Bob Bromley

Thanks for that confirmation. We are seven months into the year 2011. The last I understood, the units planned for this year had not started construction. Obviously, we are into the winter season now. I am wondering, first of all, what is the status of construction for the 2010-11 year. What are the expectations for carryover into 2011-12?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank my colleagues Mr. Jacobson and Mr. Abernethy for bringing this motion forward. I think the public housing tenants often have other debts, possibly to family members or their friends or retailers that have been supporting them in their time of need. This sort of thing helps to address this sort of situation. Flexibility and a graduated rent assessment application or a responsible policy that realistically deals with income that varies over time would be an important support for public housing tenants struggling to get by.

Many families are unique in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are unquestionably many issues to grapple with in the area of public housing, as the Minister well understands, at least by the end of today. I’m sure he knew about this before and I admit that these are often complex issues and difficult to move forward on. I’ve given great consideration, paid very close attention to the issues brought forward to me by my constituents and others. I’ve settled with my colleague in bringing forward this motion on a reduction of 30 to 25 percent of the rent as a maximum.

I think perhaps the best way to portray this is simply to go...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to deal with Motion 19-16(5), Reduction of NWT Housing Corporation Maximum Rental Rate, which I gave notice of on Wednesday, October 27, 2010. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments from the Minister. Mr. Speaker, I am profiling one example here. I am looking for a systemic response. I am sure the Minister understands that I appreciate his offer to help this family.

The situation of rental arrears is obviously urgent and stressful for both individuals and for the local housing offices. Each housing office’s total rental arrears have exploded, again because of this situation. The Housing Corporation reacts by reducing LHOs’ subsequent funding according to the amount of uncollected rents. As a result, one housing association has come...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are also for the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister’s transfer of the responsibility for public housing rent collections from ECE back to the Housing Corporation. While a modest beginning, the Minister must now act to clean up the wreckage left behind by that failed and destructive policy.

There are now tens of thousands of dollars of debt for most of each family that is now in rental arrears, yet that debt is an illusion resulting from an income documentation process that was unrealistic, unworkable and, in many...

This isn’t about theory or process or policy reform; this is about misery and a broken home this government caused with poorly considered, ultimately destructive operational changes.

I will be asking the Minister questions on how any of us can hold our heads up and what we plan to do about this. I will ask the House to consider a motion later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’d like to start by really acknowledging the superior level of support we had in putting this report together. I’d like to start with our research staff. We had Regina Pfeifer, Robin Stewart and Lee Selleck, all of whom put their stamp into this work and went beyond the call. The Clerk’s office contributed hugely and I’d like to recognize the committee clerk, Gail Bennett, who is very professional and thorough in her support with a keen eye for the detail that’s required to do a good job here. My colleague, MLA for Great Slave, Glen Abernethy put the motion on the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that, on Friday, October 29, 2010, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, that this Legislative Assembly recommends that the NWT Housing Corporation reduce the rent scale so the maximum rental rate is 25 percent of the assessed gross income. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister’s comments again. I will be looking for those remarks in the plan.

Today I also re-emphasized the long-standing problems of the lack of evaluators certified to approved credentials for interpreters/translators and the need to reduce the time it takes for course work from the current 10-year haul.

These problems have been pointed out in language reviews, Mr. Speaker, since the 1900s. Can the Minister tell me what progress is being made meeting these basic but crucial needs and perhaps where that’s addressed in the Languages Strategy? Thank you.