Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about the public housing issue and I talked a little bit about the elders and what the past historical counts that were discussed amongst the government officials and our people today. I want to ask the Minister of Housing, because of all these past grievances and what was told to people and what we’re living today is…(inaudible)…two different stories. I want to ask the Minister, in light of the federal government, he has already declined their funding to housing for the social housing programs, what other initiatives other than the review going on and being brought up in the 17th Assembly, what is he doing now or his department doing now to make sure that people do not remain in the tents or the warehouses that they’re living in in their communities?
I’ve seen some of this work this morning and I’m truly impressed that the Minister is looking at other creative ways as to how to get people out of tents or into houses and stop them from going into the warehouses to house their families. What is the Minister looking at as other ways we can do some work before the first snow comes?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We try to work very hard with residents to keep them in their units. It’s not our intent, as I’ve said on a number of occasions, to put people out. They have to understand that they have a responsibility. A lot of people have lived up to that responsibility.
The Member was making a reference to the $2 a month. I think as a Housing Corporation we’re doing a lot better than that right now when you see 798 seniors paying zero and housing still paying to maintain the unit. Obviously, we’re faced with a challenge in trying to keep the CMHC funding flowing. It’s something we have to continue to work with Canada on, and hopefully we’ll be able to come up with some kind of solution so we’re able to still provide public housing. It’s one of the reasons why we’ve put such an emphasis on arrears, because it helps us offset some of the money we’re losing from CMHC.
I’m certainly very appreciative that the elders are paying zero. And it should be. These are all seniors across the North. That’s my understanding from our elders about the public housing. However, I’d like to go back and ask the Minister what the Corporation is doing right now.
When I go back to the Sahtu, people right now are living in warehouses and their families are living in warehouses. People are living in makeshift tents in the communities. We know right now, I heard from the Minister and I heard from the rest of the MLAs about the responsibilities of rents and arrears. As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, they’re living in warehouses and tents. What else can we do in the short term to get people out of those situations? Because fall is coming around.
Mr. Speaker, I’m not sure if the Member is referring to those that have arrears that have been evicted from their units having to live in the conditions that he’s describing. If that’s the case, then obviously they’d have to work something out with the local housing authority to try and clear off their arrears and then they’ll be able to get accommodation again.
I mean, I have to point out that during the life of the 16th Assembly with the investment made from the federal government and the only jurisdiction in the country to match the federal investment, we’ve been able to do over 600 houses on the ground. As part of our vacant unit strategy, I’ve informed this House that we’re proposing to turn those that can’t be allocated into public housing. So we’re looking at getting more public housing on the ground.
Again, if it’s arrears, then it’s something that they have to work out with their local housing authority. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the housing and all the dollars that have gone to investing, we’re well aware of. Still, the point, Mr. Speaker, is that people are living in warehouses and tents and people are living in overcrowded units. Maybe it’s a bigger government. I’m looking for a solution here. I’m reaching out here. How do we get people who are right now living in warehouses and tents, as we speak under this roof right here, move them back in? I mean, there’s got to be another way than just saying it’s your responsibility and this is what you need to do. Obviously, they’re not getting it. What can we do to get them into a unit there?
In the Member’s Member’s statement he talked about how people were once very independent and now they’ve become dependent on the government. There are all kinds of opportunities for people out there to be independent. They’re given every chance and every opportunity by the Government of the Northwest Territories and there is a very good support system. The Member said that I keep saying the same thing, and obviously, that’s what it comes down to. It comes down to the same thing.
To stay in a rental housing unit, you have to pay your rent. If you don’t pay your rent, you’re evicted until you can make some kind of agreement to take care of the arrears and then you would end up back in public housing. Without the public housing portfolio, there would be a lot of people out there who wouldn’t be able to house themselves. I think this is a good solution. We ask people to work with us. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today and tomorrow when we finish our House business here and we go back to our communities, we will still go back to where people are going to be in their tents, in their warehouses, and we need to let them know. Certainly we can let them know about the options that are there for housing that’s provided for them. I guess that’s one of the cruel realities of not taking full ownership or full responsibility for your issues. There are two sides to a story. I guess what I want to ask a Minister is: is his corporation going to be putting some of the stronger homeless policies in our communities where people now have to look at homeless shelters in our communities, not only in Yellowknife but other communities? We are going to have to start looking at smaller centres where we need to have a stronger homeless Shelter Policy.
As part of the overall Shelter Policy review, homelessness is one of the aspects of the review that we are looking at along with the rent scale review. We are hoping to have the work done and it would be then put into a transition document for the 17th Legislative Assembly and they can decide at that time what the priorities of the 17th Legislative Assembly are. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
