Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to introduce the motion to support the transfer of housing units to longterm residents.
Mr. Speaker, in NWT, we are in a housing crisis. As you know, Housing NWT are the majority of provides the majority of housing. They are the only landlords in most communities. Mr. Speaker
Member for Monfwi, sorry, you have to read your motion first. Okay, please read your motion.
Okay, next time I'll (audio) to ten. Sorry about that. Okay, well, I'm still going to say thank you. Okay, now we're okay, we're good to go? Okay, well, got to be serious now. Okay.
Housing NWT transfer to longterm tenants.
Mr. Speaker,
WHEREAS, the Priorities of the 19th Legislative Assembly directs Cabinet to increase the number of affordable homes and reduce core housing needs;.
AND WHEREAS, the 2019 mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories further directs Housing NWT to transition 100 individuals and/or families to homeownership;
AND WHEREAS, Housing NWT provides housing throughout the territory and is the primary provider of housing in the small communities;
AND WHEREAS, pathways to homeownership remains difficult due to barriers and challenges, including income thresholds, for many residents in the smaller communities;
AND WHEREAS, many residents have been longterm tenants in Housing NWT units, have raised their families in these units, and developed strong connections to these units as their family homes;
AND WHEREAS, Housing NWT has many unused and vacant housing units, some of which are in need of repair, throughout the territory;
AND WHEREAS, declining Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation funding will continue to pressure the Government of the Northwest Territories in terms of being able to maintain and repair the current stock of housing units;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that this Legislative Assembly calls upon Housing NWT to increase efforts to transfer ownership of Housing NWT units to longterm tenants, who have lived in their existing units for 20 years or more, and are willing to assume ownership of their family home for a nominal fee;.
AND FURTHER, that Housing NWT will work with municipal and Indigenous governments to ensure land leases or fee simple title for their units remains affordable when transferred from Housing NWT to the current tenants;
AND FURTHERMORE, that Housing NWT increase efforts to transfer unused and vacant units to interested residents in the communities throughout the territory;
AND FURTHERMORE, that efforts supporting the transfer of unused and vacant units as well as units of longterm tenants commence immediately by Housing NWT;
AND FURTHERMORE, that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a comprehensive response to this motion within 120 days.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. The motion is in order. To the motion? Member for Great Slave.
Jane has to go first.
Sorry, we're supposed to go to the mover. Member for Monfwi.
Okay, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to introduce a motion to support the transfer of housing units to longterm residents. And you are aware, and we are all aware, that in NWT, we are in housing crisis. This will definitely help improve the lives of many of our small community members.
Mr. Speaker, you know that in small community, Housing NWT provides the majority of housing available to people living in small and remote communities. And like I said, like we said in the motion, that many of these people have been living in these units, in the same public units, for more than 20 years. And a lot of them, they raised their children in these units. And many of these family wanted to be homeowners but due to the ever variety of barriers that is in place, they are unable to maintain those units, or they are not qualified for the programs to be homeowners. And many of these families, they have strong attachment to their homes and location where the house is at. And they are willing to assume they are ready and willing to assume the responsibility, all the responsibility of a homeownership, including the repairs and maintenance.
I note that many of these people living in who have lived in those units for many, many, many years love their house, and I know that they will take pride in owning a home. And this will help a lot of people, Mr. Speaker.
This will help with the housing programs. We know that there is no housing housing market in small communities, and this will definitely help many of the small community members.
Mr. Speaker, a couple times I heard the Minister responsible for Housing NWT say, "I do not want to set up people to fail."
Mr. Speaker, I want to say Indigenous people have been here since time in memorial. We survived, and we are still here. I am not sure how she is going to set up the people to fail, especially people in small communities. I can tell you that Indigenous people are resilient.
Mr. Speaker, at this time, at this moment, I know that what I'm going to say is that the NWT Housing, or Housing NWT, failed the people in many of the small communities when they first introduced a mortgage program, independent housing program. Some of them are over 20 years old.
When they introduced these programs in the community, they were aware there was lack of employment in small communities, in many of the small communities, and people did not understand the agreement that they were signing without an appropriate interpreters.
But this is another matter too, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I want to say that I have a beautiful message, a picture in my office with a message that says having a place to go is home. Having someone to love is a family. And having both of these is a blessing. And we have remember who are we advocating for.
When I see that message, that is a reminder for me that I am advocating for a lot of people in Northwest Territories, not just my riding but for the people in the Northwest Territories. So with this in mind, this is the reason why that I brought this motion forward. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Great Slave.
You're the seconder.
Mr. Speaker, I too support this motion. You know, when it is a priority of our Assembly. I know the Minister has stated that they will they're going to put a hundred homes on the ground, you know, and I think there was some in our mandate, there's, you know, transferring of homes to our residents within that stock. At this time I guess, you know, where we are in that, I don't know. That's something I guess that we can we'll get back from the Minister.
Mr. Speaker, I also know in my community, when Inuvik was built, it was built in half. You had half of the community that was built for the federal employees that had all running water. And then you had my riding, the other half, which we had 5, 12s and pump out, and no running water. My constituency is the largest the residents in my like, in my constituency are where Inuvik Housing Authority has the greatest amount of housing units.
Growing up in that community, I too, like my colleague, know of many families who have raised their children, their grandchildren, you know, and now some of them even have great grandchildren raised in those same housing units. They have paid for these houses in threefold, you know.
So, you know, when the Member decided to bring this motion forward, you know, to push to make sure that this is hurried up in this government, one of the things that really struck me was how many of our residents have already paid for these homes.
You know, we talk about how we can only in the Northwest Territories, Housing Corporation can only have so many units that we can operate. So where are we and how are we doing this, that we asking our residents do they want to own this home, do they want to take this home over, you know. I've never heard of that going on in my community. I've heard of people, you know, raising their families, then their children grow up and then like some of the other colleagues is then they're moved. Then they're moved into a smaller unit where they the multigenerational way of life for most aboriginal people, we can't bring our kids back home. We don't have room to bring our grandchildren into our home now.
So this is a way of when we talk about multigenerational homes, some of these bigger units in my community were built in the 60s, in the 70s, you know. And I know Housing has kept upkeep in a lot of these units.
And that's the other thing too, is when we're transferring these homes we need to make sure that they're taken care of and they're transferred in a condition that the homeowner is not having to pay for many upgrades or needs before doing this.
But as I said, I really support this motion. I know even our Premier has said when she bought her first home, the pride that she felt of owning that home. Even though it wasn't the biggest home, it was her home. So, you know, this goes a long way for people to have that sense of worth and this is that sense of pride that this is my home.
You know, we've always heard of many of our Aboriginal leaders talk about how in the past the federal government promised people to come off the land, and we'll give you a house. Well, we gave you housing and then we kick you out when your family gets smaller or you get too old and you move them around. Like the Member from Monfwi has stated, this is their home and then they're moved somewhere else, you know. And so that sense, you know, that loss of the home. So especially in the small communities when there's not a lot of housing to go around.
So I just want to give my support, and that's why I second this motion, so that we can hurry up with our plan to do this work and that we get it done in the life of this government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. The motion is in order. To the motion? Member for Great Slave.
Thank you. You're sure it's my turn now, right? I don't think that I can speak as eloquently as my colleagues have about this considering the impacts that they see in their home communities and constituencies. However, I want to echo what my colleague for Inuvik Twin Lakes said was that one of the first most proud or things that I'm the most proud is when I was able to purchase my home. For me, my home is my safe place. It's my sanctuary. It's the one place where I can go and be vulnerable and feel at ease 100 percent. So for me, it was important that I stand up and support this initiative, especially as I learn more through my work on the Standing Committee for Social Development about the housing issues in the North and the restrictions around getting people into homes and homeownership. It's much more complex than I ever realized prior to taking this job. The fact of there's no housing market. There's not taxbased communities. All of that leads to complexity.
One thing that I keep getting struck by is that if we are going to move people out of homes like this, for example when they don't pay a mortgage they've had for 20 years, we are only now then responsible for finding them housing elsewhere as they become homeless. So as an engineer, I like things to be efficient. So to me, just, you know, transferring this ownership over to the people that have been living there will reduce a large administrative burden and free up resources within the housing department and the housing authorities in order to focus on other areas. So to me that is just logical that we then transfer these homes to the people that have been living in them.
And not only that, as having been a renter and a homeowner, I definitely care a lot more about what I do in my own home than I did as a renter. So once we do move people away from the idea that this is not their home and they're just being, you know, given something or they're temporarily occupying space at the GNWT's will, they will then take a greater pride in that ownership of that home. And that home will be better maintained. They will feel like they're creating a legacy that they can pass on to their children, and as well, I've been really struck by dealing with a particular woman who is homeless right now.
She cannot bring her grandchildren to her community and host them in her house. And so she feels she's seeing a disconnect now of the grandchildren from her culture because she's not able to bring them in and teach them her lessons, and it is really very much impacting her sobriety as well.
So I longwinded, more than I thought I would be, but I just wanted to say I very strongly support my colleague, and I thank all of them for informing me on this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. The motion is in order. To the motion? Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I support this motion. Housing NWT needs to find an equitable solution and engagement with the people who have been in a housing unit all their lives. Many, if not all of these people, have grown up in the units either with their mom and dad, brothers and sisters, or other family members. It becomes very hard for these people to give up such units as they have become emotionally attached.
We need to be mindful of the past promises of the NWT Housing Corporation to the people. And they've told them that all they need to do in the past was to pay $5 a month for one year, then the houses would be turned over to them for ownership. Many elders have stated this over and over and over again. Mr. Speaker, it is time to honour these promises. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to rise in support of this motion. And I think the motion arises in cases, especially the longterm ones, but I believe actually that Cabinet is in support of this motion, and I would encourage them to review whether they could actually vote in favour.
