Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation. I’d like to follow up on my statement earlier today. My colleagues and I have spoken in the past about including more creative mechanisms in our collection of rents in communities. With few jobs, the lack of wage opportunities could be offset by allowing tenants to reduce their rent by, for example, supplying wood for the community or public housing, or giving their labour in maintaining and repairing houses. I’m wondering if the Minister can say if such options are being examined in the Shelter Policy review that’s currently underway. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is quite correct; there has been some input as to how we can be creative in allowing people to take care of their arrears or pay on their arrears. There have been some cases in the past where this has happened, and it’s something that I can assure the Member and all Members that it’s something that we are looking at to find ways. I mean, obviously there are going to be other issues, but we have to sort through those and try to find common ground that will work for both tenants and the local housing authorities. Thank you.
I appreciate the response from the Minister. I will look forward to the results there. It’s my understanding that under the current funding arrangements, local housing organizations who do not meet their rent recovery targets lose operating funds equivalent to the amount of uncollected rents. This is a very retrograde approach, because whether they collect rent or not, their costs of providing housing don’t go down. It only digs a pit of debt, and I realize there’s a balance here. Can the Minister say whether the options being considered in the Shelter Policy review include the possibility of disconnecting rent collection from operating funds allocation? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, we ask all our LHOs to meet a specific target – usually it’s around 90 percent – and that would allow them to do the work that they have the money to do the work; the revenue could do the work that they need. As far as taking money back for rent not collected, I would have to follow up on that because I’m not sure if we really do that, but we do set a specific target and it’s an internal target that the LHOs try and reach so that they’re able to generate enough revenue to help with their repairs and that they need. But I’d have to follow up on the Member’s second point and I don’t really think that we do that. Thank you.
Again, I appreciate the Minister’s response and commitment to looking into that and getting me that information.
My next question is the Nunavut Housing Corporation has some interesting features, one of which I mentioned: a sliding scale for maximum rent from 10 to 28 percent. Another feature is that rent is re-evaluated annually on September 1st, to account for changes in income. Income is based on the previous tax year. Many beneficial factors worth consideration must go along with that, and I’d be intrigued on what those might be. Will the Minister look at what the options are and/or, perhaps more directly, are these being considered in the current Shelter Policy review that is underway? Mahsi.
We have had internal discussions on doing the assessments on an annual basis based on last year’s tax receipt, as the Member has stated. One of the drawbacks is if they work in previous year and not work in the current year, they would be assessed on their rent or their tax or earnings from the last year so that may put them in a difficult position, but it is something that we are looking at.
We are looking at either doing an annual or a biannual basis. Feedback that I have had in some of my conversations with the LHOs, the assessment per month probably works best for the tenant and it would allow them to declare their income. It is something that we are looking at. We are looking at all different ways we can make providing housing and the assessments and that a lot easier for the LHOs and for the clients. This is all part of the Shelter Policy review. We are looking forward to the opportunity to meet with committee and go through some of the recommendations and options and get some feedback from them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I noticed the Minister focused on the one negative of the Nunavut side of things. The income may be different but, of course, one would hope that over time a family’s income rises rather than goes down, in which case it would actually be a benefit in allowing them a little adjustment time.
The Minister has heard me cite the commonly heard case of people refusing work to avoid radical increases in rents. In carrying out the Shelter Policy review, can the Minister give information on what other more flexible models are being examined? What options are available for adjustment of the rental rate regime? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I didn’t focus on the one negative; I’m just not sure how it would best apply to residents in the NWT. Obviously we know the challenges that Nunavut Housing is facing with the debt that they have. Ours is nowhere near that. It’s not even close. I’m just trying to focus on what I think would work best for the people we serve on this side of the North.
I can assure the Member that one of the things we’ve heard – and I think all of the MLA candidates heard as they were going through the campaign – was: “I don’t want to work because my rent is going to go up.” It is one of the most important reasons I think we undertook this Shelter Policy review, is to see if we can find ways to assist those people that are trying to work.
I am running out of liberty to say too much right now on the work we’ve done. I need to meet with committee, go through the recommendations and options with committee, and then we can roll it out to the public. I am positive that this will be well received by both Members and people across the Northwest Territories because this answers a lot of concerns that they have had in the last number of years. We are looking forward to rolling it out.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
