Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, [Translation] this item that I am going to talk about is about housing mortgage and the policies that are in place and how they work with people in the community. This mortgage has been in place for a long time since 1978, and it's affecting the people in the community and now we have a lot of elders that are over 60 that are dealing with this issue. That is what I'm going to talk about. [Translation ends]
Mr. Speaker, I have seniors in my riding who entered into mortgage agreements not understanding what exactly they were signing because there was no interpreter. In many cases, these clients fell behind on payments, and Housing NWT provided refinance agreements as the only option to maintain their homes. Mr. Speaker, people signed these documents and follow along with the options Housing NWT provides but, in many cases, they do not understand what they are committing to. There is little meaningful effort from Housing NWT to ensure clients, mostly elders, understand the process and what they are signing.
Mr. Speaker, constituents in my regions have a mortgage with Housing NWT but they don't even know how much they owe. To these people, it's a mortgage sentence for life. Many people don't know how they will ever pay for their home in their lifetime. Housing NWT does not appear to be providing annual mortgage statements to clients. For clients that have fallen into arrears, they may eventually be referred to collections. In the collection process, clients have to deal with the law firm. There is no language or liaison person assigned to support clients in arrears and specifically for elders in arrears.
Mr. Speaker, this is a disservice to our elders. Seniors who have been paying into mortgages for 10, 20 years should be given more support from Housing NWT so they can become homeowners. With a mortgage, Housing NWT clients are on track to homeownership. This is something Housing NWT should be supporting, not penalizing. Often there are language barriers but dealing with bureaucracy and government administration is also a barrier. What is being done to support elders, especially those who are residential school survivors, to be able to age in place in their homes and in their communities?
Member from Monfwi. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife North.
