Debates of October 27, 2004 (day 29)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask a few more questions to the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. Mr. Speaker, within the planning and design function of the Housing Corporation for the construction of northern housing units, I was wondering what kind of resources are accessed in order to do that kind of planning. I have noted that the houses that are constructed with Housing Corporation dollars in the communities often don’t seem to be very sensitive to the lifestyle and culture of the people who live in them. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, the Honourable Mr. Krutko.

Return To Question 324-15(3): Northern Housing Construction

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in regards to those units that do go in, I've heard the concern from communities with regard to how we construct these units. Most of them have been pre-designed, or we've implemented designs that have been constructed in other areas. Again the whole idea is that we have to realize that because in the North a lot of our transportation is done by roads or by barges, through the winter road systems we have to be able to package these things in such a way that most of them have been designed through the programs we do deliver by way of homeownership and those other programs. What we are doing now is giving more responsibility to the client to pick out what unit they want, rather than in the past when people were given two or three options and that was it.

I think that we do have to get away from the idea that these designs are not uniquely designed for the North and were brought from somewhere else and implemented. If you look at CMHC programs across Canada, it seems like all the units were consistent throughout. So we are looking at that, we are trying to give more of that decision to the local community and also the person purchasing the unit to make the decision for themselves on what type of unit they want to live in. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Time for oral questions has expired, however, I will allow you a supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 324-15(3): Northern Housing Construction

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I talk about housing, that is sensitive to the types of activities that people undertake. I know for awhile there was a wholesale move to have people have these high-energy-efficient furnaces that ran on fuel, and no wood stoves. That, to me, doesn’t make sense. Another thing is the interior wall finishes. When you have access to wood, why would you pick a very hard to repair, unforgiving finish like drywall in houses? It doesn’t stand up that well, maybe it has some fire retardant attributes, but these are the kinds of things. Does the corporation seek the input of communities, even for the social housing units, quite apart from the homeownership but on the social housing units, does it seek input from people about the kinds of things they would like to have in their houses as opposed to these very white and sterile and modern materials? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 324-15(3): Northern Housing Construction

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’m glad the Member is raising these questions, because I believe as a corporation we have the opportunity to look into it now. We are reviewing our mandate, we are going to look at the programs and services we do deliver. More importantly, we have to be more economically-efficient in regards to how these units operate and bring down the cost of operating these units by endorsing more environmentally-friendly means of generating energy and also being able to use less energy than we are using right now.

One of the biggest cost drivers to the corporation is the utility costs. Almost 50 percent of the dollars that go to the local housing authorities are spent on utilities. That’s an area I believe we have to really focus on and, again, it’s there in regards to the programs and services we deliver, through our housing programs that we have. Again the Member is right; it seems like the programs we have for independent housing gives you a unit with an oil stove, but they don’t realize someone should have had the choice between an oil stove or a wood stove or some sort of airtight heater. But they give you what they give you and in most cases, like you say, it breaks down. Where do you go? You can’t get a part. So again with this review and also reviewing our mandate, I think now we are open to have input from communities, so we are open to concerns from other people in the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 324-15(3): Northern Housing Construction

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m really pleased to hear that the Minister is cognizant of these issues because, of course, it’s only good stewardship to build units that consume less utilities and are low maintenance wherever possible. It is just that sometimes in the past, some of the initiatives that have been undertaken have not been good. The airtight thing, for example, is exactly why we have houses full of mould, because they try to make them so airtight to keep the utility cost down…

Mould.

So I guess I just want a commitment from the Minister that the kinds of initiatives undertaken to address these issues of maintenance cost and utilities cost will be very practical and user-friendly to the occupants of these units. There are many other examples I could give of initiatives the Housing Corporation has undertaken which just turned out to be an albatross for the people who had to actually live in those units. I don’t know what my question is, but that’s it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen, I didn’t hear a question there. Time for oral questions has expired. Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery.