Thank you, Madam Speaker. Earlier this year the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation announced changes to the public housing rental scales for July 1st. The changes include charging rent to seniors who do not pay rent now unless they have younger adults living with them. The new rent scale will start at about $75 a month, which many elders will be asked to pay. This may not sound like a lot of money to some people, but the cost of groceries and other necessities are very high in the small communities, especially in the Sahtu and further north. Our elders are on fixed incomes, already stretching every dollar they have. Many of them are already living in poverty. This increase is going to hit them very hard.
It is just not me, but a few elders in the Sahtu are objecting to this change. The NWT Seniors’ Society, which is the territorial organization, has spoken out against it. Why? Because there has not been proper consultation and discussion.
The Elders Parliament which took place in this very Chamber less than a month ago passed a motion calling on the GNWT to delay making any changes to public housing rent scales for the seniors until such time as a full consultation has taken place with the elders, communities and NWT Seniors’ Society. The motion also calls for the GNWT to make a public full cost-benefit analysis of the proposed changes and to work with the elders, communities and the NWT Seniors’ Society on a comprehensive framework to ensure consistency and fairness across the seniors programming.
I think the Minister and the GNWT should be listening to the advice of the elders on this. Later this week I’ll be tabling a petition and entering a motion opposing the plans to begin charging rent to the seniors in public housing. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
