an individual wants to enter into the home ownership program? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I will have Mr. Carpenter elaborate on the home ownership program as it does come with it certain deals, I guess. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Carpenter.
Thank you, Madam Chair. As part of our objective to get more people into private home ownership, we've got this initiative called the lease-to-own. We're going to make available our detached inventory of public housing units, available to tenants who have steady and stable incomes, who want to enter into home ownership. The way we assess the value is we have an internal assessment calculator that we use. It's largely based on the age of the unit. Our inventory is, as many may know, fairly aged, so the value of these units is commonly not very high. We would also apply current programming to that to assist these tenants to become homeowners. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Carpenter. Member for Thebacha.
I also want to have clarification on the RCMP units that are being allocated for the community of Fort Smith. Are they going to be demolished, or are they going to be going into other lots? Because the units are in good condition, and I would like to see the units, if they come under the Housing Corporation or the housing authority or whatever way they are going to dispense of these units, that they are divided between the Fort Smith Metis Nation and the Salt River First Nation because, in the rental units, they are mostly Indigenous.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. In regards to the old RCMP units that are there, they do have their own procurement process that they follow. I just want to elaborate a little bit that we did have some units that went up for sale in Norman Wells, but they ended up going over to the Indigenous groups. I'm not too sure what their process would be. I wouldn't be able to speak to it. I'm not too sure what their plans are for the older units. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. I'm just going to clarify. The RCMP units, it's a different item, just because we're talking about the community housing. If there are further questions on the RCMP housing, is it under the programs and district operations. Can the Minister clarify? Minister.
