Thank you, Madam Chair. Much of the money for new social housing and housing in non-market communities is predicated on the federal government providing a significant portion of the required funding.

With the recent change in government at the federal level, it is unclear when, or even if, the funding for northern aboriginal housing contained in the Kelowna Agreement or the Novel housing proposal will come to the Territories.

Members of the committee are concerned with the plans of the corporation should the potential federal funding for these new initiatives not materialize, Madam Chair. There does not appear to be any plan on the part of this government to address the housing needs of northerners within the context of our present financial reality.

The committee is not saying we abandon pushing the federal government for more funding to take advantage of the Novel housing proposal and to address the shortage of housing in many of our smaller communities, but we, as a government and territory, should be prepared to react to our housing crisis on our own.

The committee looks forward to further information on the economic viability of the Novel housing proposal and other options on financing much needed housing in our communities.

For now, Madam Chair, the NWT Housing Corporation needs to focus on what it can do today, not what it may be able to do five years from now if the federal government comes up with the money.

I would like to ask, Madam Chair, my colleague from Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod, to carry on with the report.

Jane Groenewegen

Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. McLeod.

Policy Issue - One House In A Lifetime

Michael McLeod

Deh Cho

Thank you, Madam Chair. Many of the first clients of the NWT Housing Corporation’s programs are now senior citizens. They no longer require the three or four-bedroom houses they had built for their young families. However, these people now find themselves unable to access any of the services of the corporation, because of the one house in a lifetime policy.

The committee is of the opinion that the corporation would be able to free up houses for the private market if it were to provide smaller housing packages/construction services or possible bridge financing for those elders who no longer require such a large home, but still wish to live in their own stand-alone house.

Committee will be pursuing this with the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.

NWTHC And School Trades Programming

The Standing Committee on Social Programs is pleased with the support that the corporation has been providing to school trades programming.

Exposing young adults to the trades and letting them work on real world applications is the only way that they would be able to make intelligent career choices that take into account the opportunities in the trades.

Members are concerned that in providing housing packages to the schools, the Housing Corporation has thus far concentrated on larger communities. The committee is not saying this is the fault of the Housing Corporation and suspect that it is more a result of the corporation taking advantage of the opportunities that are presented to them.

However, the committee would like to see the Housing Corporation, in cooperation with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, make a concentrated effort to expand into smaller communities and work on developing partnerships with industry and other levels of government.

Madam Chair, I would like to ask the Member for Nunakput, Mr. Pokiak, to carry on. Thank you.