Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today I am going to be talking about housing, again. I know Ms. Chinna is a good person and it's the portfolio I'm speaking to, so.
Okay, Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories is facing a housing crisis because there is a serious lack of affordable housing in this territory. Current Northwest Territories Housing Corporation strategy to provide housing for NWT residents is not meeting the unique needs of our people and communities. For example, many people in the North are employed in the diamond mines or work seasonally in other resource industry jobs. These jobs are really important for our community members because there are so few jobs and so few high-paying jobs in the communities.
In these jobs, our people can make good income for themselves and their families but then their rents are increased dramatically to very high excessive monthly amounts.
Mr. Speaker, we are penalizing our own people for working. In economic, people are discouraged to seek higher paying work. How is this fair to our people who want to do well for themselves and their families? This is not a new issue. We have been discussing for decades how the housing rate structure does not work and operates for our own people to work. On the other hand, many of our community members are considered low-income and do not qualify for the government assistance programs toward homeownership.
The applications that currently exist are overly complicated, have too many financial barriers, and simply take too long to approve. Our people are trapped without clear or easy pathway towards affordable housing. We simply do not have enough housing for private ownership, for low-income families, and for our Elders. We are preventing our own people from having homes. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister responsible for the Housing. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.
