Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have a housing problem in the Northwest Territories. That’s no surprise to many of the people in our small communities. According to the 2009 community housing survey, we have an alarming housing shortage, adequacy and affordability. We must do better. Everyone deserves to be sheltered. With our rich resources in the North, we can do that.
Let me state clearly what our numbers are telling us with the 2009 housing survey in the Northwest Territories. When we look at core need, core need is the picture of our housing needs in the North, and we look at these criteria for the following:
Suitability: problems of overcrowding, and the number of bedrooms in that house;
Affordability: problem exist when a household pays excessive amounts for a shelter; and
Adequacy: having the basic utilities to provide a safe and healthy environment.
When we see a high number of housing problems we must do better, because in Colville Lake with 97.1 percent of housing problems there is a problem. Why is it we still have TB cases coming out of the community? In Deline it’s 71.8 percent. There is a problem, and people are living in makeshift warehouses. In Fort Good Hope, 68.1 percent. There is a problem with homelessness. In Norman Wells it’s 25.4 percent. There will be a problem soon with the rents that are going sky high. In Tulita, 47.5 percent. There is a problem with people couch surfing.
We must put our energy and our focus on bringing these numbers down, and we can do it. I call upon this government, all of us, to roll up our sleeves and get behind the Housing Corporation to deliver more houses in our communities.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
