Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I will be asking questions for those that can’t speak up themselves and those that need representation. Today I have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
In a lot of our communities we have a long waiting list to get into housing. As a result, a lot of our residents will go through the Rental Subsidy Program and will go into market rental units. However, with the high cost of living in some communities, such as Inuvik, I would like to ask the Minister, what process and practice does the department do when they are looking for a place for some of our residents who need housing in our communities? Do they help them find a place, or do they find the cheapest place for them to go, or what is the process when our residents need a place to stay in the communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. There is a process that we have to follow through Education, Culture and Employment when it comes to dealing with clientele when it comes to housing. I have to work closely with the Housing Minister because they have the units of availability in the communities and the units that may be available to them.
The process that we have highlighted is also based on the Office of the Auditor General guidelines that we have to follow. Based on the needs of those individuals, the community members, whether it be couples, it is a guideline that we have within Education, Culture and Employment, again working closely with the Housing Corporation to find a match to these units, whether it be a one bedroom, two bedroom or three bedroom for those clientele. Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, I am going along these questions because I have an elderly couple in the community of Inuvik who are having a hard time to find a place to stay and when they approached the Minister in question, the elderly couple was asked to look for a different apartment when they were initially approved.
So, how does this Minister and the department approve a couple that meet the disability accessibility and then take that away and look for another unit that is cheaper and not meeting the needs of the couple? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, when we talk about the couple in Inuvik, we may be getting specifically into the clientele which I don’t feel comfortable discussing in this House. I can talk to you about the process itself, and with this we are talking about individuals from the community accessing housing units available through the Housing Corporation. We subsidize on the rent scale a one-bedroom apartment based on their needs, or a two-bedroom apartment depending on availability in the community as well.
It is my understanding that there are two available in Inuvik, so those are discussions that we have been having with my department with the Housing Corporation, so this is an area that we have to be very cautious because we have to deal with the Office of the Auditor General guidelines. They set very stringent, very strict guidelines and it is a public purse, as well, so what we do here with a purse of funds, we are going to be setting precedents in other jurisdictions as well. Those are just some of the areas of precaution that we follow with the guidelines. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I was speaking on behalf of all elders. We do have a growing population of seniors in the Northwest Territories and we don’t always have the housing units to allow them to get into housing, they have to go into the market rent areas.
I would like to ask the Minister, what is he going to do to change his policy, especially when we have our seniors who are in wheelchairs, seniors that use canes or walkers, or seniors that have very limited mobility, to address the issue that when we get some of our seniors, or whomever it may be, the proper housing units that they need? How is he going to change the policy to address some of the disability concerns that are out there in the communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the information that we receive with a one-bedroom apartment is suitable to this couple and the funding that we provide is upwards of $1,100 to cover the rent on a monthly basis. The information that we receive is assessable for this couple, so based on that we provide the funding, but if they want to access a two-bedroom, at their request, then we can provide up to what they qualify for and the difference will be up to the couple, but at the same time, they are eligible for a one bedroom subsidy from our department. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just going back to my other question about the policy, will the Minister take a look at his policy with this and make it specific, possibly working with the Minister responsible for Seniors and see how we can change that policy to better address the need? As I mentioned, we’re getting a higher seniors population in the Northwest Territories and the lack of long-term care facilities, some of these seniors do still live a pretty independent lifestyle and we want to promote that independence in our communities as well.
So, will the Minister look at reviewing his policy again? Thank you.
Mahsi. Within the income support division, we’re always reviewing our policy. This is one area that we can certainly look at working with the Housing Corporation, also the seniors, the Minister responsible for Seniors, how we can manage this file. At the same time, we have to keep in mind the Office of the Auditor General, the strict guidelines that they set for us. We have to follow those as well. By all means, we will be reviewing those policies that we have within our shop. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
