Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Northwest Territories is at the boiling point with housing in my riding. Four years of procrastinating with the decisions, four years of mismanagement, and four years of poor policy changes. This government must provide basics firsts, such as roads, health care, schools, and housing. Housing is the most important across the territory. People are being evicted, such as in Paulatuk where they are being evicted. Why they are being evicted is the best example. How is the huge equality between the larger centres and the small communities? Where are these people going to go? This government is not just going to allow them to go homeless this winter. Evicting them because they cannot pay immediately is not the answer.
In the past we were fighting the government and the Housing Corporation for providing adequate housing facilities, such as removing mould, collapsing ceilings, and some broken windows. In the past we were fighting the government and the Housing Corporation to improve the huge overcrowding. Today it’s a lot worse. We’re fighting this government to stop evicting people in the communities in these substandard houses.
Some of the communities are taking and launching a lawsuit against the Housing Corporation, according to some of the constituents, and this is valid and gaining support, considering everyone is going to go through since the changeover in 2006 to 2009 with the mistakes the Housing Corporation and the Minister made in the public in 2008. With no amendments made to the arrears that have toppled over, no adjustments, attended ledgers, and not properly reassessed everyone’s monthly total rent to reduce their arrears to get actual total rent per month from everyone’s pay stubs in the submissions.
Some of these concerns in the Housing Corporation are calculating these arrears. It’s most likely that they’re making up these formulas as they go, or that the administration’s filing system is so unorganized that they’re just guessing.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
People across the territory and in Nunakput are fed up. We have enough educated people in our community coming to their senses and tired of being overcharged for houses that are 40 years old.
I’d like to read part of an e-mail from a person in my region:
I caution our leaders in the future. Our local members are consulted prior to making changes to policy. It should be based on community needs, allowing the board of directors to give direction to the LHO, rather than running the other way around. And then you have to forward them to the Yellowknife hierarchy. No cause, no confidence bears much in mind seeing how devastating it has been for our families across the territory.
I will have questions for the Minister of Housing at the appropriate time.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
