Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, follow-up to my Member's statement, I have two questions for the Minister of Housing. I'll use Tsiigehtchic as the first example, because this is the first community that was approved to have a modular home sent to the community. Mr. Speaker, it's been 10 months our community has been waiting to have this unit that's supposed to be shipped to the community in the fall. Mr. Speaker, there has to be added costs, and I'm sure we wouldn't find that out until the fall, by the time we actually get the unit in Tsiigehtchic. I'd like to ask the Minister what savings are we having getting these modular homes shipped up to our remote communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When the modular homes were purchased, prior to my term and governance actually, we used the bid process and there was substantial savings, over 30 per cent savings, with using the modular homes. The cost of transportation, although there may be some differences, we still have to get those homes up by barge and stuff. There is still transport whether we use it to take the materials from the South or to bring the modular homes; there would still be a transportation cost within that, the amount I cannot state at this time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, the community's been waiting. You know, there's going to be other challenges with NTCL having their challenges as well. What is the department planning as an alternative to getting these units shipped up to the communities?
The NWT Housing Corporation is well aware of the issues of the one barge going into some of the northern communities, and so we are really being proactive and trying to get all of our material for this year actually ready and to be shipped on the next NTCL boat that's going out.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned also, we're losing upwards of 20 jobs in our communities as a result of this. How can the corporation justify putting these people out of work, Mr. Speaker? Our small communities depend on these units being built in our communities; it's plain and simple. The employment rate is going to stay below 35 per cent because we're losing these jobs, Mr. Speaker, so how can the department justify that?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As stated, we do use the Business Incentive Policy to evaluate all proposals. We have sent out new proposals for this year and, coincidentally, the majority of all of the proposed proponents came in are actually northern businesses. This round will actually be all northern businesses. As well though, I do want to mention that the NWT Housing Corporation does recognize that we need to have jobs in the community. In an effort to provide jobs within each community and also to have better access to the corporation and to our services, we actually employ 128 people in the communities through our LHO local housing organization program. We chose to leave it within the communities and not make government positions, so that they are community-based programs and community-based jobs. One hundred and twenty-eight people within the communities are employed through that one initiative.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the numbers the Minister just gave me, that's throughout the whole territory, Mr. Speaker. I'm talking about the small communities here, you know, my riding, three communities: Fort McPherson, Aklavik, and Tsiigehtchic. We're losing 20 positions here. I hope the department isn't planning to carry on this sort of practice here, because look at that, 10 months we've been waiting, Mr. Speaker. We could have built at least three to four times the amount of units while we've been waiting, Mr. Speaker. How long is the department going to carry on this practice? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Again, as stated, we are trying to support northern businesses. The next round that came in are all northern businesses that have applied. We didn't get any southern people that have applied for them, so you will see a change within this fiscal year.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
