Thank you, Madam Chair. With respect to qualitative and quantitative research that is being done, what is the criteria for that? Has it changed over the years, or do we just follow the same process year after year? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I will have Mr. Martin elaborate on the response. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Martin.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The Housing Corporation does undertake numerous studies year-to-year to inform our investments, to inform our program renewal efforts. Examples would be the recent seniors planning study that was completed. That is a study that identified a number of areas that could certainly benefit from additional investment in seniors' housing. We are certainly taking that into account. We also participate with the statistics bureau every four years, complete the core needs survey. Again, this is a very important document for the corporation to inform our work and our efforts. We also undertake a range of technical studies, as well, and research with various parties, such as CMHC and Enercan. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Martin. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. With respect to technical studies, I know the Housing Corporation is always looking at ways to improve efficiencies with respect to heat loss and that type of thing. I guess you do studies, as well, to see the cost of doing nothing versus the cost of making changes. Is there a big cost savings between doing nothing and just leaving houses as they are? Because I look at it like we've got a cost of maybe, if you have some high-end equipment and you have to fly people in from Yellowknife to fix it, and on, and on, there is that cost associated, as well, so I'm always skeptical of that, by making something energy-efficient, you've got no problems; you've got all these other things. So is it advantageous for us to actually go above and beyond with the technical aspect of housing? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to say absolutely, because we do deal with and we do have clients within the higher part of the Arctic and we do have to invest in our public housing units to make sure that they are cost-effective and that they are affordable. As we go forward and look at these units, it does cost the Housing Corporation quite a bit to maintain and, looking at the future development, like, we're looking at wanting to set our clients up for home ownership. So I hear the Member's comments on are we going to weigh this out, but, you know, we work with what we have and we try to enhance for the betterment of the Northwest Territories and our clients. I'll have Mr. Carpenter elaborate on the response. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Carpenter.
Thank you, Madam Chair. In terms of the technologies and the systems we use nowadays, the Member is right, we really have to be careful of over-designing or the types of new technologies we put in, because they have to be able to be serviced by our staff, or even in the communities. There is a lot of new technology out there that is really sophisticated. Some of it is really complex to maintain. Some of it is tough to get parts for, so we watch all of those. Even with our ventilation systems, it takes an education component for our tenants, our clients, to utilize those systems, to deal with moisture in their houses that may cause mould, and those types of things. Those are things, when we're designing new buildings or new programming, we really have to take into account those types of things, that we're doing the right thing with those technologies and building styles. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Carpenter. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. You had mentioned earlier, you had discussed rent supps. Can the Minister tell me if there has been a comparison done, I guess, between the cost of rent supps and NWT-owned structures and, you know, if it's cheaper one way or the other? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll have Mr. Carpenter elaborate on the rent supps and the differences between the rent supps and becoming a homeowner. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Just to clarify, that was what you were asking, Member for Hay River South?
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes. My understanding is that the rent supps are buildings that are owned by a third party, and then you have the Housing Corporation-owned. I just want to know the comparison costs between operating or maintaining those two. Is it cheaper to just get people to build you units and rent it off them? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Member, for clarifying your question. I'll have Mr. Carpenter respond. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Carpenter.
Thank you, Madam Chair. In terms of the volume of our inventory, the number of owned units we have is 2,644, and the number of units we lease is 200, so it's really a small portion, and it's likely that, in the coming years, you will see that 200 diminish. It's just easier for us when we do our own maintenance on our units, that it's better. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Carpenter. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Just one last question, here. My understanding is that a lot of the employees in housing are currently aging, and they are going to be retiring. What plans does the corporation have in place to bring on new recruits? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I recognize that, as well. I'll have Mr. Carpenter elaborate on that response. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Carpenter.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The Member is correct. We have a lot of staff; we have 128 positions that operate public housing for us throughout the territories, and a lot of them are long-tenured; some of them, in excess of 35 years, long-term employees. In terms of succession planning, we are in constant communication with them about, you know, when they're planning to retire. For the maintenance side, we have a heavy focus on apprenticeships in those areas. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Carpenter. I will move on to the Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess I will begin with: why does the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation not have a board?
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I will revert this question over to Mr. Martin. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Martin.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Well, looking back a few years ago, the Housing Corporation did have a board. However, at the time, there were studies done and there were some organizational changes made that resulted in the Housing Corporation reporting directly to the Minister. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Martin. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. It's an odd theme of our government that we consistently demand to give us less power, whether it be the Power Corporation being run by boards of the Aurora College getting rid of its board altogether, and now also the Housing Corporation. I guess my problem is, with all due respect, this is not a question for staff; this is a question for the Minister. I mean, her staff is not in a position of whether to change the governance structure. That's only something that can be done at the political level. So my question is: would the Minister be willing to look into reinstating a board for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation?
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. It would be something that I would like to just take a look at and see how active we were when the board existed, what decisions were made, what programs were happening at that time, compared to how effective they actually would be in this time. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate the Minister looking into that. I do think there are some very large structural governance issues with the Housing Corporation that will require political restructuring. On that, we have local housing authorities, all of which have boards. There is always the trade-off; the more local control we give to the housing authorities, you know, we get better decisions on the ground, but each of those cost us money to run. We also know they're not exactly the best at collecting rent. Is the Minister planning on looking at the governance structure of the housing authorities across the territory?
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I recognize that this was a concern throughout the Northwest Territories and how the boards do program delivery at the community level, but yet we're looking at communities making decisions on their own, and we're looking at them structuring on their own. With my leadership, I want to go down, up; for the community members to tell the government what it is that they want, instead of the government coming forward and saying, "This is what we're going to give you." So it opens up the table for discussion. I'm quite interested because times have changed, and we do have some scenarios that are happening at the community level that would need a little bit more support. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess one of my concerns with the local housing authorities is that in many communities you have the housing authorities, you have the Indigenous government, you have the municipal government; we essentially have three or four voices who you could define as the community. I know we're developing a number of community housing plans, I'm supportive of those. I think the first one we've seen is definitely a step in the right direction. In part of those community housing plans would the Minister be looking at changing governance models? I think there is potential here to essentially get rid of some of the local authorities, pass over the funding to Indigenous governance. Is that something we would be looking at in those community housing plans?
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. This is an approach that we've already initiated throughout the Northwest Territories. We have working groups with the Tlicho, right now, that have been successful, where they've identified housing needs and programs within their area. Deline has approached us, as well. They are a self-governing community. We haven't had very much interest in communities wanting to take over the housing initiative and the housing program. It's time coming, but we're there working and educating them on what it takes to program deliver the Housing Corporation. I do realize that we do have the Indigenous groups, the municipalities, but, to be honest, we haven't had very much interest. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm aware, you know, that Indigenous governments will take on powers when they want, but I wouldn't be interested, and I don't think anyone would be interested, in taking on housing without the money there. We all know it's a struggle. I think a lot of the Indigenous governments are capable of doing this and would if they knew they were also going to get the funding that the local housing authorities get. Would the Minister be willing to take a bit of a proactive approach here and make offers regarding what we would actually offer to fund the Indigenous governments? To just download housing but not give them any money is nonsensible.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Chair. With my experience, that would work with some of the self-government initiatives throughout the Northwest Territories, and, to be honest, the housing is considered but it's more wanting to be supportive. I see the territories as kind of reluctant and with our programs and support that we have initiated the independence for stakeholders throughout the Northwest Territories through our program delivery, and that needs a lot of support, as well. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.
