Debates of February 10, 2005 (day 33)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today my question is in line with the housing theme and is directed to the Minister of Housing, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I listened to my honourable colleague, Mr. Menicoche, when he questioned the Minister on the rent scale in the Northwest Territories. I have some concerns, Mr. Speaker. I met with some of the elders in Tulita on the 27th of January. They are concerned about the rent scales and the effect it will have on them. They asked me to question the Minister in terms of the rent scale. Would the Minister consider having a change of heart and rethink the proposed rent scale that would be acceptable to the people in the communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Krutko.

Return To Question 356-15(3): Proposed Rent Scale Increases

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with regard to our seniors who live in social housing or public housing, they will not be affected by this increase. If anything, there won’t be an increase because, in most cases, seniors who live in public housing can't pay. With regard to trying to ensure we are fair, we have, through the local housing authorities, individuals or tenant relations officers who work with the elders and explain how this program is going to be laid out and how it’s going to affect each one of them. There was also an information package mailed out to each tenant to make them aware if they were going to be affected by this increase and how much the increase would be.

Again, in order to be fair to the seniors and the constituents we have, we have been working along with the seniors’ societies to keep them involved. If anything, we have been working with our seniors along with the seniors' societies and through our tenant relations officers in each of our communities. We have also made it clear to seniors and people with disabilities and students that there aren’t going to be any increases if they are in those sectors.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 356-15(3): Proposed Rent Scale Increases

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for letting this House know the seniors will not be affected by the rent scale. However, when the seniors were talking about the rent scale, they were looking at family members and they were speaking on their behalf. Some people are quite afraid that the rent scale would have some effect on them. However, hearing from the Minister, I am glad to hear that. Would the Minister have his department consider or reconsider a transition phase that would be acceptable for this rate increase in the North? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 356-15(3): Proposed Rent Scale Increases

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like I stated, we are working with the tenants. We do have the tenant relations officers in each of our local housing authorities to explain these increases with the clients. They are also going to ensure that if they are going to have financial difficulties with arrears, we are trying to counsel them to tell them how to pay off their arrears such as you can pay it off over a period of time or instead of doing monthly rental payments, do bimonthly payments. There are ways we can work with our clients with regard to social housing and also making them realize we are trying to find a system that’s fair to everyone. We don’t want to see anyone go through hardship. We are also working with the clients at the higher end who are paying a large portion of their income towards rent and we want them to get into housing through our access programs so they can become homeowners and move out of social housing. At the end of the day, we are there to work with them; we have programs and people in communities to work with those clients. We are presently doing that.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 356-15(3): Proposed Rent Scale Increases

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe a lot of people in the small communities want to become homeowners and they want to be the owner of a house that they can pass on to their children. Mr. Speaker, it has been a long trend that the small communities have gone through. Moving from social housing and becoming a homeowner is sometimes a new idea. Even though we have this plan of action, it’s going to be rough for awhile. So I am asking the Minister to consider this in terms of the numbers he proposed to the House and to Members to maybe have a rethinking of it in terms of having a smoother transition.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 356-15(3): Proposed Rent Scale Increases

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a corporation, we are considering that in the mandate of the corporation. We realize we have people in the territory who depend on seasonal economies. They don’t have full-time jobs. We have to be open minded to find ways of working with these people who may have problems getting a mortgage through the bank. The key to anything is affordability. You have to be able to afford to not only manage your house but also be able to pay down your mortgage and also know that you can afford the mortgage and make those payments. I think what we are seeing now is that we have to be open minded to look at the projects such as working with the private sector but also through our market strategy with regard to market housing and also to design and develop houses in the North that not only meet our standards but also are affordable for our clients to be able to purchase them at the end of the day.

I am open to working with the Members, but, more importantly, working with our clients to try to find ways of getting these houses into communities and making sure that people can afford them at the end of the day and that they are able to live in them. I think you touched on a good word. How do you do a transitional process from going from social housing into private housing? We are working with that. I think the opportunity is there now for us to look at it. We are looking at the mandate of the corporation. That is a perfect place for us to do that.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. A short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 356-15(3): Proposed Rent Scale Increases

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am really encouraged by the Minister’s response. I am hoping I am hearing some flexibility in terms of the transition phase of phasing in the rent scales. Again, Mr. Speaker, I am going to ask the Minister, would he consider seriously and strongly the success of this program? Would he give it some thought in terms of after maybe six months do we need to scale back the rent increase to meet his target? He might have to do it an extra year or an extra couple of years. I would ask for that consideration. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. A short answer, Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 356-15(3): Proposed Rent Scale Increases

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if we can make adjustments on how we phase in this program or how we look at what percentages are there, if that is going to make it easier for our clients and also for those people who are trying to make that transition, I am open to looking at those ideas. I think that, as a government, we don’t put any hardship on anyone, but I think more importantly we want to work with our tenants and the people who are there to assist them through this process but also assist them to the transition of becoming homeowners. Thank you.