Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As some of you know, in another life I had quite a bit to do with the provision of maintenance of housing in the Beaufort-Delta, so I am comfortable in providing my thoughts on what we need to do to provide public housing and affordable housing for those who can afford it.

As I see it, Mr. Speaker, the mandate of the NWT Housing Corporation is very simple: Make sure that there is an adequate amount of public housing for people who need it, and have programs and services available to make housing affordable to northerners. We have enough to do in the Northwest Territories, never mind past mistakes like trying to sell housing packages to Alaska and having the deal fall through and having to pay shipping both ways.

Shame, shame.

Michael McLeod

Deh Cho

The NWT Housing Corporation should not be in business. I am also not in favour of the market housing initiatives, as I believe that local housing authorities do not have the manpower to take on additional duties. They spend too much time right now trying to extend the life of social housing units. I believe we could save money by replacing these old units and then there might be time to take on additional work.

There are some simple truths in government, Mr. Speaker. Too much administration costs take away from program delivery. Decisions made in the interest of the people, from the safety of Yellowknife, often have unintended consequences for frontline workers.

---Applause

This needs to be taken into account whenever new programs or initiatives are introduced. Now I am aware that the NWT Housing Corporation will be redefining its mandate over the course of this upcoming fiscal year. I would like to see them remember what they should be doing: providing and maintaining public housing stocks and helping with affordable homeownership options for the NWT residents. I stress, Mr. Speaker, options for NWT residents, not Russians, not Alaskans.

Hear! Hear!

Well said.

---Applause

Michael McLeod

Deh Cho

Let’s keep the new mandate simple so people can understand the programs and services that fall out of the mandate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause