Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, over the course of this term, I have spoken several times about a pair of constituents of mine who endured a natural disaster.
In June of 2019, a house in Fort Smith was destroyed and written off because a tornado had struck the community. Fortunately, the damage was not widespread; however, one elderly couple lost their home. This natural disaster has caused much stress and financial hardship for this family, and they have continued to have frustrating experiences in their dealings with Housing NWT.
Madam Speaker, I recently met with this family again to hear an update on their situation. What they told me was alarming. They said that they have been receiving mixed information from certain officials within Housing NWT. Officials at the South Slave district office say one thing and officials at the local housing authority in Fort Smith say another. It appears that in some instances, information was even being withheld from these constituents.
First, Madam Speaker, it seems that the policy of core need income threshold was not properly applied to this family when they were being assessed for public housing after their their house was destroyed. Housing NWT evaluated their tax returns and decided that these two retired seniors earn too much money from their monthly pensions. However, it seems that the Housing NWT misread their income level. The wife doesn't have an income and they do income splitting on their tax returns, so I believe this is part of the miscalculation here. Then, they were declined the option to reside in public housing partially because of their perceived income but also because Housing NWT said that because they still owned a property a property with a destroyed house on it they were ineligible for public housing because they were still considered homeowners even though their house was destroyed and unlivable. That was the barrier preventing them from public housing. Madam Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Unanimous consent granted
Overall, Madam Speaker, these constituents should have been put into market rental housing and having to pay several thousands were put into market rental housing and having to pay several thousands of dollars in monthly rental costs. Moreover, once their property was sold and the house was torn down, they would have been eligible to enter public housing immediately. However, the Housing NWT never informed them of that. So this family has been needlessly paying very high rental fees for three years now, which they cannot afford. They are having a very difficult time making ends meet especially during a time of high inflation and increasingly high cost of living.
Madam Speaker, this family has been shortchanged every step of the way. I am disappointed with how this situation has been handled. It has been over three years since they lost their home. They should be in a situation where they should have a stable living and financial situation by now. To address this matter in a fair and impartial way, I believe the best solution is to conduct an independent oversight into this family's situation and all the events that have transpired since their house was destroyed. I will have questions for the Minister of Housing at the appropriate time. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member. Members' statements. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
