Debates of October 26, 2006 (day 16)

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for Housing. You’re not off the hook until 5:00 today.

---Laughter

So I better get my questions in.

---Applause

Anyway, just talking about the affordable housing initiative. Don’t get me wrong, Mr. Speaker, I’m fully supportive of the affordable housing initiative. I only have concerns because I just don’t want this initiative to be reflected on five years from now or after its completion by the public as another big Housing Corporation mistake on the type of units that are put on the ground. I just want to ask the Minister, we have some, the old housing plans that I think that I asked the Minister about the other day that were dysfunctional floor plans with inadequate room sizes for children because these kids in these houses, usually there’s more than one family member occupying one room which is the size of eight by ten and it just doesn’t work. They’re also dysfunctional for the disabled or the elderly and the Housing Corporation had to come up with a lot of extra dollars to do some renovations to make ramps, to change bathrooms. I just want to see the houses that are coming, that are going to be put on the ground, and are going to allow people to appreciate and maybe we have to spend a little more money into reviewing some of the old business plans that we have or the drawing plans, Mr. Speaker. I just want to ask the Minister, are the new affordable housing building plans the old plans from years ago that the government still has the reserve-style matchbox-shaped housing units that are not unique in any shape or form to anybody in the community? Are they the old ones or are we going to have some new ones coming out? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. The honourable Minister responsible for housing, Mr. Krutko.

Return To Question 199-15(5): Inadequate Housing Models For New Affordable Housing

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are looking at more improved models of what we are constructing. We’ve constructed housing units for seniors, for people with disabilities, and also looking at multi-configured housing, which we are looking at improving the designs and the layout of what we have. But more importantly, we’ve evolved to a point now where we’re actually meeting the needs of the clients that we’re serving. I think it’s crucial that we have input from the Council for the Disabled, the Seniors' Society and other community organizations to identify what they need. I think from what we’ve built so far and what we’ve been able to put on the ground to date, it is an improvement from what we’ve had before through this affordable housing initiative. We will be proceeding with those new blueprints that are out there. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Supplementary To Question 199-15(5): Inadequate Housing Models For New Affordable Housing

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me ask the Minister if he can provide this House with what changes from the old reserve style matchbox 5-12s that the Housing Corporation has been putting on the ground for the last 10 to 15 years. What changes is the Housing Corporation going to incorporate into this new affordable housing initiative?

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 199-15(5): Inadequate Housing Models For New Affordable Housing

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do take into account the family size and exactly who the tenants we are serving. It is either seniors, families, singles or elderly, but we have to keep that in mind.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Supplementary To Question 199-15(5): Inadequate Housing Models For New Affordable Housing

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Are they all these 500 units that they are planning on putting on the ground in the next two years now, do we already have the clients already listed of who is going to be getting a house, which ones are going to the public housing? Are those lists already drawn up, family sizes determined and needs assessed? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 199-15(5): Inadequate Housing Models For New Affordable Housing

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do ongoing surveys. We know exactly roughly how many housing units we have. The majority of these units we are going to be putting on the ground are replacing the older 5-12s that the Member mentioned. Also, we are looking into more energy-efficient units by looking at multi-configured housing. So we are proceeding forward but also looking at exactly what we are going to be replacing and how we are going to get away from the old idea of the old singular constructed dwellings to multi-configured dwellings. So we are able to get a more energy-efficient house but also making sure that it more meets the requirements that we need by way of ensuring that it is efficient, accessible, and affordable at the end of the day for the client to operate, maintain, and own. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Supplementary To Question 199-15(5): Inadequate Housing Models For New Affordable Housing

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A lot of these affordable housing units are going to be going into communities. The Housing Corporation’s intent is to have them turned into or sold off into private homeownership programs or to private individuals in the community. Just with respect to the multi-housing units that are going to be going out there, I know the ones that are there now, they have shared mechanical rooms, water tanks and sewer tanks, which are the design of the old multi-units that we have today. We have lots of problems with the tenants that are in them. People don’t like to be in them because of all these shared water, sewer, mechanical and whatnot. How are we going to get people attracted to buy these units? How are we going to do that without changing these configurations? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 199-15(5): Inadequate Housing Models For New Affordable Housing

Mr. Speaker, again, it is the client choice at the end of the day of what type of unit they would like to require. Again, it is conforming with what we already have in place by way of it is either…If we are looking at a senior's facility, we like to ensure that a senior is going to move in there. You are basically putting in the mechanism so that you know they are going to be aged in this facility. You know that they are going to need hand rails. You know that they are going to need to be able to have access and eventually maybe in a wheelchair or whatnot. So you design these units with the client that you are looking at serving, but, more importantly, looking at exactly the number of people in those units to bring down the problem that we have with overcrowding but ensuring that we do make them energy efficient and also affordable at the end of the day so they can be able to maintain and operate those units and not have to worry about the high cost of operation. Thank you.