Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Consideration for Elders and Seniors in Debt Elimination.
WHEREAS elders and seniors who are no longer working and only receive a fixed income have little ability to get out of debt once it has accumulated;
AND WHEREAS some elders and seniors in communities, who have accumulated housing debt, face extreme financial hardship to get out of arrears;
AND WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories should be supporting our elders and seniors to age in place and to age with dignity;
AND WHEREAS section 62 of the Financial Administration Act allows the forgiveness of debt to the Government of the Northwest Territories, or a public agency, where it is just and reasonable to do so;
AND WHEREAS the policy that guides the consideration on the forgiveness of debt does not clearly identify how the Government of the Northwest Territories determines a debtor to be indigent, or how a debt is determined to be unjust or unreasonable.
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the Member for Tu NedheWiilideh, that the Government of the Northwest Territories revise the Financial Administration Manual and related policies on the elimination of debt to provide specific provisions for forgiveness of debt owed to the Government of the Northwest Territories, or a public agency, for elders and seniors who are 60 years of age and older;
AND FURTHER, that the Government of the Northwest Territories review and revise the Financial Administration Manual and policies to define how it will measure and assess unreasonable or unjust financial hardship on elders and seniors.
AND FURTHERMORE, that the Government of the Northwest Territories review and revise the Financial Administration Manual and policies to ensure that elders and seniors who are on fixed incomes are not forced into undue financial hardship to pay debt to the Government of the Northwest Territories;
AND FURTHERMORE, that the Government of the Northwest Territories respond to this motion within 120 days.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The motion's in order. To the motion. Member from Monfwi.
Okay, Mr. Speaker, I know that we have talked a lot in this House about the needs for elders and seniors to age with dignity, and my motion that I put forward, it's actions behind these words. There are many elders in my ridings and other regions as well. There are many elders out there who are struggling to make ends meet. We know that the NWT is faced with high cost of living, the fuel price, the groceries. It's very difficult for people in the small communities, especially the elders, especially with children too as well because many of the elders are caring for their grandchildren. So it's difficult for them to make ends meet. And I met many elders in my ridings who, over the years, have accumulated many bills and debts, and there are many reasons why people go into debt with the government. Some elders, some people have bills piled up during the time when housing was limited in small communities and adult children were living with parents, and they were working and that's how a lot of these bills were accumulated. So as a result, I know that over the years housing made some changes to the policy that people who are living in the unit, they were on the lease, they were added to the lease that were, like, an adult. So that was okay. But before then, many of these bills were accumulated. So in other cases, people were desperate. And it's not just this. It was also for the mortgage as well. In other cases, where people were desperate to acquire housing back in the '90s that I know. And my colleague one of my colleague knows about this as well, you know, some people were given free houses. Other people were provided mortgages. And in many of these business dealings, language was a real issue because the mortgage term was new to many of my constituents or to many of the residents in the NWT, especially in small communities. So many of the elders they are elders now. So many of them signed on to mortgages not fully understanding what they were signing up for. So as a result, many of them fell behind with payments and some of them refinanced some of their housing and some of them was sent to the collections or they did a mortgage with the financial institutions and some of them lost their houses. And some of them went through foreclosure. So in either cases, I know that several people are still to this day try to pay off mortgages they signed over 30 years ago.
And my concern, Mr. Speaker, is that elders and seniors, once they age, once they have aged out of labour force, they have very limited financial resources. Many elders in communities live in great financial needs across the NWT. And when we went to Aklavik, we also met some people that were in that same situation. So the cost of living with their debt to the GNWT is beyond their means.
Mr. Speaker, this debt is a debt they will never get out of for the remainder of their years. So we need to do something about it. And this is why, Mr. Speaker, I am moving this motion, to ask the government to make consideration for elders and seniors over 60 years and older who owe housing debt to the GNWT. We need to be able to help and support our elders and seniors to age in place. We need to ease the financial burden for elders and seniors to allow them the dignity to live the remainder of their life in their homes, the place where they raised their families and built all their memories. And some of these elders have medical conditions that as I am currently speaking. Some of the elders have medical issues. They're on dialysis. Some of them are cancer survivors. Some of them have cognitive issues. There's all kinds. And, you know, and other illnesses that's relate to aging.
And I also talked to some of my constituents due to debt accumulated over the years. And what they did is that some of these elders an elder that I know, they consolidated all their bills with the bank. This is what they did with the bank and used their house as collateral. And these elders some of these elders, they don't understand the term. So it's added stress for some of these elders that are already living on fixed income. So for me, how I see this is that it is an abuse by the financial institution as well.
And I also met some people here, some elders living in Yellowknife who are living on the Gitzel Street in a townhouse. They must be Northern Properties tenants. They are paying over $3,000 for rent, plus utilities. And it is a disgrace because there's no cap, rent cap, on many of these residences. And there's no way anybody will get out of debt if you're paying over $3,000 for rent. And if this elder's going through that, it's more difficult for families with children. So with that in mind, so, Mr. Speaker, I'm asking this government to review the financial procedures for debt collections, and I am asking the government to think about elders and seniors, specifically the financial burden they carry as they age, and whether this financial burden is unjust or unreasonable.
We have responsibility to take care of our elders and seniors. We must be able to find a way to easy their financial stress so they can live the remainder of their days in peace, not forgive the debt when they're gone. Do it while they're still here so they can enjoy life, so they can do things that they want to do with their grandkids, spend more time with their children and grandkids. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. To the motion. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I want to thank the Member for bringing this motion forward today and acknowledge the importance of this topic. I understand it is a critical issue for many elders across the Northwest Territories.
Housing NWT will continue to work closely with the Department of Finance and other GNWT departments to consider the issues presented in this motion. We look forward to working with the Member and her colleagues on the issues identified in this motion.
Some of this work is already underway. Housing NWT has been reviewing all relevant government policies and considering the possible introduction of a new policy approach to further assist Housing NWT tenants and clients in addressing their arrears, including elders. I expect to be able to share this work with the Members this fall.
Cabinet will abstain from the vote on this motion and will provide a comprehensive response to the House within 120 days as requested by this motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing. To the motion. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to vote in favour. I just want to say that was one of the best answers that replies to a motion I've ever heard from a Minister. As a matter of fact, I'm overwhelmed. I don't know, I'm looking for the Kleenex box to cry.
That said, obviously I'll be voting in favour to support my colleague and my community members who face this challenge day to day. And that's all I wanted to say. Good job, Minister, on that response.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. To the motion. Member from Monfwi, you get the final say.
Yes, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just like my colleague said about the Minister of housing, that was a good response to our motion, and I'm looking forward to working with them. And then I'm looking forward to working with her, or all of us looking forward to working with her and then with Department of Finance to fix this. And can we have a recorded vote for this. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Member from Monfwi has asked for a recorded vote. Sorry, actually to the motion.
Question.