I believe the housing authority has a number of policies which allow people to transfer units. I think there has just been a lot of frustration with Members not seeing this mandate commitment filled quick enough. And a lot of the eligibility criteria for the multiyear forgivable loans are sometimes not being met, and there's people who feel that the Housing Corp sorry, NWT Housing I will work on getting the right name are being a little too bureaucratic in how this process goes out, works.
But ultimately, I believe that it should be a shared priority of this government to encourage homeownership, and anyone who lives in a public housing tenant unit and, you know, it's clear that they want their unit, let's work with them.
I think we could probably be a little bit more expansive in the current policies and make sure that they are working for the reality on the ground in many of our communities.
So I just thank Members for bringing this forward, and I think we got to push our Cabinet colleagues to move this along a little quicker. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the mover and the seconder of this motion for the work that they've put into it.
You know, Mr. Speaker, I've had the opportunity or privilege to visit many of the smaller communities here in the Northwest Territories in this job, previous jobs I've had. And, you know, I've spoken to many people about the pride that they have in owning their own homes. And people have seen that the HAP units that, you know, that are still they're in many of those communities. Unfortunately, we don't do that program anymore. I think it was a great program and something we should probably bring back. But the pride that people have when they own their own homes will make a huge difference. And I think that's what this motion is really aimed at; you know, trying to find some new and innovative approaches to encouraging homeownership.
So, again, I want to thank the mover particularly for pushing this, and I know that the Standing Committee on Social Development is looking at this issue as well. And I sense that housing is a much higher priority in this Assembly than the last one. We just want to get our Cabinet colleagues fully on board so that when they go to Ottawa, the first thing that they start to talk about is housing.
But this is some work that we can do ourselves to help people in many of our small communities. I strongly support the motion, and I encourage all MLAs to do the same. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. The motion is in order. To the motion? Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too will be supporting this motion. The compassion that was shown in this room by the presenter and the seconder is felt by all of us I'm sure.
I just want to make sure that there is no barriers with the ownership. Things are done with oversight, things are done in a neutral basis and, you know, because many times when we say we're going to do something great and wonderful, we don't want no thresholds for sure. And, you know, we have to really think about how important this is and how important it is for the people that are going to receive these homes and then how happy they're going to be.
And I agree with the MLA, which I don't agree with very often, that the HAP houses were the HAP housing program was an incredible program. I grew up under that program, and many of us did. And it gave a lot of pride to people who had to build their own houses, you know.
And with that I want to say I want to thank the MLA from Monfwi for expressing such you could tell that it's from the heart. And when you do something from the heart, you know, nothing else matters. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'd like to thank the mover and seconder of the motion as well. Housing is very important to everybody in the territories, and homeownership is just that much more important.
This government, though, has to stop perpetuating the myth that Indigenous people cannot manage homeownership. It is a common theme, though, beyond homeownership and it has to stop, and it has to stop here. And in saying that, I support the motion fully. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too support this motion. It's been a while since 1991 when the HAP program was cancelled by CMHC through the GNWT. And since then, though, the housing programs in the communities changed over the years and the policies that was created along the way was written by southern people that was designed. But here in the North, in these communities, you know, employment is a big factor and that's why this program didn't really work. So I think it's something that if we were going to come up with kind of a design now for housing, it has to be communitybased, communitydriven, and policies created working with Indigenous governments in the future. So I would like to thank the mover and seconder to this motion, and I do support this motion. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Tu NedheWiilideh. The motion is in order. To the motion. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the time and effort that it has taken to bring this motion forward. I'm actually quite excited, and I look forward to the response. And I appreciate the time to enforce and try to look at changes that we can do within this government. Mahsi. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. The motion is in order. To the motion. I will allow the mover to do closing remarks.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for all the support to my colleagues here and to the Ministers and to the Speaker. I know that there's lot of people that wants to be a homeowner. And a lot of them, they love their houses. And some of theme because, like, there are some people that I know who lived in the unit for over 20 years and when the aging parents pass on, they become homeless. And this will really avoid homelessness, some homelessness in communities. And it's really going to be it's going to help improve the lives of many community members that are living in the regions. And hopefully this will have the people living, staying in the community. Because of the lack of housing, people move to larger centre.
So I want to say thank you to my colleague, to everybody, to the Members of the Legislative Assembly for supporting this motion. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. Colleagues, pursuant to Rule 10.3(1), a recorded vote is required. The clerk shall call on each Member by riding name to cast their vote starting with the mover, those participating remotely and those participating in the Chamber in the order of their seats. When the clerk calls on you, please state whether you are for, against, or abstaining.
The Member for Monfwi.
In favour.
The Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
In favour.
The Member has indicated he is in favour of the motion.
The Member for Great Slave.
The Member for Nahendeh.
Abstain.
The Member for Yellowknife South.
Abstain.
The Member for Sahtu.
Abstain.
The Member for Range Lake.
Abstain.
The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.
Abstain.
The Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Abstain.
